Posted on 03/14/2006 8:35:22 PM PST by kenth
WASHINGTON - The White House has rejected hurricane disaster-recovery loans at a higher rate than any other administration in the last 15 years, according to a congressional study by Democrats.
The report, expected to be released Wednesday, said business and home loan approval rates averaged about 60 percent after Hurricane Andrew devastated much of south Florida in 1992. The trend continued through the rest of President George H.W. Bush's administration and into the Clinton administration, according to Democratic members of the House Small Business Committee.
After Hurricane Wilma surged ashore in south Florida last year, the approval rate for low-interest, taxpayer-guaranteed loans by the Small Business Administration had dropped to barely 15 percent. Overall, Democrats said, approval rates for home and business disaster loans since 2004 have averaged about 35 percent.
"This was a monumental disaster, and it requires a monumental response," said New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez (news, bio, voting record), the panel's top Democrat. "That hasn't happened. People are suffering, and it's the SBA's role to provide assistance."
The SBA has tripled its staff over the past year to deal with the series of major Gulf Coast hurricanes. Despite the increase — from 1,500 employees to 4,500 — the report found the agency's approval rate has continued to drop with each disaster.
SBA officials, who were expected to defend their efforts before the House panel Wednesday, offered several explanations for the sharp drop-off in loan approval rates, including changes to the loan application process.
During previous disasters, officials have said they tallied only applications that stood a chance of approval. A new computerized system, however, counts all applications, whether or not the loan might be approved.
The SBA also has argued that the scope of the devastation caused by three successive Gulf Coast hurricanes and the area's high number of low-income families and business owners have been responsible for higher rejection rates.
In Louisiana, for example, nearly 3 in 5 applicants couldn't meet credit standards, the SBA said. Another 1 in 4 said they couldn't repay the loans, and 1 in 10 didn't make enough money.
Finally, the agency said, it still offered a record $6 billion in low-interest, taxpayer-guaranteed loans to more than 80,000 Gulf Coast home and business owners. Last week, the SBA announced it would extend until April 10 the deadline for victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita to apply for a physical damage loan.
"SBA has very lenient lending requirements with regard to the disaster loan program," agency spokeswoman Anne Marie Frawley said. "However, it is necessary that the applicant have the ability to repay the loan, based on their pre-hurricane financial standing. It's a balance between making all the loans we can and responsibly using taxpayer dollars."
Rich Carter, a spokesman for Republicans on the House panel, said the agency should be given the benefit of the doubt since the approval rate tends to increase with time. Generally, a large percentage of applications received early in the recovery effort will be rejected, giving an artificially high rejection rate, Carter said.
Velazquez has urged the White House to fire Hector Barreto, head of the small business agency. She acknowledged that early results often show high rejection rates. "But this is what, seven, eight months later?" she asked.
The SBA drew the ire of many lawmakers last month when it announced it was almost out of disaster loan money. Lawmakers gave the green light to the SBA to spend $100 million in early February; later in the month, the Senate approved legislation to provide $712 million for the agency's program, which is expected to keep it afloat through the end of April.
The agency's slowness in responding to the hurricanes and the funding shortfall angered lawmakers on both sides of Capitol Hill. Last month, Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., blasted the SBA for not asking for more disaster loan recovery money until it was almost broke. The two lawmakers have asked the agency to give them a daily accounting of the balance in the loan program.
Well if a storm hits here, this year, he better have enough left for some 2000 dollar shopping cards and mobile homes .
Why don't they just fly choppers over new Orleans and drop bags of money. Maybe that will make the AP happy.
Okay Barrett Republicans, let hear you explain this one.
Bush is fiscally liberally?
They don't want loans, they want free money! (Yours of course.)
Hmmm, so, let me ask you Frank Bass, you f***ing leftist whore:
How many of those 15 years had twin catastrophic hurricanes?
More importantly you creep, what have been the comparative rates in these loan programs of false ID or insufficient ID among loan applicants?
You can always just loot!
And if you do, grab me one of those flat panel wide screen TV's. I don't feel safe without one.
A story about the Bush administration by the AP that's based on a study by Democrats--why it doesn't get any fairer than that.
{Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., blasted the SBA for not asking for more disaster loan recovery money until it was almost broke.}
Imagine that...waiting until you're out of money before asking for more. How irresponsible.
All they needed to complete the job was a poll saying 73% of voters think Bush is Scrooge.
This weeks "Scandal to bring down GWB...."
All this could be avoided by giving low or no interest loans. Any citizen could apply. No more free anything. We will help you up but aren't going to stand there and support you for life.
You aren't going to win any elections with common sense solutions like that! Get out the checkbook, mama needs a new tv!
Sigh. Ok, ok. A plasma. What size shoes? Bud ok? :')
Plasma is fine.
Size 9.5 shoes, I really want some black closed-toe slings, low heel.
Um, I really prefer Heineken, k?
;-)
Your ideas are spot on though.
Okay, so is there a story here?
Low-interest loans should also apply to businesses and students too. Get rid of the grants and subsidies, IMO.
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