Senate approves housing aid for Katrina victims

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Victims of Hurricane Katrina would
receive six months of U.S. aid to help them pay for housing
costs under legislation approved by the U.S. Senate on
Wednesday.

The measure, approved by voice vote, would provide $3.5
billion in federal funds for temporary rental assistance to
people living in the Gulf Coast who were hit by the hurricane
on August 29.

The initiative was attached to a spending bill for the
fiscal year starting on October 1 that would fund law
enforcement and other federal agencies.

While the House of Representatives has passed its own
version of the spending bill, it did so before Hurricane
Katrina hit Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and other Gulf
Coast areas.

Once the measure passes the Senate, probably this week,
differences between the two chambers’ bills will have to be
worked out.

The funds would help victims pay for relocation expenses,
rent, security deposits and utility fees. It also would provide
payments to public housing agencies.

There are estimates that more than 1 million people have
been displaced by the hurricane.

The U.S. government already has approved $62.3 billion in
emergency aid following the hurricane.

Since then, Congress has been looking at a range of
additional measures to help victims, prompting some lawmakers
to complain about a lack of coordination in legislative
efforts.