The Trump administration plans to eliminate offices that oversee the recovery from America's biggest disaster, raising questions about how the US will be rebuilt from hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters I'm planning on what I'm doing.
The Regional Planning and Development Agency, part of the Housing and Urban Development Agency, will pay to rebuild homes and other recovery efforts after the worst disasters of the country, including Hurricane Helen in North Carolina and Hurricane Milton in Florida. Masu.
The administration plans to cut staff in its office by 84%, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. The number of workers will be reduced to 150 since 936 when Trump took office last month.
These cuts could slow down the distribution of recovery money to North Carolina and other recent disasters.
“HUD is carrying out President Trump's broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to serve the American people at the highest standards,” said Kasey Lovett, a spokesman for the department. He said in the first statement.
In an additional statement, Lovett wrote: “Disaster recovery efforts are top priority and will not be affected. HUD's mission to serve all communities — especially following the tragedy — remains unchanged.”
The primary responsibility for community reconstruction after a major disaster falls under federal emergency management agency is to ensure that state and local governments repair or reconstruct damaged roads, bridges, schools, water treatment plants and other public infrastructure. We will help you pay to. The agent also provides money to help repair damaged homes.
However, some disasters are so large that they don't get over FEMA funds or the damages within FEMA programs neatly. Once that happens, Congress can choose to provide additional help through disaster recovery, a program at HUD called the Community Development Block Grant.
That extra help from Congress includes far more money than what FEMA can offer. In 2006, for example, Congress provided nearly $17 billion to rebuild the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. After Hurricane Sandy, Congress gave over $15 billion in housing and urban development to help rebuild the Northeast.
As disasters grow more frequently and more profoundly, HUD's disaster recovery programme has become central to the nation's strategy to address climate change. In the 1990s, Congress usually gave programs hundreds of millions of dollars a year. In contrast, over the past decade, Congress has often provided billions of dollars each year.
HUD disaster recovery money has fewer attachment strings. This money is primarily used to rebuild an uninsured or uninsured home, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has not paid. It is also directed at rebuilding infrastructure that is not covered by FEMA, such as private roads and bridges that have been heavily damaged by Helen, North Carolina.
This money can also be used for vocational training to help employers who have gone out of business after a disaster.
One of HUD's main jobs is to ensure that money is not lost to waste, fraud or abuse, as state and local officials are often overwhelmed by disasters. It's about doing it. It includes tasks such as helping state and local governments set up the system to avoid paying contractors twice, according to former officials who worked on the program. It could also mean more complicated tasks, such as coordinating HUD grants with other federal disaster programs.
Civic planning and development offices for housing and urban development are already thinning, especially with the increasing number of large-scale disasters. According to staff who worked in the office, HUD employees who manage disaster grants are each responsible for overseeing the approximately $1 billion in grants.
Deep reductions in staffing levels make it difficult for HUD to prevent fraud, waste and abuse, according to two former officials familiar with the program, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation . The reductions are determined by the so-called government efficiency department, saying the goal is to reduce fraud, waste and abuse.
The Community Planning and Development Office is responsible for managing other spending programs beyond disaster recovery. These include paying for programs such as sewerage and sidewalks, affordable housing projects, and wheel meals.
Brad Plumer and Nicholas Nehamas contributed the report.
