WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today renewed the demands of Louisianans in desperate need of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) supplemental assistance dating back to Hurricane Laura and Delta, over a year ago. This need was multiplied when Hurricane Ida struck the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 storm with winds as high as 150-mph, making it the fifth most powerful storm to ever hit the United States. Hurricane Laura was the strongest storm to hit Louisiana in 164 years until Hurricane Ida made landfall on August 29th, just a year later.
“Damage numbers are still coming in, but it’s clear we will need supplemental assistance for Hurricane Ida. It has been over a year since Hurricane Laura, but there are still blue tarps on roofs in southwest Louisiana and families in desperate need of supplemental assistance,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Congress cannot continue to ignore the pleas of Louisiana families devastated by these natural disasters. Congress needs to return to DC and pass a disaster supplemental package to get these communities back on their feet.”
In January of 2021, Louisiana requested $3 billion to meet unmet recovery needs after Hurricane Laura. Cassidy and Louisiana’s Congressional Delegation have previously called on the White House and Congress to support disaster relief for southwest Louisiana and continue to press their colleagues to approve the measure. Cassidy is determined to prevent similar delays from stalling Hurricane Ida relief.
On Sunday, Senators Cassidy and John Kennedy (R-LA), and U.S. Representatives Steve Scalise (R-LA-01), Garret Graves (R-LA-06), Mike Johnson (R-LA-04), Clay Higgins (R-LA-03), Julia Letlow (R-LA-05), and Troy Carter (D-LA-02) urged President Joe Biden to grant a major disaster declaration for Louisiana following Hurricane Ida. Following the letter, the major disaster declaration was approved which unlocks federal disaster relief for Louisiana to begin its recovery. With the magnitude of damage being reported, supplemental disaster assistance will assuredly be needed.
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