On the recordMay 13, 2022
I thank the manager of the legislation and chairman of the committee for this important legislation. The Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act is extremely important. As we all know, this bipartisan bill will bring about an enhanced ability to serve the community. The CSBG moneys are particularly important not only to rural areas but to urban areas. They are important as they relate to many issues, such as in my community dealing with overcoming disasters. Those dollars are utilized to ensure housing. I include in the Record an article entitled, ``Black communities are last in line for disaster planning in Texas'' and an article entitled, ``5 years after Hurricane Harvey, many in Houston are still waiting for help.'' [From the Washington Post, May 12, 2022] Black Communities Are Last in Line for Disaster Planning in Texas Houston.--Lawrence Hester worries every time it rains. During heavy storms, water overflows the dirt drainage ditch fronting his yard and the bayou at the end of his block--flooding the street, creeping up his front steps, pooling beneath the house, and trapping his family inside. ``We are always underwater here,'' said Hester, 61. And yet, the state of Texas allocated none of the $1 billion in federal funds it received to protect communities from future disasters to neighborhoods in Houston that flood regularly, according to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.…
