New Jersey’s federal and state officials fear the state may lose out on much-needed Sandy recovery funds as other states compete for a share of the $16 billion congressional aid package passed in early 2013.
More than three-quarters of the funding, which was cut to $15.2 billion as a result of federal sequestration, has already been awarded to New Jersey, New York and disaster impacted states across the country.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is disbursing the funds in the form of Disaster Recovery Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), said the fate of the remaining $3.5 billion remains undecided. They said the top priority is to work with state and local officials to address the remaining unmet needs of those affected by natural disasters, officials said.
However, no decisions have been made regarding programming or allocations of disaster funding.
Responding to media reports that the remaining funds could be divvied among states not impacted by Sandy as part of a nationally competitive grant program, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6) said he will fight to ensure the money stays in New Jersey.
“It is shocking that members of Congress from other areas of the country who opposed the relief plan and delayed the funding New Jerseyans needed so desperately to recover are angling to redirect Sandy aid funding to their regions,” he said in a statement.
“Sandy funds must be used for Sandy recovery, and not one penny of those funds should be diverted.”
The grant funds were authorized in the wake of the storm as part of a federal supplemental appropriations bill designed to “improve and streamline disaster assistance for [superstorm] Sandy and for other disasters.”
The grants may be used for disaster relief, long-term recovery, rebuilding and economic revitalization in “the most impacted and distressed areas” that experienced a major disaster in 2011, 2012 or 2013.
While the majority of the funds — nearly $10.5 billion — has gone toward Sandy recovery efforts in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, more than $1 billion has been allocated to states such as Missouri and Colorado that have experienced other disasters.
All CDBG grant awards since the passage of the Sandy aid bill have been publicly announced, but members of Congress have not raised any concerns until now, according to an HUD spokesperson.
Pallone said he plans to speak with HUD Secretary Shaun Donavan this week to discuss the need for a comprehensive review of New Jersey’s lingering needs following Sandy, which caused an estimated $37 billion in damage across the state.
“HUD officials appear to be under the mistaken notion that they are required to spend some of the Sandy aid package in regions of the country not affected by superstorm Sandy,” he said. “There is no provision in the law forcing HUD to divert funds to areas outside of the Sandy-affected states.”
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and two other New Jersey congressmen have also pledged to reach out to HUD.
On April 24, state legislators Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, Sen. Jennifer Beck and Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (all R-Monmouth) announced plans to co-sponsor resolutions in both houses urging Congress to block any potential diversion of Sandy funds. “No other state that has been the victim of disaster on the scale of Sandy has had to jump through the hoops that New Jersey had to for federal aid,” the legislators said in a joint statement. “Now, HUD wants to take away more than a billion of federal Sandy disaster assistance while thousands of our residents and business owners are still waiting for help. That’s just wrong.”
HUD has awarded nearly $3.3 billion in CDBG funds to New Jersey since the storm. The state received $1.8 billion last year, allocating most to housing restoration and recovery programs administered by the state Department of Community Affairs.
New Jersey is expected to receive an additional $1.4 billion in May.
New York City and the state of New York have been awarded a combined $7 billion in grant funds, while Connecticut has been awarded nearly $138 million.
The city of Joplin, Mo., which suffered a catastrophic tornado in 2011, has been awarded $113 million from the supplemental aid package. Colorado, which sustained severe flooding and mudslides in September, has been awarded nearly $63 million.
HUD is currently administering a regional mitigation competition called Rebuild by Design, which tasked 10 teams of international experts with designing new, resiliency-based plans for Sandy-impacted communities across New York and New Jersey.
Competition officials say the winning plans, which are expected to be selected by Donovan in the coming weeks, would be primarily funded by the final round of CDBG grants.