U.S. Sen. John Kennedy today offered up a plan to fund the long-delayed Comite River Diversion Canal project by cashing in on up to $175 million in securities in the state’s unclaimed property program, an idea that was swiftly panned by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
A lack of funding has long hampered the Comite River Diversion Canal, designed to mitigate flooding by diverting water to the Mississippi River. The project has taken on a new tenor since the August 2016 flooding, which decimated the area slated to be most-helped by the canal.
The state has somewhere between $150 million and $175 million in unclaimed securities, and Kennedy, testifying before the Comite River Diversion Canal Task Force, suggested the state could liquidate those securities to help fund the canal.
“We’re in the ninth year of a bull market,” Kennedy said. “I don’t know how much longer it’s going to last. I’m certainly not clairvoyant. But I know at some point there’s going to be a major correction. … So if you were going to liquidate that money, now would be an appropriate time.”
As Kennedy was presenting his idea to lawmakers on the panel, Edwards’ office responded in a news release, calling the plan “unrealistic,” and faulting the U.S. Senate for failing to fund the project.
“This is other people’s money, even Sen. Kennedy has repeatedly acknowledged that,” Edwards said in a statement. “I appreciate his proposal, but he’s had a bill sitting in the Senate for more than a month that already provides the critical funding for the Comite River Diversion Canal and eliminates the Duplication of Benefits penalty.”
Kennedy said that no one would lose their unclaimed property, and added the unclaimed property program has previously been used for infrastructure when the state bonded out the fund to pay for work on I-49.
The senator said Edwards is right that the project needs federal funds, but wondered aloud if the state could use the $6.56 billion it offered to Amazon for its HQ2 to pay for the diversion canal. He also faulted the Obama administration for adding to the national debt.
Edwards’ administration also pointed to previous statements by Kennedy saying unclaimed property dollars should be returned to their rightful owners.
