Texas GLO awaits $1.95B in Harvey relief aid

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) blocked $1.95 billion in Hurricane Harvey relief funds heading for Texas, saying that the state agency responsible for administering the funds did not submit the required documentation.

HUD officials first told the Houston Chronicle that the Texas General Land Office (GLO) did not include details of how it would allocate the funds locally.

The department later informed GLO officials of the federal action and of its 45-day deadline to provide HUD with the required documents.

GLO officials said they submitted the paperwork in question – 628 pages of substantial analysis in an appendix to the action plan amendment.

A spokeswoman for the state agency said HUD’s contact with the Chronicle was a political maneuver, given that HUD was previously quoted by the newspaper as saying Texas is “responsible for creating the allocation formula and has full responsibility and jurisdiction over who gets the money that was allocated to the state for flood mitigation.”

Congress initially approved $4.3 billion for Texas as part of a $16 billion disaster relief package to different states and territories. Four years later, half of Texas’ portion remains unallocated.

Source: Strategic Partnerships