WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:01.729 --> 00:00:06.409 Julia Orduña: I'm Julia Orduña, Southeast Texas regional director for Texas Housers. 00:00:06.739 --> 00:00:10.279 I lead our work in disaster recovery from our Houston office. 00:00:10.819 --> 00:00:16.909 With last Friday's ruling, GLO has been found in violation of the Title VI of the 00:00:16.909 --> 00:00:23.224 Civil Rights Act of 1964, a law enacted to enforce the Equal Protection Clause of 00:00:23.224 --> 00:00:26.584 the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. 00:00:27.124 --> 00:00:32.584 The Act provides that, "No person in the United States shall, on grounds 00:00:32.584 --> 00:00:38.674 of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participating in, 00:00:39.004 --> 00:00:44.644 be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under 00:00:44.644 --> 00:00:49.074 any program or activity receiving federal funding assistance." 00:00:49.754 --> 00:00:54.554 The GLO has accepted $4 billion in federal funds to provide critical public 00:00:54.554 --> 00:00:57.494 improvements, especially flood protection. 00:00:58.004 --> 00:01:02.624 When the State applied for these funds, it certified to the federal government that 00:01:02.624 --> 00:01:08.684 the State would administer the funds in compliance with the 1964 Civil Rights Act. 00:01:09.134 --> 00:01:11.384 The GLO has failed to do so. 00:01:12.044 --> 00:01:17.024 Texas Housers and the Northeast Action Collective work with many low- and 00:01:17.024 --> 00:01:21.674 moderate- income families who still have not recovered from hurricane damage to 00:01:21.674 --> 00:01:23.834 their homes and their neighborhoods. 00:01:24.164 --> 00:01:29.504 Many members of one dedicated group, the Harvey Forgotten Survivors Caucus, are 00:01:29.504 --> 00:01:35.264 still waiting for the GLO to process their home repair applications more than four 00:01:35.264 --> 00:01:37.534 and one half years after Hurricane Harvey. 00:01:38.254 --> 00:01:43.019 Their neighborhoods were also denied funding for desperately needed 00:01:43.019 --> 00:01:47.849 flood protection as a result of GLO's discriminatory administration 00:01:48.059 --> 00:01:50.339 of these federal mitigation funds. 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:56.699 Texans who are frustrated and angry with the GLO over the agency's administration 00:01:56.919 --> 00:02:02.459 of federal disaster funds are heartened by the results of HUD's investigation 00:02:02.459 --> 00:02:05.669 to decide to hold the GLO accountable. 00:02:05.999 --> 00:02:11.789 We pray that the GLO moves forward quickly to undo past wrongs and make federal 00:02:11.789 --> 00:02:16.889 disaster mitigation assistance fairly available to those who most need it. 00:02:17.549 --> 00:02:22.649 We urge HUD to expedite their examination of all aspects of GLO's 00:02:22.709 --> 00:02:27.689 administration of the federal funds that have discriminated against low- 00:02:27.689 --> 00:02:33.119 and moderate- income communities of color, especially the failure of the GLO 00:02:33.269 --> 00:02:39.689 to effectively administer billions in federal funds to provide affordable rental 00:02:39.689 --> 00:02:42.389 housing to Hurricane Harvey survivors. 00:02:42.854 --> 00:02:47.384 Most Hurricane Harvey survivors who are renters are people of color. 00:02:47.804 --> 00:02:52.244 The GLO has massively underfunded reconstruction of rental housing 00:02:52.484 --> 00:02:56.744 and the housing GLO has funded, generally have rents that are 00:02:56.774 --> 00:02:59.264 unaffordable to disaster survivors. 00:02:59.744 --> 00:03:04.814 The same racial and national origin discrimination that HUD found the 00:03:05.214 --> 00:03:10.904 GLO engaged in when it administered disaster mitigation funds has also 00:03:10.904 --> 00:03:16.274 been shouldered by renters of color in the GLO's disaster recovery programs. 00:03:16.874 --> 00:03:22.214 We ask that HUD promptly complete its ongoing investigations of civil 00:03:22.214 --> 00:03:27.209 rights complaints we and others have raised about the City of Houston's 00:03:27.209 --> 00:03:32.669 failure to equitably provide flood protection and other essential public 00:03:32.669 --> 00:03:37.709 infrastructure to African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods in the city. 00:03:38.279 --> 00:03:42.899 HUD's ruling in the matter of GLO's discrimination in disaster 00:03:42.909 --> 00:03:46.929 mitigation funds is only half of the ongoing discrimination. 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:53.529 We need Houston as well as other Texas cities and counties to act fairly, just 00:03:53.529 --> 00:03:56.679 as we demand such of our state government. 00:03:57.369 --> 00:04:02.649 All we want and what every Texan deserves is for their government 00:04:02.649 --> 00:04:06.889 to allocate federal funds in a non-discriminatory manner. 00:04:07.589 --> 00:04:13.989 This has been law since 1964, when the Civil Rights Act was passed. 00:04:14.529 --> 00:04:18.159 We thank HUD for their investigation of this case. 00:04:18.489 --> 00:04:23.259 We are ready to work with HUD and GLO to quickly resolve this matter 00:04:23.409 --> 00:04:28.779 so Texans can equally and fairly be protected from future disaster.