Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration accused U.S. Rep. Garret Graves on Thursday of spreading myths about flood recovery money and leading a partisan effort that could harm Louisiana’s long-term rebuilding.
As The Associated Press reports, the Democratic governor’s office released a memo saying the Republican Graves “can no longer be trusted” to convey accurate information about Louisiana’s recovery from last year’s March and August flooding.
The memo, distributed by Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo, came a day after Edwards attended a congressional hearing in Washington, in which GOP members of Congress—including Graves—blasted Louisiana’s response to the floods.
“In 2005, we watched as the political culture of Washington hurt Louisiana’s response and recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Today, we’re at risk of that happening again,” the governor’s office memo says. “(Wednesday), a small group of politicians in Washington, led by a member of our own delegation, conducted a distasteful ambush of Gov. Edwards using outright lies.”
Among the many points of dispute between Edwards and Graves is whether Louisiana has been slow to spend $1.6 billion in federal block grant aid earmarked by Congress for recovery efforts, with most of the money planned for a homeowner repair and rebuilding program. The dollars are overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.
“The state of Louisiana has federal funds at its disposal today that it could be distributing to flood victims if they had properly prepared,” Graves said Thursday in an interview.
The Edwards administration hasn’t yet hired a contractor to manage the housing aid program. Graves said he recommended to the governor shortly after the flood to quickly select such a contractor.
Carbo said Graves’ information is inaccurate and the federal government hasn’t yet released the money to the state to spend. The line of credit “has not yet been set up,” Carbo said.
