Fraction of Katrina families reach aid cap

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Fewer than 4,700 families will reach a $26,200 cap on disaster assistance following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the U.S. government says.

The figure amounts to fewer than one-fourth of 1 percent of the 2.6 million households that applied for disaster aid. The aid program is set to expire in March, when an 18-month statutory cutoff takes effect, the Federal Emergency Management Agency says.

The figures are surprising, anti-poverty advocates say, given the storms' scope, the incomplete reconstruction of New Orleans and the demographic profile of evacuees, who were generally poorer and less well-insured than other Americans, The Washington Post reports.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition, a housing-advocacy group, is pushing to extend the 18-month federal limit on aid, lift the $26,200 cap and expand a Department of Housing and Urban Development disaster program, as advocates for the poor want.

FEMA Director R. David Paulison defended FEMA's efforts.

"We felt like we did a good job," he said, adding FEMA helped more people than it ever has despite overwhelmed systems, huge work volumes and pressure to fight victim fraud.