Source: Yahoo News
Apparently, only 11 states have put in a request for aid, and the rest who are eligible (which would be Gulf states and any state housing disaster victims...so we're talking about quite a few states here) are unwilling to do the same because "it's too much effort".
WASHINGTON--Nearly $2 billion in federal disaster aid for Katrina evacuees is sitting unclaimed more than six months after lawmakers approved the emergency funding.
But only 11 states have made requests totaling $25.5 million in aid so far, according to the Health and Human Services Department. Several states said they didn't want the bureaucratic hassle, or weren't certain if displaced families qualified for aid under the program.
It's unclear how many displaced families are missing out on the funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Several states say they are opting to provide assistance out of their own pockets, while in other cases families with higher incomes who are eligible aren't seeking the aid.
Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs, an alliance of religious and other national groups that advocates for poor people, said some states may be finding excuses to request money because serving the poor is "not enough of a priority."
"The people we are talking about are those in New Orleans whose incomes were not high, but they weren't rock-bottom poor," she said. "Now they've lost everything, so they ought to get this help. That is the population that I think has fallen through the cracks."
Perhaps a small suggestion is in order for these other states: don't look a gift horse in the mouth. When the federal government decides to actually offer you some money to help those in need, try taking it to do just that. I'm willing to bet that the folks who need this the most are getting a little tired of the "Red Tape Wars".
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