Last week, NLIHC President & CEO Sheila Crowley spoke at a joint meeting of the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition and the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness.

Up for discussion was recovery from Hurricane Irene, which took lives and did significant damage to homes and infrastructure in Vermont (and other states) despite having been downgraded to tropical storm strength by the time it reached the Green Mountain State.

As we reported in Memo to Members, additional disaster assistance funding became part of  negotiations over a continuing resolution (CR) on the budget.

Meanwhile, current funding for FEMA, the disaster assistance agency, is expected to last through December. The agency plans to limit its spending pending a final FY12 budget deal, meaning long-term projects, like infrastructure repairs stemming from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, may be put on hold.

Interested in housing recovery in the aftermath of storms like Irene? Learn about NLIHC’s disaster recovery policy work here.