WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) and members of the Louisiana congressional delegation are pushing House and Senate appropriators to include additional long-term hurricane recovery resources, through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, in upcoming appropriations legislation.
“The 2020 and 2021 Atlantic Hurricane seasons brought historic impacts to south Louisiana. State and local emergency response capabilities in Louisiana have been stretched to the limits by the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant freeze and historic May flood, Tropical Storm Cristobal, and Hurricanes Laura, Marco, Delta, Zeta, and Ida – all of which struck Louisiana in an 18-month period. The cumulative impact of these multiple disasters occurring in close geographical and chronological proximity has necessitated a robust federal response,”wrote the Louisiana delegation.“We appreciate the opportunity to work with the Committees on Appropriation to secure $5 billion in the September Continuing Resolution for disaster relief funds for natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. However, Louisiana is only eligible for a fraction of these funds, and we believe that the needs of our constituents significantly exceed what has been appropriated and allocated thus far.”
The lawmakers continued, “Of the $2 billion presently allocated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Louisiana received $600,131,000 for areas impacted by Hurricanes Laura (DR-4559) and Delta (DR-4570) to use for unmet housing, infrastructure, and mitigation needs. The State of Louisiana estimates that the housing needs for Hurricanes Laura and Delta alone exceed $510 million, leaving a nearly $300 million shortfall to help house disaster survivors in Southwest Louisiana.”
“We respectfully request swift action to make good on the promise of the down payment in the September Continuing Resolution and appropriate additional supplemental funding dollars for unmet needs in Louisiana,” wrote the Louisiana delegation.
Read the full letter here.
Review a timeline of Congressman Higgins’ actions on hurricane recovery here.
