WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and John Kennedy (R-LA), and U.S. Representatives Steve Scalise (R-LA-1), Garret Graves (R-LA-6), Mike Johnson (R-LA-4), Clay Higgins (R-LA-3), Julia Letlow (R-LA-5) and Troy Carter (D-LA-2) urged President Joe Biden to grant a major disaster declaration for Louisiana following Hurricane Ida, which made landfall along the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 hurricane.
“The storm brought with it life-threatening storm surges, devastating rainfall, and 150 mph sustained winds that has caused widespread damage. This all comes as the state continues to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote the delegation. “We ask for your swift consideration and approval of this major disaster declaration for the State of Louisiana so that we can begin the process of recovery.”
Read the full letter here or below:
We write today in support of the request for a major disaster declaration made by Governor John Bel Edwards for Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in southeast Louisiana on August 29, 2021.
As you know, Hurricane Ida first formed as a Tropical Storm in the Caribbean Sea on August 26, 2021, before undergoing a period of rapid intensification and making landfall as a Category 4 Hurricane in Southeast Louisiana. The storm brought with it life-threatening storm surges, devastating rainfall, and 150 mph sustained winds that has caused widespread damage. This all comes as the state continues to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specifically, the Governor has requested Individual Assistance and Public Assistance Categories A (debris removal) and C-G (permanent work) for the following 25 parishes: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana. We also ask that you grant the Governor’s request for statewide assistance.
Again, we ask for your swift consideration and approval of this major disaster declaration for the State of Louisiana so that we can begin the process of recovery.
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