HUD will pay Katrina victims' rent

At last, a comprehensive rent payment program from HUD, in conjunction with Homeland Security:

Evacuees eligible for housing assistance through [FEMA's Individual and Households Program] will receive an initial three month rental assistance payment in the form of check or electronic fund transfer in the amount of $2,358. This initial payment is calculated based on the average fair market rent rate for a two-bedroom unit nationwide. This payment is portable and may be applied to transitional housing costs for any location an evacuee determines. In addition to payment, eligible households will receive a letter describing specific program rules and guidelines on eligible uses of funds.

It looks like after the first three months, the fuss is presumed likely to have calmed down enough for local housing officials to determine rents according to the ordinary local limits:

Participants will receive housing assistance that can be redeemed for both public and private housing units in any community at the discretion of the participant. Rents will be calculated at 100 percent of the fair market rate in the community the evacuee chooses to relocate.

[UPDATE: According to HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan, the money will come "from previously appropriated supplemental funding to FEMA."]

[UPDATE late Friday: NAHRO's response to the plan.]

[UPDATE: Gov. Blanco of Louisiana complains: "It does little for Louisiana citizens who want to come home. With no housing available, vouchers do very little for our evacuees." ]