Gregoire: FEMA to end funding for Katrina, Rita victims' housing

NPI member MountOlympus reports:

I just received word from Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire that FEMA is trying to end funding nationwide for interim housing for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

I am working on getting more details. Here's what the governor had to say:

Gov. Chris Gregoire today protested the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) directive to end funding nationwide for interim housing for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. There are about 5,000 evacuees living in counties throughout Washington State.

"This is devastating news to people who have already been through too much," said Gov. Gregoire. "As governor I must protest in the strongest terms."

The policy ends FEMA's hotel funding on Dec. 1. In addition, no new interim housing leases will be signed after that date. All interim housing leases for evacuees will end in March, according to the FEMA directive.

State and local authorities were not given any warning of this directive or consulted in advance about how to transition hotel residents to other public housing.

The federal government proposes to notify hotel residents by slipping flyers under their doors at night. About 200 families are in King County hotels alone. Washington authorities now have nine business days to get people into interim housing, or these evacuees could be homeless again, the governor said.

"This policy is a cruel injustice to evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita," Gov. Gregoire said. "We started Operation Evergreen to welcome displaced Gulf Coast residents to our state to help them begin to rebuild their lives. Washington residents have stepped forward to assist their fellow Americans. We will continue towards that goal."

The governor said: "Washington State will not let the federal government make these people homeless again. I ask local jurisdictions and the non-profit and faith-based community to join me in demanding the federal government reverse this policy."

Pretty pathetic. They're going to slip flyers under their doors at night letting these people know that FEMA is done caring about them. We'll see if any other state and local officials have anything to say about this.

UPDATE: Keith Olbermann is covering this story tonight, via a report from NBC reporter Lisa Myers. It's his "#4 story" tonight on MSNBC's Countdown, which airs at 5 PM and 9 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST).

UPDATE II: The Associated Press has picked up the story; the Oregonian's website has it here.