Feds pay most of $1.7B Texas has spent so far post-Harvey

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas had spent nearly $1.7 billion on Hurricane Harvey recovery through the end of October, with more than three-quarters of that coming from federal funds.

The nonpartisan Legislative Budget Board told a state Senate committee on Tuesday that federal funding accounted for more than $1.3 billion of what’s been spent post-Harvey so far.

That doesn’t account for $5 billion in additional, U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds being distributed via federal block grant programs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded $1.1 billion to the Texas land commissioner’s office to assist those who lost homes during the storm. The agency expects to spend $810 million of that during fiscal year 2018.

Republican Sen. Jane Nelson, who heads the committee, said “This is going to be a long and costly recovery.”