A Mississippi congressman says millions of dollars are being wasted on rebuilding the Port of Gulfport, rather than on coastal housing.

In a letter, twelve United States congressmen, including Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, accuse state officials of manipulating Katrina recovery numbers to make room for the Port of Gulfport expansion.

The letter says, "...the state is cherry-picking numbers that are favorable to its plans" and ...the state has made decisions in designing its housing programs that leave renters and low-income families out in the cold."

Lee Youngblood is communications director for the Mississippi Development Authority's disaster recovery division.

"It had the okay of our entire congressional delegation; it had bi-partisan support," Youngblood said.

The original recovery plan was approved in 2005 at just under $5.5 billion. It included projects for both housing and for recovery which are things like water and sewer lines and roads. Projects for public housing and small rental properties like duplexes are just now becoming available.

"They will begin to take off and we will finish them strong," said Youngblood.

Sharon Garrison with the Mississippi Justice Center questions that.

"The fact that there are still ten thousand families in transitional housing, we have not rebuilt any rental housing with our block grant monies," said Garrison.

The Port of Gulfport plan was approved in January by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but the $600 million was originally marked for housing.

Youngblood says it was a simple over-estimation, before they knew how many homeowners needed assistance. Garrison says put that money back where it belongs.

"The waiver request for the $600 million is one in a string of requests the governor has made to divert money away from housing," said Garrison.

The Mississippi Development Authority will end its homeowner assistance plan this fall, having used $2 billion to help homeowners rebuild. They currently have over $700 million in federal assistance going toward low-income housing and rental properties.