AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The Governor’s Division of Emergency Management is getting $60 million from FEMA for costs incurred during Hurricane Ike.
It’s money that Gov. Rick Perry’s office has said delayed payments to companies around the country for transportation, portable toilets, shelters and other Ike services.
Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said in a prepared statement that after five months since Hurricane Ike, the state is pleased that the federal government had reimbursed it for costs associated with the storm.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says the Federal Emergency Management Agency grants will help pay for evacuee shelters, ambulance staging areas, the National Guard, equipment and food.
The Associated Press reported this week that 350 companies, local governments and charities were still waiting on a total of $134 million in unpaid bills for Ike-related assistance.
Perry blamed the delay on FEMA, but lawmakers said the state had the money to pay the bills and seek federal reimbursement.
AP reports it’s not clear when the state submitted invoices from those Hurricane Ike vendors to federal officials.