Appeals Court Allows FEMA to Hold Off on Funding

Judges Do Not Halt Order Requiring Agency to Explain Why Hurricane Victims' Payments Stopped

A federal appeals court told the Bush administration yesterday that it does not need to immediately restart a housing program for thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit puts a restart on hold at least until March, when the court will hear arguments in the case.

The court suspended an order by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, who said last month that the Federal Emergency Management Agency violated the Constitution when it eliminated short-term housing assistance. Leon said the agency did not explain its reasoning and provided victims only confusing computer-generated codes to explain its decisions.

Under Leon's order, FEMA told officials in Texas early this week to expect federal money for housing about 4,200 evacuees.

Yesterday's ruling means FEMA can advise Texas that plans have changed.

"That's FEMA's Christmas present to the people of Texas and the United States," said Kevin Whelan, a spokesman for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which brought the lawsuit. "They managed to appeal long enough to be able to deny housing funding."

FEMA, in response to the ruling, is suspending any further action on reinstating the program, agency spokesman Aaron Walker said in a statement.

The ruling by Judges David S. Tatel, Karen Lecraft Henderson and A. Raymond Randolph does not suspend Leon's order requiring FEMA to explain why evacuees were no longer eligible for funding.

The letters that went out this summer contained vague and often contradictory computer codes rather than explanations, and Leon ordered the agency to put them in plain English.

FEMA said it was working on those new letters this week, and Whelan said about 4,000 evacuees have received letters.