Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher On How Houston Could Recover Quicker From Floods And Hurricanes
It’s been a long two years for many people who suffered losses when Harvey flooded Houston. Now, there are more people in need of assistance following the recent floods from Tropical Storm Imelda.
But why are people having to wait so long for help from the federal government? We posed that question to west Houston Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, a Democrat who was elected last year to represent the 7th Congressional District. She defeated longtime Republican incumbent John Culberson. Much of her first year in office has been spent working with constituents who are still recovering, along with local governments that are seeking funds for flood control projects.
Fletcher said the first bill she introduced in Congress is something called the HELP Act. It assists local governments by allowing them to start flood control projects on their own without jeopardizing potential funding from FEMA.
“For example, there are projects that the city had identified or Harris County Flood Control had identified and wanted to do,” explained Fletcher. “But if they started the project it would be considered a project in progress and ineligible for FEMA funding. So they put in applications two years ago for certain projects like the Inwood Golf Course project and some of the other projects that have now been approved. But that process took two years.”
Read more: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/in-depth/2019/11/11/351410/how-can-houstonians-recover-quicker-from-floods-and-hurricanes/
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