Kevin Brady: “we have had a lot of debate tonight about the need for the affordable housing fund. This amendment relates to what I…”

“we have had a lot of debate tonight about the need for the affordable housing fund. This amendment relates to what I hope will be the fairness of the affordable housing fund. Right now in the first year the allocation for the affordable housing fund is restricted to Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, but only in Louisiana and Mississippi. This is Hurricane Rita, the fourth largest hurricane in the gulf coast history. It was actually larger than Hurricane Katrina. On the Texas side, the area that I represent, as you can see here, we had 70,000 homes damaged or destroyed. That is 70,000 homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Rita. Today, 18 months after that hurricane, what no one in America knows is that 10 percent of those who fled Hurricane Rita have yet to return to southeast Texas. Ten percent have not come home because they have no home in southeast Texas. What this amendment does is provides a fair treatment for Texas communities devastated by Hurricane Rita. It takes the principle, same hurricane, same devastation, we should have same treat. Under this amendment, Louisiana and Mississippi would still receive the bulk of the allocation at 70 percent and 20 percent, and Texas would be eligible for 10 percent. My preference would be to not take a dime from Louisiana and Mississippi. I understand how devastated those communities are. But I have seen the devastation in our southeast Texas communities. Our roofs are torn off and our homes are destroyed.”