Gov. John Bel Edwards and members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation say a proposed down payment of $500 million in federal disaster aid is included in a stopgap funding bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown next week.
The proposed funding, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development would distribute, is included in the legislation unveiled today.
In a statement, Edwards says he’s optimistic that the final version of the stopgap bill, known as a continuing resolution, will include the disaster relief aid for Louisiana.
“The people who’ve been impacted need to be reassured that help is on the way, and I am extremely grateful to the president and our entire congressional delegation for their commitment to bring much-needed relief to the people of Louisiana,” Edwards says, adding that he looks forward to working with Congress in coming months to address Louisiana’s long-term flood relief.
Extreme rainfall fell on portions of south Louisiana for several days last month, causing rivers to rise and thousands of homes and businesses to flood. Thirteen people died.
In a letter dated Sept. 2, Edwards told President Barack Obama that Louisiana sustained more than $8.7 billion in flood damage.
The Democratic governor made three trips to Washington, D.C., seeking $2.8 billion in federal disaster assistance to help Louisiana recover from the flooding. The state’s congressional delegation also sent a letter.
The Obama administration has requested that Congress immediately send $2.6 billion in flood relief aid to Louisiana and authorized increasing the federal government’s share of the recovery costs for public assistance projects from 75% to 90%.
Louisiana Sens. David Vitter and Bill Cassidy lauded the allocation today, though Vitter, in a statement, says more money is needed to help Louisiana recover from the devastating flood.
“As the fourth costliest natural disaster in the last 12 years, the economic impact of the flooding disaster in south Louisiana is already tremendous,” Vitter says in a statement. “While this is a good start, Louisiana needs much more assistance and federal aid to start the rebuilding process.”
The Associated Press reports that Democrats immediately criticized the proposal, unveiled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for failing to fund one of their top priorities: money to help Flint, Michigan, repair its lead-tainted water system.
Democrats supported flood aid for Louisiana but hoped to pair that money with funding to help Flint clean up its water.
GOP leaders in both the House and Senate, however, promised that Flint funding would be handled in a separate water projects measure that would be finalized in the lame duck session. It’s unclear whether Democrats would filibuster the measure.
