Truckload of Recovered FEMA Supplies Delivered to Southwest La.
Landrieu continues to work to return household goods; will chair a joint hearing on FEMA discarding supplies.
LAFAYETTE – The State of Arkansas today returned a truckload of essential household goods that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had discarded despite their allocation to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A CNN investigation recently revealed the supplies had been among $85 million in materials meant for Gulf Coast hurricane survivors that FEMA gave away to other states and government agencies after sitting in a federal warehouse in Texas for two years. The supplies will be distributed by the non-profit Acadiana Outreach Center in Lafayette, La.
“Today we are righting a wrong and giving essential household supplies to Hurricane Rita survivors in Southwest Louisiana,” said Sen. Landrieu, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Disaster Recovery Subcommittee. “I want to thank the State of Arkansas for returning these desperately needed goods, the Louisiana Recovery Authority for its effort in recouping the supplies, and Valerie Keller and the Acadiana Outreach Center for stepping up to deliver these supplies to people in our communities that are in need.
“Today should be a lesson for FEMA, and a strong reminder to everyone in Washington and Baton Rouge: when committed leaders stand up and work together, anything is possible. FEMA, meanwhile, stored these goods for two years without offering them to hurricane victims, and then quickly marked them as surplus.
“This agency has proven to be, time and again, deaf to the immediate needs on the ground in the aftermath and long-term recovery from a major disaster. I am planning a joint hearing for later this month of my Disaster Recovery Subcommittee and the House Homeland Security Committee to get to the bottom of how FEMA’s communications chain could again fail the Gulf Coast so tremendously.”
“We are thankful to the state of Arkansas for returning these necessary supplies that will help victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” said Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. “We are glad to deliver these supplies to Acadiana Outreach today and thank them for their invaluable service to the people of Southwest Louisiana who are struggling to recover from Hurricane Rita. We encourage other nonprofits working with hurricane victims to contact the state surplus office to sign up to possibly receive supplies to aid in their important work.”
“Rescuing these FEMA supplies comes on the heels of Senator Landrieu securing $73 million to provide safe housing for disabled, homeless citizens and her announcement of a $750,000 appropriation for our mixed-income housing development,” said Valerie Keller, CEO of Outreach Center. “We are so grateful to Senator Landrieu for her legacy of leadership.”
Congress last month passed an emergency spending bill that includes $73 million Sen. Landrieu secured for housing vouchers for seniors and disabled hurricane victims.
“The supplies that Arkansas returned today will help transform the new, affordable housing this law made a reality into real, livable homes,” Sen. Landrieu said.
CNN’s investigation last month revealed that 121 truckloads of household goods, including basic kitchen supplies, were stored for two years before being shifted by FEMA to other agencies, including the departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs as well as 16 other states. Upon learning of CNN’s investigation, Sen. Landrieu’s office immediately began working with the state and FEMA to recoup these critical supplies and send them to hurricane affected areas from Southwest to Southeast Louisiana.
Sen. Landrieu sent letters to each agency that the General Services Administration (GSA) identified as among the agencies that received the discarded FEMA supplies and asked them to conduct inventories of what they still had on hand. Arkansas is the second state after Texas to return goods to Louisiana, and the U.S. Postal Service also last week agreed to return supplies.
The supplies provided to Louisiana from Arkansas today include 240 sets of cookware, 216 sets of dinnerware, 66 boxes of pillows, 122 boxes of baby bottles and other household goods. Supplies in future shipments will be distributed by the Louisiana Federal Property Assistance Agency, in cooperation with the LRA, through community groups in the disaster-affected areas.
Sen. Landrieu also secured last week $750,000 for the Acadiana Outreach Center Smart Growth Mixed-Income Housing development. It is a public-private collaborative effort between the Acadiana Outreach Center, the University of Lafayette and a developer, McCormack Baron Salazar, to create a mixed-income community in downtown Lafayette to alleviate the affordable housing shortage in the area.
Landrieu continues to work to return household goods; will chair a joint hearing on FEMA discarding supplies.
LAFAYETTE – The State of Arkansas today returned a truckload of essential household goods that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had discarded despite their allocation to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A CNN investigation recently revealed the supplies had been among $85 million in materials meant for Gulf Coast hurricane survivors that FEMA gave away to other states and government agencies after sitting in a federal warehouse in Texas for two years. The supplies will be distributed by the non-profit Acadiana Outreach Center in Lafayette, La.
“Today we are righting a wrong and giving essential household supplies to Hurricane Rita survivors in Southwest Louisiana,” said Sen. Landrieu, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Disaster Recovery Subcommittee. “I want to thank the State of Arkansas for returning these desperately needed goods, the Louisiana Recovery Authority for its effort in recouping the supplies, and Valerie Keller and the Acadiana Outreach Center for stepping up to deliver these supplies to people in our communities that are in need.
“Today should be a lesson for FEMA, and a strong reminder to everyone in Washington and Baton Rouge: when committed leaders stand up and work together, anything is possible. FEMA, meanwhile, stored these goods for two years without offering them to hurricane victims, and then quickly marked them as surplus.
“This agency has proven to be, time and again, deaf to the immediate needs on the ground in the aftermath and long-term recovery from a major disaster. I am planning a joint hearing for later this month of my Disaster Recovery Subcommittee and the House Homeland Security Committee to get to the bottom of how FEMA’s communications chain could again fail the Gulf Coast so tremendously.”
“We are thankful to the state of Arkansas for returning these necessary supplies that will help victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” said Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. “We are glad to deliver these supplies to Acadiana Outreach today and thank them for their invaluable service to the people of Southwest Louisiana who are struggling to recover from Hurricane Rita. We encourage other nonprofits working with hurricane victims to contact the state surplus office to sign up to possibly receive supplies to aid in their important work.”
“Rescuing these FEMA supplies comes on the heels of Senator Landrieu securing $73 million to provide safe housing for disabled, homeless citizens and her announcement of a $750,000 appropriation for our mixed-income housing development,” said Valerie Keller, CEO of Outreach Center. “We are so grateful to Senator Landrieu for her legacy of leadership.”
Congress last month passed an emergency spending bill that includes $73 million Sen. Landrieu secured for housing vouchers for seniors and disabled hurricane victims.
“The supplies that Arkansas returned today will help transform the new, affordable housing this law made a reality into real, livable homes,” Sen. Landrieu said.
CNN’s investigation last month revealed that 121 truckloads of household goods, including basic kitchen supplies, were stored for two years before being shifted by FEMA to other agencies, including the departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs as well as 16 other states. Upon learning of CNN’s investigation, Sen. Landrieu’s office immediately began working with the state and FEMA to recoup these critical supplies and send them to hurricane affected areas from Southwest to Southeast Louisiana.
Sen. Landrieu sent letters to each agency that the General Services Administration (GSA) identified as among the agencies that received the discarded FEMA supplies and asked them to conduct inventories of what they still had on hand. Arkansas is the second state after Texas to return goods to Louisiana, and the U.S. Postal Service also last week agreed to return supplies.
The supplies provided to Louisiana from Arkansas today include 240 sets of cookware, 216 sets of dinnerware, 66 boxes of pillows, 122 boxes of baby bottles and other household goods. Supplies in future shipments will be distributed by the Louisiana Federal Property Assistance Agency, in cooperation with the LRA, through community groups in the disaster-affected areas.
Sen. Landrieu also secured last week $750,000 for the Acadiana Outreach Center Smart Growth Mixed-Income Housing development. It is a public-private collaborative effort between the Acadiana Outreach Center, the University of Lafayette and a developer, McCormack Baron Salazar, to create a mixed-income community in downtown Lafayette to alleviate the affordable housing shortage in the area.
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Photos compliments of Claire Taylor with The Advertiser
