Texas Governor Acts to Further Help Hurricane Harvey Victims

Washington, D.C. - October 12, 2018 - (The Ponder News) -- On October 5, 2018, President Trump signed H.R. 302, the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 2018 & the Disaster Recovery Reform Act, into law. This legislation allows the Governor of a disaster-impacted state to request a waiver of the general prohibition on duplication of benefits in the Stafford Act that prohibits individuals from receiving Housing and Urban Development grant funding if they accepted a Small Business Administration loan.

The Disaster Recovery Reform Act includes a legislative fix that Congressman Culberson spearheaded in the House-passed version of the disaster relief bill. This provision allowed Governor Greg Abbott to request a waiver so that Harvey survivors who took out Small Business Administration loans to repair their homes will no longer be prohibited from using Housing and Urban Development grant funding to repay these loans later.

On October 5, 2018, Congressman John Culberson (R-TX, 7th) sent a letter to Governor Abbott urging him to immediately request the Duplication of Benefits waiver.

Congressman Culberson, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS), released the following statement after Governor Abbott submitted a request to waive the current ban on duplication of benefits that prevents those who accepted a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan from receiving Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant funding later.

“I thank Governor Abbott for swiftly acting on my request to submit this waiver to help the many Harvey survivors that are still recovering from last year’s storm. We’ve worked closely together to bring relief dollars back to Texas, and today’s waiver request brings us one step closer to resolving the ban that unfairly prevents homeowners who accepted an SBA loan to rebuild their homes from receiving HUD grant funding later.

“I urge the President to grant this waiver as soon as possible so that homeowners have access to funds that allow them to rebuild.”