Letter to the Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House - Higgins Pushes for Supplemental Disaster Relief Package
Letter
Speaker Pelosi,
Nearly eight months have passed since Hurricanes Laura and Delta devastated Southwest Louisiana. Two major hurricanes hitting the same parishes a month apart presented significant challenges and requires an extended, large-scale recovery effort. As these communities continue to rebuild and recover, they will need continued assistance from the federal government.
Congress and the federal government have worked together to provide resources to support housing and rental assistance, utility repairs, debris removal, hazard mitigation, and other disaster response costs. Both President Trump and President Biden delivered increased federal assistance in the form of 100% federal costshare for 30 days and 90% federal cost-share for remaining Hurricane Laura public assistance program expenses. These federal commitments have greatly eased the financial burden for local governments.
While the above efforts help Southwest Louisiana's immediate needs, we also recognize the importance of long-term recovery resources for the region. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and Louisiana local officials have asked Congress to appropriate additional funding for hurricane recovery and mitigation efforts. We support this recent request, and Louisiana's congressional delegation continues to stand united behind Southwest Louisiana's long-term recovery needs.
For months, the Louisiana delegation has been working to build support in Congress for supplemental disaster relief. Though our disaster recovery amendments to the most recent COVID-19 spending bill were blocked, I remain hopeful that we can advance additional support through Congress in a bipartisan manner. This is needed to provide relief for Southwest Louisiana and other communities hit by major disasters in 2020, including those damaged in the California wildfires.
As a community, we will continue working with all our local, state, and federal partners to prioritize the needs of Southwest Louisiana. I respectfully urge you to swiftly implement a supplemental disaster relief plan that provides for the thousands of severely impacted Americans in Southwest Louisiana.
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