$4.3B in Harvey aid for Texas is stalled in Trump administration red tape, state leaders say

FILE - In this Aug. 4, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters in Washington. The federal government has, for now, enough disaster aid money to deal with the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, but the ongoing storm appears sure to require a multibillion-dollar recovery package as did Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) less FILE - In this Aug. 4, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters in Washington. The federal government has, for now, enough disaster aid money to ... more Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, STF / Associated Press Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, STF / Associated Press Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close $4.3B in Harvey aid for Texas is stalled in Trump administration red tape, state leaders say 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

More than $4 billion that was supposed help low-income and moderate-income Texans improve their Hurricane-Harvey-damaged homes is mired in bureaucratic red tape with little hope of getting to the state in time for the next storm season, which starts in June.

The state has been waiting for almost a year for the money, and some state officials like Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush are fed up and calling on President Donald Trump to intervene.

“This continued delay is resulting in homeowner distress, community degradation and increased costs to the federal government due to subsequent damaging events,” Bush said in a letter to Trump on Wednesday. “This is unacceptable.”

Bush also told Trump that by not moving quicker the “federal bureaucracy is slowing recovery in Texas” from Harvey.

The money is intended for mitigation work to better prepare homes and neighborhoods against futures storms like Harvey. That could include raising homes higher or improving drainage in neighborhoods notorious for flooding.

Bush said the problem is somewhere between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Office of Management and Budget, which are supposed to set guidelines on how the funding can be used. Bush told the Texas Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday that when he tries to track down the latest on the rules, the two agencies essentially blame each other for the delay.

The White House responded Wednesday with a statement from spokesman Judd Deere.

“The administration is encouraged by the overall recovery made in Texas from Hurricane Harvey and recognizes there is more work ahead,” he said. “Senior administration officials recently met with local leaders to further streamline recovery efforts, and we will continue to implement a robust plan to ensure hardworking taxpayer dollars help make Texas stronger than before the storm.”

Next week will mark the one year anniversary of congressional authorization of the $4.3 billion for Texas, yet Bush said he still has no idea when Texas will see the money.

“We’re frustrated,” Bush told the the Texas Senate on Wednesday.

For subscribers: Houston region finally poised for influx of billions in Harvey housing funds

Members of Congress are equally frustrated. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, said the delegation was promised the holdup would be resolved in early December, but clearly that did not happen. She said since then it’s been hard to track down anyone at the two federal agencies to explain why Texas is still waiting for money that was promised almost a year ago.

“All we want is someone to answer the phone,” Jackson Lee said.

She said turnover of employees within the two agencies is complicating the process.

Despite the delays, Jackson Lee said the delegation will keep pressing.

“We are going to get that money,” she said.

The Houston delegation in Congress has drafted its own letter to send to the administration similarly asking the federal government to hurry up. Last month, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn spoke on the telephone with HUD Secretary Ben Carson making a similar request.

Bush said he’s growing more concerned as the state gets closer to another hurricane season.

“At this pace, we won’t be able to get these dollars before this hurricane season,” Bush said.

Making matters worse is the partial federal government shutdown. HUD was one of the agencies shuttered for over a month.

Bush said he sent letters earlier to Carson and the then-director of OMB, Mick Mulvaney, who is now Trump’s acting chief of staff. But he said neither has responded, forcing him to write directly to Trump.

“Show us the dignity of a response,” Bush said. “Send me back a letter. Call me.”

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Texas has already collected another $5 billion through HUD that was approved in June 2018. That included $1.1 billion for Harris County and $1.2 billion for Houston. Another $2.7 billion went to the other 48 counties hit by Harvey.

State senators also vented on Wednesday about the slow pace of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is charged with making repairs to dams and reservoirs. More than $17 billion was sent to the Army Corps, but Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said he worries that not enough is happening.

“We’ve got to know where to go,” Bettencourt said. “I’m through guessing at it. I don’t want to know where the money could be. I don’t know where that $17 billion is.”

jeremy.wallace@chron.com