As a civilized society we have a duty and obligation to help the hurricane victims. The NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus are already talking about a relief fund be set up like the one for 9/11 families. My concern is are we setting a precedent for future events? Who gets to decide who the recipients will be? Will it have to be a category 4/5 hurricane, a 5.0 earthquake, Mt St Helens erupting, a dirty bomb on a NY subway? I am not saying those in need should not be helped but where does it end? Let the flaming from the bleeding hearts begin but know that I very much support helping all of the victims. I would just rather see it be in the way of helping them find work instead of another government handout.
**Katrina Victims to Get $2K Debit Cards **
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal government plans to begin doling out debit cards worth $2,000 each to adult victims of Hurricane Katrina, The Associated Press has learned.
Homeland Security Department Secretary Michael Chertoff descibed the plan in a conference call with state officials Wednesday morning. The unprecedented cash card program initially will benefit stranded people who have been moved to major rescue centers such as the Houston Astrodome.
“They are going to start issuing debit cards, $2,000 per adult, today (Wednesday) at the Astrodome,” said Kathy Walt, a spokeswoman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
The cards could be used to buy food, transportation, gas and other essentials, according to a state official who was on the call and requested anonymity because the program has not been publicly announced.
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The available money - $13 billion in all - will be distributed from the federal Disaster Relief Fund, said FEMA spokeswoman Natalie Rule. She said FEMA was setting up registration centers in shelters in Houston and Dallas where evacuees could obtain the cards.
FEMA is working to set up similar registration centers in other shelters across the country, Rule said, and evacuees can also get the debit cards by calling 1-800-621-FEMA or going to the agency’s web site at http://www.fema.gov .
The cards will be issued on a one-per-household basis, Rule said, and are open only to victims who were forced from their homes during the hurricane and its aftermath. As a safeguard against fraud, FEMA will use aerial photographs of devastated areas to verify that the refugees were, indeed, forced from their homes in cases where they cannot provide documents to prove their losses or identities.
“We’ve got a huge population of people that have been evacuated with very little by way of possessions and we have to have a way to make sure these people can function,” Rule said. “If there are those who are out there to cheat the system, that is going to be very disappointing. But the main goal is to get the aid out.”
In Boston, Gov. Mitt Romney said the cards will be offered “to people in shelters as well as people who are not in shelters but who have evacuated the area and need help.” He said the hope is the cards will encourage people to leave shelters voluntarily.
It’s unclear how much the debit card program will cost the government, but it’s likely to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars since hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.