The ongoing actions of FEMA in evicting Katrina and Rita evacuees from temporary housing in New Orleans and around the country are illegal and must be stopped immediately.

The massive evictions of 20,000 from 8,000 hotel rooms that were scheduled for March 1, 2006 and have been delayed to March 15 must not be allowed. These evictions would come on top of evictions from 4,400 hotel rooms on February 13, and at a time when 98,000 requests for mobile homes have been made, but only 41,000 are currently occupied by families.

The survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita should be granted an indefinite extension in federal, state and local housing assistance until such time as they obtain affordable, habitable housing.

FEMA is mandated by the Stafford Act to provide Housing for disaster victims for eighteen months. The attempt to cut off shelter programs is illegal as well as immoral.

The Stafford Act requires that transitional housing and rental assistance must be provided locally to the survivor's workplace. Trailers hours outside of New Orleans, LA are neither feasible nor acceptable.

Congress must increase staffing and funding for inspections and enforcement of OSHA and federal environmental laws and regulations to ensure that workers and residents work and live in a safe environment in the Gulf Region.

The money that has been raised and pledged to the recovery belongs to the people, not the corporations. Homeowners need the grants to rebuild, not loans. Give the corporations the loans – they were insured, and could afford to repay.

A national public works jobs program must be funded and implemented immediately giving priority to the residents of the Gulf region and all sections of the country with unemployment rates of 30% or higher.

The Katrina/Rita evacuees databases held by FEMA & the Red Cross should be made public, to enable evacuees to find each other and supporters to provide assistance.

Katrina/Rita Relief Service Centers should be established with centralized information for coordination of government benefits and services.

Federal, state, and municipal elected officials must pass emergency legislation that would reaffirm all of the demands listed above, including ensuring that no Katrina/Rita evacuee living is evicted from transitional housing.

Justice for Katrina and Rita survivors NOW!

Sincerely,
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