Ross To President: Issue Executive Order To Help Storm Victims

Press Release

U.S. Representative Mike Ross (AR-04) Wednesday urged President Bush to issue an Executive Order that would allow for the distribution of thousands of brand new manufactured homes stored in Hope, Arkansas, to the individuals and families who have lost their homes or whose homes were heavily damaged due to the storms that ripped across five southern states on February 5th and 6th, 2008.

A copy of Ross' letter to President Bush was also sent to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and to the Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. Below is the text of Ross' letter to President Bush:

Dear President Bush,

In light of the devastating storms that included more than 60 tornados and ripped across five southern states inflicting massive and widespread damage on February 5th and 6th 2008, I urge you to issue an Executive Order to allow all available temporary housing units under the authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to be immediately provided to all individuals and families who have lost their homes or whose homes were heavily damaged due to these fatal storms.

As you know, in my congressional district alone, FEMA is storing 7,245 brand new, fully furnished, never before used manufactured homes in Hope, Arkansas, which were initially purchased for those left homeless in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but never made it to them due to bureaucratic red tape. These homes are not to be confused with travel trailers that have been in the news recently, as being linked with formaldehyde contamination. These manufactured homes are regulated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which limits the use of formaldehyde-emitting products in manufactured homes and sets strict standards to protect occupants.

Therefore, these homes are safe, available and perfectly suited to be used by disaster victims of the five southern states in the wake of these recent storms. While these manufactured homes were originally purchased for hurricane victims, they have never been utilized, and instead, have sat idly by in Hope since 2005. Since that time, many other natural disasters have occurred where temporary housing units were desperately needed by those who lost their homes, but FEMA did not provide them.

Last Friday, former President Bill Clinton and I flew over the Hope airport in route to Texarkana, and as we looked out from the airplane window at this sea of manufactured homes we both shook our heads in disbelief that almost three years after Hurricane Katrina, these units have yet to be put to use. If you drove past these 7,245 manufactured homes that continue to sit in a pasture at the airport in Hope each week as I do, I believe you would agree that we must find a way to get them to disaster victims, which you can accomplish by issuing an Executive Order. I am providing you with a recent aerial photograph of these manufactured homes so that you can see exactly what former President Clinton and I saw last Friday.

Today is an opportunity for FEMA to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and work to restore the public's confidence by demonstrating its ability to react in a timely manner to emergencies for all of these families and communities in need. Therefore, I strongly urge you to take quick action by signing an Executive Order to instruct FEMA to transport these homes to the people that desperately need them as soon as possible.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. If I can be of any assistance in getting these manufactured homes on the road to those in need, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Sincerely,

Mike Ross

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