Harvey relief funds might take years, officials tell legislators

HOUSTON — It could be months, if not years, before southeast Texans and scores of counties and cities receive federal funds to pay for the long-term rebuilding and recovery of homes and communities battered by Hurricane Harvey’s epic rains.

Federal Emergency Management Agency money for short-term relief like debris removal and some house repairs is already flowing to people and government agencies. But state lawmakers were told Monday that Housing and Urban Development disaster relief funds, which includes money for extensive home repairs or rebuilds, could take seven to 32 months to work their way through bureaucratic processes and several layers of government agencies.

“It could be some time,” Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush told the House Urban Affairs Committee.

That panel and the House Appropriations Committee met simultaneously Monday on the University of Houston campus to discuss local, state and federal responses to the worst rainfall event in U.S. history. And some officials and experts said they are already starting to worry that countless Texans will lose personal wealth they’d accumulated, slide deeper into poverty or become homeless.

“We may have a new crisis on our hands,” State Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio.

This is a developing story that will be updated with more testimony from Monday’s hearings.