FEMA extends hurricane hotel program(10 states until 1/7; 12/15 elsewhere)

[sabra]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10155566/

FEMA extends hurricane hotel program
Refugees can stay put in 10 states until Jan. 7; Dec. 15 deadline elsewhere

Stung by charges it is pushing hurricane victims out before the holidays, FEMA extended its hotel housing program Tuesday by a month in 10 states that have received victims of Katrina and Rita.

Evacuees in those states — Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, California, Tennessee, Arkansas and Nevada — now have until Jan. 7 before the Federal Emergency Management Agency stops paying their hotel bills. The deadline is shorter — Dec. 15 — for victims in all other states, said FEMA acting director R. David Paulison.

Last week, FEMA set a Dec. 1 deadline to stop hotel payments everywhere but Louisiana and Mississippi. But that plan drew sharp criticism from Congress, city and state officials and housing advocates who feared 15 days would not be enough time for evacuees to find stable housing.

“We want these families to be back in some semblance of normalcy,” Paulison told reporters. “We want them in decent housing. We want them out of these hotels and motels and into apartments.” That movement will take place gradually, he said.

[DRoseDARs]

1. Gee, how magnanimous of them. Meanwhile temp homes still sit idle.... nt

[geomon666]

2. Yeah what apartments you damn pigs?

Kicking them out on the street will be return to normalcy won't it? Bastards.

[Dora]

3. Here in Austin...

...many of the apartments used to house evacuees are far from the center of town and not on any public transit routes.

It's an abomination.

[Ian David]

7. Get them registered to vote. n/t

[DemoTex]

4. 12/15 pink slip. Compassionate conservatism hard at work.

Merry Fucking Christmas. If it were evacuees from a massive disaster in Highland Park or River Oaks, they would be propped-up, by sugar-daddy Bu$h, in the Four Seasons or the Mansion on Turtle Creek for as long as it took to rebuild their places.

[rodeodance]

6. Fema had just set a date with no after planning=Sound familiar?

[applegrove]

5. Duh! Seems like the spirit of Christmas was completely vacant

from Fema's minds.

[ismnotwasm]

8. So the 8000 here in Washington State

Are just shit out of luck I guess. Bastards. Unbelievable.

[SomewhereOutThere424]

9. 12/15, a day before my birthday.

I am beginning to believe I should avoid news that occurs on or around my birthday O.o it is significantly bad luck.