[FoCHAT] Road Home Shortfall Alert from CHAT: Please email, call, or fax today if you can

[Melanie Ehrlich]

Please send this message or some other similar message today if at all possible to help get the shortfall in Road Home funds mostly covered by Congress. 
   
  Legislation to do that with $3 billion added to Road Home funds may be voted on in Congress today and will be at the latest within a few business days.
   
   While we know that much still urgently needs to be fixed about the Road Home Program, we at CHAT are working on that and have been news (in writing, now we only have it orally) of  some important improvements within days. These contacts that we are asking you to make should not be about what's wrong with the program, only that we need the shortfall covered. Otherwise, we may be cutting our noses to spite our faces and hurting those in line for grants or FAIR resolution of mistakenly low awards.
   
  Please write or call today the following key Senators who need to be pursuaded. 
   
   
  Sen. Ted Stevens
  
Contact Information
Phone: 202-224-3004
Fax: 202-224-2354
Web: stevens.senate.gov
Office: 522 Hart Bldg., Washington, DC 20510-0201
   
  
Sen. Cochran (R-Miss)

Contact Information
Phone: 202-224-5054
Fax: 202-224-9450
Web: cochran.senate.gov
Office: 113 Dirksen Bldg., Washington, DC 20510-2402
   
   
  

Sen. McConnell (R-Ky)

Contact Information
Phone: 202-224-2541
Fax: 202-224-2499
Web: mcconnell.senate.gov
Office: 361A Russell Bldg., Washington, DC 20510-1702
   
   
  

Sen. Bond (R-Mo)

Contact Information
Phone: 202-224-5721
Fax: 202-224-8149
Web: bond.senate.gov
Office: 274 Russell Bldg., Washington, DC 20510-2503
   
   
  

Sen. Gregg

Contact Information
Phone: 202-224-3324
Fax: 202-224-4952
Web: gregg.senate.gov
Office: 393 Russell Bldg., Washington, DC 20510-2904

  If you write, here is suggested text that you may modify however you like or write your own. Only please remember, this is the time to talk only about how the Road Home shortfall needs to be filled by Congress. Come to our CHAT meetings or join or email networks
   
  information about meeting and easy, no-dues email network joining at
  http://chat.thinknola.com  or type in Citizens Road Home Action Team into your search engine
   
   to talk about what needs overhauling in the Road Home Program and at ICF.
   
  Suggested text:
   
   
  Dear Senator GIVE NAME:
   
  I urge you to vote in favor of the Continuing Resolution currently attached to the 2008 Defense Appropriations Conference Report, which will provide $3 billion for Louisiana’s Road Home program.
   
  Without the critical funding provided in this legislation, the Road Home will run out of money by mid-January leaving thousands of homeowners without the funds they need to rebuild, causing a dramatic setback to our recovery.  This cannot happen.
   
  In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina left 80% of New Orleans under water when the federal levees failed, destroyed communities across the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast, and displaced hundreds of thousands of our citizens.  Less than a month later Hurricane Rita devastated our Southwestern coastline, literally wiping away several small towns in Louisiana and Texas.  This was the worst disaster in American history, and it left us facing the greatest American rebuilding challenge since Reconstruction.  
   
  As of mid-November, the Road Home has provided funding to nearly 70,000 homeowners across Louisiana in hurricane-devastated areas.  However, in less than 50 days from today, the Road Home will run out of money, leaving tens of thousands of homeowners and families without the critical funding they need to rebuild their homes.
   
  The original outlay of funding was insufficient and the damage was underestimated by FEMA.With a disaster of this historic magnitude, few could accurately predict just how large our recovery needs would be.
   
  The President’s pledges to do whatever it takes to rebuild Louisiana, however well-meaning, are simply going unfulfilled.
   
  We need your help.  This funding will address most of the Road Home shortfall and ensure that there are no unnecessary disruptions in the program.  Please vote in favor of the Continuing Resolution currently attached to the 2008 Defense Appropriations Conference Report.
   
  The people of Louisiana are counting on you.
   
   
  YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS
   
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