Senators Markey and Warren Introduce Bill For Disaster Housing Assistance Program

Eight United States Senators, led by Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, introduced the “Housing Victims of Major Disasters Act of 2018” on May 31.  The bill would require FEMA to enter into an interagency agreement with the HUD to implement the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP), which would provide temporary rental assistance and wrap-around services to those displaced by Hurricane Maria and future disasters.

The State House News Service recently reported that federal support for evacuees from Puerto Rico still living in Massachusetts following last year’s hurricanes is due to expire at the end of June. In a memo to municipal leaders, Governor Charlie Baker warned "if evacuees currently staying in federal- and state-funded hotels choose not to return home to Puerto Rico and are unsuccessful in finding more stable housing (whether independently or with family and friends) by June 30th, other housing options may be limited."

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Massachusetts received the third-most evacuees of all 48 continental states.  The News Service reported that according to the Baker Administration roughly 1,900 households totaling nearly 4,600 people are registered for FEMA disaster assistance and are currently living in Massachusetts.  Of those households, 327 are still living in hotels with FEMA support. Another 134 households in hotels are getting assistance through the Massachusetts-Red Cross partnership, which will also end on June 30.

In an op-ed published by MassLive, Senator Warren and Senator Markey wrote, “FEMA is putting hundreds of families in Massachusetts at risk of homelessness. Existing state and federal housing assistance programs are already oversubscribed and can’t pick up the slack. These families have nowhere else to turn.”

The bill will be formally introduced this week.