Ben Carson, secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Monday approved the allocation of more than $5 billion to Texas to go toward long-term recovery from the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.
In a press release, Carson said HUD would help in any way it can “to make the state whole again” as Texans work to rebuild after the hurricane.
The recovery plan includes $1.1 billion in aid for home reconstruction, and $1.1 billion each for the City of Houston and Harris County to go toward “unmet recovery needs.”
Those in need of the funds won’t begin to receive them until months from now, the Houston Chronicle reports. Houston’s city council is still developing its plan to distribute the federal aid money, and the General Land Office, which designed the plan, still has to meet other requirements, such as a completing an environmental review, before homeowners can be approved for assistance programs.
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said in a press release that the allocation of these funds is happening more quickly than with previous major disaster packages, though he conceded that “it can never be fast enough.”
“The recovery from a storm the size of Harvey has required a Texas-sized coordinated response,” Bush said.
