AUSTIN — Today Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush asked U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson to ensure uninterrupted processing of ongoing Hurricane Harvey rebuilding funds in the case of a federal government shutdown. The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is the state agency tasked with administering more than $5 billion in Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for Hurricane Harvey housing recovery across the affected region.

"As the Texas General Land Office continues to work with our local government partners in the ongoing Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts, continuity in access to this funding is vital," said Commissioner Bush. "Today I reached out to Sec. Carson to raise this concern and ensure that there is adequate staff excepted from a possible furlough to provide continuity in this critical ongoing disaster recovery mission. I remain committed to ensuring all federal, state and local agencies work together to administer housing recovery dollars as effectively and efficiently as possible."

In accordance with HUD's Contingency Plan for Possible Lapse in Appropriations 2018, the Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) will "Continue Disaster Recovery Assistance Programs funded through multi-year appropriations." The GLO has begun administering several programs to address remaining unmet housing need resulting from the most damaging storm ever to make landfall in Texas. Today construction began on the first two homes being rebuilt through the Homeowner Assistance Program - less than a month after the application process began. The GLO is also moving forward with meeting federal requirements necessary to rebuild more than 2,700 affordable rental units across the affected region. Ensuring continuity in the funding reimbursement process ensures that these programs and more will continue to advance without creating a burden for the state and local partners.

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