LAFAYETTE, LA – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) announced today that FEMA is awarding an additional $56,766,773.29 to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) for non-congregate sheltering in response to Hurricane Laura. The reimbursement brings the federal cost-share to 90% for the project.
All funding will be delivered to the State of Louisiana. The state is responsible for disbursing funds to the sub-recipient.
At its peak, the Louisiana non-congregate shelter program for Hurricane Laura sheltered 21,510 evacuees in 8,115 hotel rooms.
Congressman Higgins issued the following statement:
“The State’s sheltering program was quite extensive in response to Hurricane Laura. Although I disagreed strongly and vocally with the Governor’s decision to forbid traditional community shelters as Laura approached, the State did dedicate a tremendous amount of treasure to the sheltering plan that the Governor ultimately enacted. This reimbursement helps cover those costs and provides additional support for the State. We will continue working with our federal partners to prioritize Louisiana’s applications for public assistance and advocate for supplemental disaster relief.”
A timeline of Congressman Higgins’ actions on hurricane and flood recovery efforts is available here.
