Evacuees Might Get Extensions for Hotel Bills
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HOUSTON — Federal officials tried to ease fears Thursday that thousands of Louisiana hurricane evacuees in Texas would be left homeless again after Dec. 1, the date the Federal Emergency Management Agency has said it will stop paying their hotel and motel bills.
“We are finding longer-term housing for all evacuees,” said Russ Knocke, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security. “That’s really a top priority.”
Houston Mayor Bill White, in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, said the Dec. 1 deadline was unreasonable given the huge number of evacuees still in hotels.
White spokesman Pat Trahan said the mayor talked Thursday with Michael Jackson, a Homeland Security deputy secretary, who appeared to be receptive to requests for extensions.
“We’re going to be taking a very careful look at the mayor’s letter and be responding to his concerns promptly,” Knocke said.
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