MEDIA ADVISORY AND PUBLIC NOTICE

Congressman Al Green, Congressman Sylvester Turner, Joined by Texas Housers Representatives Will Host A Press Conference Concerning HUD's Findings of Discrimination In The Allocation of Hurricane Harvey Funds – Houstonians Impacted

(Houston, TX) — HUD has alleged that the GLO intentionally discriminated on the basis of race in the design and operation of its competition to award Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds following Hurricane Harvey. On Wednesday, January 29, 2025, Congressman Al Green, Congressman Sylvester Turner, and Texas Housers will host a press conference to discuss the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) recent referral of a complaint against the Texas General Land Office (GLO) to the Department of Justice. 

These condemnatory findings raise significant questions about the fairness of federal disaster relief funds sent to Texas. The GLO’s processes have been shown to favor predominantly white communities while neglecting African American and Hispanic communities, especially those severely affected by natural disasters. Major cities such as Houston, Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Corpus Christi—home to significant populations of color—were left without any portion of the $1.1 billion allocated for the GLO’s Hurricane Harvey CDBG-MIT fund competition, despite being heavily impacted by hurricanes. 

Congressman Al Green stated, “For too long, equitable access to recovery resources has been wittingly or unwittingly withheld from communities of color, leaving these communities struggling to recover. The DOJ has a duty to investigate HUD’s shocking allegations of intentional discrimination. However, on January 22, 2025, the Trump administration ordered the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division not to file any new complaints, amicus briefs, or other court papers until further notice; hence, the question is whether the Justice Department will allow Houstonians to continue to suffer from Hurricane Harvey by simply not acting on these claims of invidious discrimination. We must challenge this injustice obstructing funds appropriated for long-suffering minority communities. Our moral imperative is to fight for every person, regardless of race, to have access to the federal funding needed to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster.”

Click here to watch the Facebook Live Stream of the event.