The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is granting $5.024 billion to help Texas recover from Hurricane Harvey.
Officials said the funds would be provided via HUD’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program while supporting the repair of damaged homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure.
“As President Trump has said from the beginning, the whole federal family is with the people of Texas to help them recover from this devastating storm as quickly as possible,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson said. “HUD will work with Gov. (Greg) Abbott and his staff to do whatever is needed to rebuild damaged homes and to restore shuttered businesses in some of the hardest-hit areas.”
To arrive at the allocation, HUD officials said the agency relied upon information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) on the number of seriously damaged homes lacking adequate insurance and businesses that failed to qualify for SBA’s disaster loan program.
“The urgency with which our federal partners are addressing the needs of Texans following Harvey is exactly what is needed to help them rebuild their lives,” Abbott said. “I thank Secretary Carson, Deputy Secretary Patenaude and the Trump Administration for working on behalf of Texans who have been hardest hit and in need of immediate aid. Our goal from the start has been to work in conjunction with federal and local leaders to help Texans repair and rebuild as quickly as possible. And this funding is a good start that brings us one step closer to achieving that goal.”