Washington, DC – Below is Congressman William J. Jefferson’s statement on the current testing of temporary FEMA housing.

“It has been almost three years since Hurricane Katrina hit and scores of Gulf Coast residents were left without shelter and a place to call home. In these years, citizens have shuffled from residences of friends, family and the temporary housing of FEMA trailers. It is past time for our citizenry to have a safe place to transition to permanent homes, not temporary shelters hazardous to their health.

I strongly urge FEMA and the Centers for Disease Control to move quickly in arming residents with information and their permanent housing options. It is imperative that this information include action to be undertaken that will firmly place people in more stable conditions. These residents have been left in a perilous situation for much to long.”