Today a federal judge ruled that FEMA will have to immediately begin paying back rent to thousands of hurricane Rita and Katrina survivors.

Judge Richard J. Leon of federal district court in the District of Columbia, wrote that FEMA must also improve its appeals process. Evacuees have long complained of mountains of red tape, that make it almost impossible to get help.

from here

“It is unfortunate, if not incredible, that FEMA and its counsel could not devise a sufficient notice system to spare these beleaguered evacuees the added burden of federal litigation to vindicate their constitutional rights,” the judge wrote.

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Acorn, a housing advocacy group who brought the suit says the ruling has the potential to affect 11,000 families.

from here

In a process that Judge Leon called “Kafkaesque,” families received notification letters that contained “reason codes” instead of actual reasons, were given different information each time they called FEMA’s help line, or found that FEMA had erroneously determined that their home had “insufficient damage” or that someone else in their household (often a roommate) had already applied for assistance.

Bill White, the mayor of Houston, where many evacuees wound up, was so outraged by the ineligibility rulings that he sent a team of building inspectors to New Orleans to prove that the evacuees’ original homes were uninhabitable.

“Some families were told ‘Reason for denial: Other,’ and there’s no explanation for what other means,” Mr. Kirkpatrick said. Some families received two letters listing two different reason codes.

The judge said that FEMA’s lack of clarity amounted to a deprivation of due process rights, pointing out that FEMA itself admitted that thousands of families had been incorrectly ruled ineligible.

Its really rather amazing just how negligent the federal government has been during this whole ordeal. With hecuva job Browny, blundering his way through the storm, and the media blitz (with no actual action) by Bush himself, and now this.

Say what you will about the responsibility of the state or local level (there are ample failure to point out there as well) FEMA, and the Bush administration have dismally failed the American people. I shudder to think what would happen if another large storm, earthquake, drought, or flood should happen. Let alone any man made disasters.

For the people that did manage to cut through the torrent of red tape and get FEMA provided housing, they are entitled to reinstatement of rent payment and reimbursement for three month’s worth of back rent, the judge ruled. All families deemed ineligible, will get a more thorough explanation of the reason and how to appeal it.

FEMA‘s response.

“FEMA’s emergency sheltering initiative was conceived as a compassionate but short-term solution to shelter evacuees. By law, sheltering assistance can be provided for only a limited period of time. As a result, it was always our intention to transition eligible evacuees into the Individuals and Households Program as soon as possible.

However, some individuals and households do not qualify for rental assistance through the Individuals and Households program. Because FEMA believes some applicants may have been unaware of either the appeal process or the applicability of the initial ineligibility determination, the Agency sent out follow-up letters which explained the process. FEMA then provided those applicants an additional 60 days in which to appeal, and listed the requirements for additional assistance. Additionally, FEMA established a team dedicated to handling appeals on an expedited basis and initiated calls to applicants in an effort to help them understand what documentation was needed to process their case.

At this time, FEMA is considering the Court’s order in consultation with the Department of Justice, determining how the Agency will proceed.”

– Aaron Walker, FEMA National Spokesman