Congress criticizes Mississippi use of Katrina relief funds

The House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity of the Committee on Financial Services held a hearing to assess the implementation of Community Development Block Grant funds for post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction among the states impacted along the Gulf Coast.

A main concern of Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was that Mississippi has allegedly used an unapproved portion of CDBG funds on construction of their main port as opposed to directly funding housing relief for low-income hurricane victims. It is unacceptable, Green said, to “put the port above the people” when there are so many victims still in need.

Jack Norris, Director of the Mississippi Governor’s Office of Recovery and Renewal, asked Congress to “streamline or waive” environmental regulations that he said have been the “number one impediment” to building affordable housing, which Waters said he was “exaggerating.” When criticized by Waters and Green for spending $600 million on port reconstruction as opposed to housing relief, he said that the port was essential to economic and job recovery and that Congress initially allocated the funds for holistic recovery. Norris said the state has spent over 70 percent of its $5.4 billion in funds directly on housing, with only $1.4 billion on “job recovery.” Green proceeded to ask representatives from other states, including Florida, Texas, and Louisiana, if they were spending CDBG funds on ports, and all replied they were not.

Derrick Johnson, President of the Mississippi State National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that “discriminatory policies” towards hurricane victims are preventing a full recovery. He said that states should be required to track CDBG fund spending by zip code to determine how they are being allocated according to income and demographic.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) said the public believes there was “intentionality” in how information about hurricane victims was gathered when considering relief appropriation and that since it was gathered online it targeted low-income people who did not have access to a computer. He also said relief was “badly skewed” towards the wealthy or better-off.

Witnesses Bill Johnson, Director of the Alabama Dept. of Economic and Community Affairs, and Deputy Executive Director of the Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs, mentioned faith-based organizations that have provided substantial relief for victims, with Johnson requesting Congressional funding to these groups so they can deploy more aid.