On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it would send $616 million in grants to help Florida recover from Hurricane Irma using funds from its Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program.
These funds come from the the Continuing Appropriations Act that President Donald Trump signed into law in September and the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act which set aside $7.4 billion in CDBG-DR funds for disaster relief efforts. HUD intends to use more CDBG-DR funds to help communities across the nation recover from Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria and wildfires impacting California.
U.S. HUD Sec. Ben Carson made the announcement on Tuesday.
“President Trump and the entire federal family stand with the people of Florida to help them recover from this devastating storm as quickly as possible,” Carson said. “HUD and the state of Florida will work together to speed the rebuilding of seriously damaged homes and businesses that lack the resources to recover on their own if not for these recovery dollars.”
“I want to thank HUD and the Trump administration for supporting those whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Irma,” said Gov. Rick Scott. "These funds will help Floridians rebuild their lives following the devastation of Hurricane Irma. We must continue to work to ensure everyone impacted by this storm can fully recover.”
From his perch as chairman of the U.S. House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, U.S. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., was instrumental in securing the funds and he has been hosting briefings for members of the Appropriations Committee about HUD and U.S. Department of Transportation programs to help in disaster recovery.
On Tuesday, Diaz-Balart praised Carson’s efforts.
"I am glad I was able to work with HUD Secretary Carson and my congressional colleagues to secure these funds for Florida,” Diaz-Balart said. “Parts of the Sunshine State remain in recovery from the 2017 Hurricane Season, and these funds will help Floridians in the midst of that process. I will continue to work with Secretary Carson and my colleagues to ensure we provide adequate resources to address the broad range of recovery needs for our state, including housing, economic recovery, and infrastructure repair.”
READ MORE FROM SUNSHINE STATE NEWS
Rick Scott Gets High Marks on Hurricane Irma
Scott, Putnam Make Pitch for Federal Aid after Hurricane Irma
