Thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees whose federal housing funding was cut off this summer may be eligible for renewed payments, but face a tight deadline to seek them.
Under a court order, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent letters to about 4,000 storm victims in Texas last week, explaining why they were deemed no longer eligible for aid. A federal judge ruled the original letters unconstitutional because they contained only hard-to-decipher computer codes and agency jargon.
With the new letters, storm victims can appeal the decision to FEMA and may be eligible for renewed housing payments of about $750 a month.
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"This is not going to be a run-out-the-clock operation," Leon said. "I have no reason to believe FEMA wants that, but if this court gets the impression for one second that FEMA is trying to run the clock out, this court is not going to tolerate that."
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