AUSTIN — AUSTIN - Texas General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush is pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded nearly $19 million in additional funding to the state of Texas to assist in long-term recovery efforts following severe flooding events that occurred in 2015 and 2016.  Of the total new funding, the state of Texas will be awarded $18 million, which will be administered by the General Land Office's Community Development and Revitalization (CDR) program. Additionally, a direct allocation of $978,000 will be awarded to the city of San Marcos.

"I would like to thank HUD Secretary Ben Carson and our Texas Congressional Delegation who worked diligently to secure additional aid to help Texas communities that are still recovering from tragic flooding," said Commissioner Bush. "More than three-quarters of our state's population lives in one of the counties affected by these historic floods. Because the U.S. has experienced fewer disasters than anticipated this year, additional funding is available for continued recovery efforts in Texas."

On May 5th, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2017, which included $400 million to support recovery from major disasters in 2015 and later. This most recent award comes because of the CAA, which directed HUD to allocate $263.3 million for future disasters. Because this year produced fewer disasters than anticipated, the remaining funds may now be awarded among previously affected communities.

The CDR program of the GLO administers the Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) on behalf of the state of Texas. Funds totaling approximately $4 billion have been allocated for recovery following Hurricanes Rita, Dolly, and Ike, the 2011 wildfires, and the 2015 and 2016 floods. While the current allocation of CDBG-DR funds is well below the previously identified $2 billion in unmet needs, the GLO and the CDR program remain committed to helping Texans recover in the most effective and efficient means. 

These grants can be used for a wide variety of activities including housing redevelopment, business assistance and infrastructure repair. HUD will publish a notice in the Federal Register that will define the criteria for the use of these funds and CDR will keep impacted communities informed on developments.

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