WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-9) today applauded the approval by the Secretary of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) of the State's disaster recovery plan. With today's approval, nearly $15.6 million in emergency federal funding can be put to work helping Passaic County and other communities continue their long-term recovery from Hurricane Irene.
"Last year's storm wreaked havoc and devastation in Passaic County and throughout our state," said Senator Menendez. "We fought for the resources Passaic County and other communities need to fully recover, and with today's approval, those resources can be immediately put to work buying-out flood-prone and rebuilding infrastructure - making our communities and families stronger than before."
"I'm pleased to see theObama Administrationtaking fast action to moveforward withfederal disaster relief fundingandhelpPassaic County and other hard-hitcommunitiesrebuildfollowing last year's storms. Hurricane Irene and other natural disasters caused extreme damage throughout New Jersey, particularly in Passaic County, and now hard-working families and communities can use these federal funds tobuy out flood-prone homes, repair low-income housing, and revitalize their economies,"said Senator Lautenberg, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, which funds HUD.
"Flood mitigation and management has always been a top priority of mine because Passaic River Valley residents should not have to live in the constant fear that the next spring rainstorm will devastate their homes and businesses, or worse, put lives at risk," said Rep. Pascrell, a former member of the House Water Resources Subcommittee who served as one of eight co-chairs of the Congressional Hurricane Irene Coalition. "Since Hurricane Irene, the government has reacted swiftly by providing funding to continue to assist with buyouts in flood prone areas, providing nearly $20 million to Wayne alone to purchase 72 homes within the floodplain. With this HUD funding, we can now provide residents of Passaic County the assistance they have been desperately waiting for to help them rebuild their lives after Hurricane Irene."
Following Hurricane Irene in September of 2011,Senators Lautenberg andMenendezandsent a letterto Senate leadership calling for comprehensive federal disaster aid for HUD and other agencies. InNovember of 2011, Congress appropriated $300 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to support long-term disaster recovery in "the most impacted and distressed areas" throughout the nation. At that same time, Congress gave HUD the authority to allocate up to $100 million in additional CDBG funds to assist in the wake of last year's disasters. Secretary Shaun Donovan elected to exercise HUD's full authority by targeting the maximum amount of CDBG funding allowed toward helping states and local areas.
Today, HUD announced the approval of theState of New Jersey's disaster recovery plantotaling $15.6 million in emergency aid to help communities throughout New Jersey, specifically Passaic County, to recover fromHurricane Irene.These funds are intended to confront unmet housing, business and infrastructure needs beyond those addressed by other forms of public and private assistance. Using a combination of federal data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), HUD identified those states and local communities most impacted and requiring the greatest assistance to recover due to the devastating tornadoes in the Southeast and Missouri; the remnants of Hurricanes Irene and Lee in the Northeast and New England; severe flooding in parts of North Dakota; and destructive wildfires in Texas.
Earlier this year,the Senators announcedthe HUD allocation of$15,598,506 toNew Jersey pending approval of the State's disaster recovery plan.
###
