“Thousands of utility linemen are putting their safety at risk to repair Louisiana’s electrical grid after Hurricanes Laura and Delta devastated our state. In my book, these heroes are first responders, so my bill would legally add utility line technicians to Homeland Security’s list of first-responder occupations. I hope my colleagues join me in giving these brave linemen the recognition they deserve by moving this bill forward.”

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today introduced a bill to revise the Department of Homeland Security’s definition of “emergency response providers” to include utility line technicians. The definition in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 grants first-responder status to an array of occupations such as law enforcement, emergency public safety personnel and fire and medical rescuers, but does not currently include utility linemen. 

“Thousands of utility linemen are putting their safety at risk to repair Louisiana’s electrical grid after Hurricanes Laura and Delta devastated our state. In my book, these heroes are first responders, so my bill would legally add utility line technicians to Homeland Security’s list of first-responder occupations. I hope my colleagues join me in giving these brave linemen the recognition they deserve by moving this bill forward,” said Kennedy.

This fall, Hurricanes Laura and Delta destroyed thousands of Louisiana’s utility poles, lines and substations, particularly in the southwest portion of the state. More than 8,300 utility line technicians are working in disaster conditions to rebuild electrical infrastructure across Louisiana.

“Hardworking Louisianians have already been defrauded, and now the system is kicking them while they’re down. The bottom line is that neither the receiver nor the court has the authority to prevent men and women from fairly asserting their claims against Stanford and his no-good sidekicks. The court must reverse this decision and restore the victims’ right to recover what Stanford stole from them.”

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), joined by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), today filed an amicus brief in the case of Zacarias vs. Janvey. The case asserts the rights of victims of Robert Allen Stanford, who orchestrated the second-largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history.

Zacarias vs. Janvey seeks to overturn a Fifth Circuit Court ruling that grants receivers—who are appointed by courts to oversee victims’ claims for restitution—the power to block individual investors from pursuing their claims against Stanford and his accomplices. The senators’ brief argues that the receiver, Ralph Janvey, and the district court have exceeded the judicial power the U.S. Constitution and Congress have granted them.

“The court appointed Mr. Janvey to help make Allen Stanford’s victims whole again. Instead, he’s keeping those victims from pursuing justice on their own. He’s failing to deliver on his duties. Hardworking Louisianians have already been defrauded, and now the system is kicking them while they’re down. The bottom line is that neither the receiver nor the court has the authority to prevent men and women from fairly asserting their claims against Stanford and his no-good sidekicks. The court must reverse this decision and restore the victims’ right to recover what Stanford stole from them,” said Kennedy.

In 2012, Stanford was convicted for leading a Ponzi scheme in which he sold $8 billion in fraudulent certificates of deposit from his offshore bank, Stanford International Bank. More than 1,000 Louisianians from Baton Rouge, Covington and Lafayette lost significant amounts of their life savings to the fraud. Since the Ponzi scheme was uncovered, less than five percent of the $8 billion has been returned to the victims.

“A receiver—as a creature of the district court—may not wield powers that exceed those properly granted to the district court itself.  In rubber stamping the receiver’s request to bar claims that the receiver had no standing to assert itself, the district court has strayed beyond the judicial powers granted to it in Article III and by Congress. Such actions constitute judicial law-making and usurp Congress’s legislative power,” says the senators’ brief.

The text of the brief can be found here.

“In 2016, floods damaged many of Louisiana’s roads and highways, and this grant will restore infrastructure to make travel safer for communities in Bossier.”

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced a $23,816,218 FEMA grant to repair roads damaged by severe flooding in Bossier, La.

“In 2016, floods damaged many of Louisiana’s roads and highways, and this grant will restore infrastructure to make travel safer for communities in Bossier,” said Kennedy.

This funding is provided under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Act. Repair costs include placement of geotextile fabric, lime stabilization, asphalt placement, construction design, surveying, mobilization, temporary barricades and equipment.

“This case is about fairness, plain and simple. Capitol Hill Baptist Church is right to ask that houses of worship receive the same treatment Mayor Bowser has given peaceful protestors under her coronavirus restrictions. . . . If the First Amendment gets trampled in our nation’s capital, it’s under threat everywhere.”

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, today joined fellow senators in filing an amicus brief supporting Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s position in the case of Capitol Hill Baptist Church v. Bowser.  

“This case is about fairness, plain and simple. Capitol Hill Baptist Church is right to ask that houses of worship receive the same treatment Mayor Bowser has given peaceful protestors under her coronavirus restrictions. The First Amendment protects both religious expression and peaceful demonstrations.

“If the mayor believes one group can assemble safely, there’s no legitimate health reason to curb the freedoms of another group whose rights are equally sacred in the eyes of the Constitution. I hope the mayor stops discriminating against religious groups immediately and embraces the rights of every house of worship in Washington, D.C. If the First Amendment gets trampled in our nation’s capital, it’s under threat everywhere,” said Kennedy.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Oct. 7 on the motion for a preliminary injunction.

The Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government exercises oversight over the District of Columbia and its federal funding.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) led the brief. Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) also joined the brief.

Background:

Mayor Muriel Bowser has issued an executive order banning outdoor church services of more than 100 individuals even if worshippers are socially distanced and wearing masks. Capitol Hill Baptist Church is located in Washington, D.C. and has complied with Mayor Bowser’s executive order prohibiting large scale gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Capitol Hill Baptist Church has applied for a waiver of the 100-person limit in order to hold services outside, but the mayor’s office denied its application, stating that waivers for houses of worship are being categorically denied. Since the executive order went into effect, however, Bowser and the District of Columbia have supported other large outdoor protests and gatherings.

The amicus brief argues that the District of Columbia’s denial of Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s waiver runs contradictory to the mayor and city’s approval of other large-scale gatherings and protests, and this selective enforcement infringes upon the church’s rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment. 

The brief further argues that the District is intentionally treating houses of worship differently than other groups, and this violates the church’s Fifth Amendment right to due process by denying it equal protection under the law. 

According to the brief, “the Mayor’s discrimination against houses of worship rests on a mistaken, and unconstitutional, premise that one particular exercise of free speech—a church’s desire to gather together and worship their God—is subordinate to other First Amendment-protected activities. This Court should enforce the First Amendment’s promise of free speech for all by issuing a preliminary injunction to prevent the Mayor and the District of Columbia from prohibiting outdoor religious services that adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols.”

The brief also underscores the right to peaceful protests, citing Justice Alito, who wrote, “Public protests, of course, are themselves protected by the First Amendment, and any efforts to restrict them would be subject to judicial review.”

The text of the brief can be found here.