WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Congresswoman Waters played an instrumental role in the post-storm recovery. Working with other Members of Congress, Waters helped to secure billions for impacted Gulf communities, deliver 3,000 new vouchers to house homeless persons, and aid in eliminating harmful fair housing practices in communities like St. Bernard parish.
The results of that work continue to benefit residents of storm-damaged areas today, in spite of continued Republican attempts to slash funding for HUD programs designed to support our nation’s most vulnerable households, and to ensure they have access to safe, decent, and affordable housing.
“Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, and especially New Orleans, exposing the harsh realities of systemic inequality in America. The storm displaced thousands of low-income families and communities of color, who endured not only the loss of homes and livelihoods, but also barriers to evacuation, recovery, and access to federal relief. We will always remember and honor the lives lost and Katrina’s survivors.
This is very personal to me. When the storm hit, I, along with the rest of America, watched as people were ushered to the Superdome and left to fend for themselves. Compelled by the plight of victims, my husband and I flew to New Orleans on the third day of the storm where I joined with several leaders, including Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. and Representative Cleo Fields to provide support for relief efforts. We drove from shelter to shelter to assist victims across the state from New Orleans to Lafayette, Louisiana. Together with leaders on the ground, we met with then-Governor Kathleen Blanco to advocate for low-income residents to ensure that relief went to the areas that needed it the most.
As Ranking Member and then-Chairwoman of the subcommittee charged with oversight of housing and community development issues at the time, I saw the housing devastation firsthand. I, along with Members of the subcommittee, visited public housing units that were damaged by the storm and saw the difficult conditions victims of the storm faced. In the following years, we continued to work with public housing tenants to ensure they had the resources they needed to survive. We saw these families struggling to find each other, to pick up the pieces, and to rebuild their lives.
I drafted legislation, H.R. 1227, the ‘Gulf Coast Hurricane Recovery Act of 2007,’ to help put the region’s housing infrastructure back on its feet. While never signed into law, I’m proud to say that important parts of this bill were enacted and did play an important role in moving the recovery forward. For example, the enactment of provisions to authorize 3,000 vouchers to house the homeless along with disaster vouchers allowed displaced families to smoothly transition to permanent housing and were critical in meeting the immediate housing needs of vulnerable populations.
However, it was also clear to me that legislation alone would be insufficient to help with a challenge the size of Katrina. I worked with the Bush and Obama administrations, nonprofit organizations, fair housing groups, local housing authorities, displaced residents and elected officials to improve housing opportunities for families impacted by Katrina. We identified and re-housed victims of the storm, and worked to identify and end violations of the ‘Fair Housing Act.’ Knowing that public housing would be critical to re-housing the city’s low-income families, I stood with several key lawmakers and advocates to oppose the demolition of the ‘Big Four’ public housing developments in New Orleans unless there was a guarantee that every one of those units would be replaced.
Twenty years after Katrina, I’m proud of the work New Orleanians have done to rebuild their city. However, let me be clear: more needs to be done to prevent future storms from wreaking havoc on vulnerable communities in New Orleans and across the country. In fact, one thing Congress must do is reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program with long-term reforms that guarantee affordable, equitable coverage and faster recovery for those who need it most.”
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