Trump administration agrees to fix ‘duplication of benefits’ trap for Louisiana flood victims
The Louisiana Congressional delegation announced Thursday that people who were previously blocked from Restore Louisiana benefits because they applied for
"Rules will be released in days, but I have received assurances from Secretary Carson that if you took out an SBA loan you will be eligible to receive a Restore Louisiana grant and have the resources you need to recover," Cassidy said Thursday. "We had thousands of people in
Graves said that he's frustrated it has taken so long for HUD to move forward.
"This is a perfect example of why people really hate the bureaucracy of the federal government," he said. "There is no good excuse for these sorts of delays."
He said flood recovery has consistently been at the top of issues his constituents voice to him.
"The number of people who just have these devastating personal stories," Graves said. "This is really personal to a lot of people and meaning awful consequences for them."
In recent months, Cassidy and Kennedy resorted to a procedural move to try to get the federal government's attention to the issue by holding up the Trump administration's HUD nominees, promising only to lift the hold once HUD acted on the "duplication of benefits" issue.
Kennedy brought the issue directly to President
On Thursday, Kennedy credited the president's intervention for ultimately succeeding in addressing the problem.
"(Trump) told me that he would resolve this, and he did," Kennedy said. "Duplication of benefits was a huge hurdle for many families as they struggled to rebuild. Louisianans are resilient, but they'll be made even stronger by getting the disaster relief they were promised."
It's unclear when homeowners will be able to access the funds. According to Cassidy's office, more details will appear in guidelines that HUD will issue.
Gov.
"This is a momentous announcement for thousands of Restore Louisiana applicants who have been waiting since the aftermath of the 2016 floods for a fix to the previous federal policy," Edwards said. "I want to sincerely thank
Like with other HUD programs meant to benefit low- to middle-income households, program priority will go to families who make below 120 percent of the area-median-income. Those who make more than that will be able to apply for exemptions.
According to Cassidy, Carson confirmed that grants can be used to pay off SBA loans.
As in previous disasters, affected homeowners who sought SBA loans have been unable to tap into grant dollars that duplicated whatever loan amount they were deemed eligible to receive -- even if they never accepted the loan money.
For example, a homeowner with an estimated
Check back with The Advocate for more details.
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