BATON ROUGE – Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) toured hurricane damage in Grand Isle to assess damages and learn what the island needs to recover.
“Good tour of Grand Isle. We saw what works and what needs to be worked on,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Areas of the island with breakwaters, beach restoration, and housing built to code survived. Those areas of the island without those things did extremely poorly. We have to build resiliency.”
On Wednesday, Cassidy spoke on the Senate floor about the need to pass disaster supplemental aid and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Cassidy called for disaster supplemental relief for those affected by Hurricane Ida, the fifth-most powerful storm to ever hit the United States. He called for assistance for those affected by the hurricanes of 2020, including Hurricanes Laura and Delta. He also urged Congress to prepare for future hurricanes by supporting the infrastructure bill.
On September 3, Cassidy met with President Biden in St. John Parish and asked him to support disaster supplemental aid for those affected by the hurricanes of 2020. The White House Budget Office later issued a formal request asking Congress for that support. Cassidy and the Louisiana Congressional Delegation pushed to add Hurricane Ida to the list of natural disasters from which Louisiana needs assistance.
Background
Before Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana, Cassidy joined the Louisiana Congressional Delegation to request a Major Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Ida, a request President Biden granted.
In January, Louisiana requested $3 billion to address unmet recovery needs after Hurricane Laura. Cassidy and Louisiana’s Congressional Delegation have previously called on Congress to support disaster relief for southwest Louisiana. On September 2, they added Hurricane Ida to the list of hurricanes from which Louisiana needs help recovering.
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