The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (USDHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal disaster aid in the form of Public Assistance has been made available to reimburse the State of Texas for disaster relief.

The State of Texas administers FEMA's Public Assistance program under which eligible and documented disaster-related costs are reimbursed to state and local government units. FEMA has obligated funds for the following projects:

Baptist Hospitals of SE Texas, $4.76 million for repairing roof and interior damage from Hurricane Rita.

City of San Antonio, $2.17 million to pay housing costs for 2,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

FEMA's approval of the funding means processing can begin. Funds should be available locally within two weeks, according to the state.

FEMA's Public Assistance reimbursement program is one way federal assistance gets to the state and local governments and to certain private nonprofit organizations. These reimbursement grants allow them to respond to disasters, to recover from their impact and to mitigate impact from future disasters. While these grants are aimed at governments and organizations - their final goal is to help a community and all its citizens recover from devastating natural disasters.