Aug 25 2009
Concern over Chinese-made drywall spurs investigation
WASHINGTON – July 29, 2009 – The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship’s chair, Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Senators Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Jim Webb, D-Va., have asked the Small Business Administration (SBA) to review its existing authority under the Stafford Act to assist homeowners and businesses in the wake of growing complaints over homes tainted with Chinese drywall.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that it has received 608 complaints from 21 states and the District of Columbia against imported Chinese drywall. Among the most serious of the complaints are metal corrosion, noxious fumes and health concerns, such as bloody noses, skin irritation, headaches and insomnia.
Sens. Landrieu, Nelson, Warner and Webb asked the SBA to review the following:
• Whether SBA may disburse additional funds to address drywall repairs from SBA homeowner disaster loans from previous disaster or emergency declarations (such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the 2004 Florida Hurricanes, the 2008 Midwest floods, or other emergency/disaster declarations) or provide waivers of the two-year time limit for homeowners to request the additional funding.
• If SBA may, after a governor has declared a disaster or emergency, make a physical disaster declaration if homes, businesses or a combination of the two, have sustained uninsured losses as a result of Chinese drywall.
• Whether SBA may make an economic injury declaration after a governor has declared a disaster or emergency if businesses in a declared disaster area have suffered economic injury as a result of Chinese drywall products when they need financial help that is not otherwise available.
“Families in our states are, in many cases, watching their dream homes turn into nightmares,” the senators said. “As the federal government determines the full size and scope of this disaster, we believe it is important to marshal all appropriate federal resources that may assist these families.”
© 2009 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®