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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), while questioning the nominee for FBI director, Christopher Wray, today in the Senate Judiciary Committee, secured a promise that the potential FBI director will help New Orleans’ growing crime problem.

“We have an extraordinary crime problem in New Orleans. The city is rapidly becoming the murder and armed robbery capital of the western hemisphere. Something needs to change before New Orleans becomes the next Detroit,” said Sen. Kennedy. “That’s why I asked Mr. Wray if I could count on him to give the city of New Orleans advice and help with our growing crime problem. Because right now the city of New Orleans is losing its fight against crime.”

Mr. Wray responded to the Senator’s request saying: “Sen. (Kennedy), you can count on me to take a hard look and figure out how we can be more effective in New Orleans.”

To watch Sen. Kennedy’s questioning of Christopher Wray, click below:

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WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today announced that Louisiana will benefit from more than $45 million in funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for coastal projects.

The funding includes:

$28,785,121 to restore 380 acres of coastal marsh habitat and protect the marsh from damaging wind-generated waves. This project is located in Cameron Parish.
$16.7 million to protect fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. The funding will focus on the sustainability of Bluefin tuna, blue crabs, oysters and other species found in the Gulf. LSU will receive $2 million of the overall funding to assess how marshes are influenced by river diversions.

“Our coastal marsh habitats and the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem are the bread and butter of many Louisiana families, and they have been for generations,” said Sen. Kennedy. “Future generations are depending on us to sustain this way of life through science and research.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate leadership have granted a request by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Sens. Perdue, Daines, Strange, Tillis, Ernst, Lankford, Rounds, Sullivan and Lee to work during the August recess.

“I’m pleased Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate leadership have agreed to delay the August recess for two weeks. I would prefer to stay the entire month of August, but I will take what I can get. This delay of recess is not just about health care, it’s about tax reform, infrastructure, the debt ceiling, the budget, and the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program,” said Sen. Kennedy. “I am ready to work in order to deliver meaningful results to the American people.”

Click the photo below to watch the Senator’s comments on the delay of August recess on Fox News:

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WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today announced that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) will invest $1.5 million in funds for the construction of road infrastructure to support the expansion of Venable Lane from US Highway 165 to the new entrance linking CenturyLink Village at the IBM Building.

“This money is critical for commercial as well as industrial development for Northeast Louisiana,” said Sen. Kennedy. “This money will create 80 jobs and preserve 94 jobs. Private industry is contributing $20 million, making this a true public-private partnership.”

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WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will invest $83.5 million in federal funding towards ongoing recovery efforts across Louisiana.

“This money is crucial to disaster recovery efforts in Louisiana,” said Sen. Kennedy. “FEMA is providing funding to homeowners, schools, a food bank, parishes, cities and law enforcement, among others. This is money that is needed to recover and rebuild.”

According to FEMA, the grants are:

Recovery School District-$49M

This award provides $49,077,383.61 in federal funding for the Recovery School District for an adjustment of the scope of work and project costs.

Governor’s Office Homeland Security & Emergency Management-$23.9M

This award provides an additional $23,994,873.93 in federal funding for homeowners.

Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank-$1M

This award provides $1,032,101.20 in federal funding to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank for their distribution facility.

East Baton Rouge Parish School Board-$5.8M

This award will provide $2,930,976.66 in federal funding to East Baton Rouge School Board (EBRSB) for Emergency Protective Measures.
The award provides $1,698,012.21 in funding to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, to provide funding associated with remediation activities at Brookstown Magnet Middle School.
The award provides $1,211,377.76 in funding to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, to provide funding associated with remediation activities at Glen Oaks Park Elementary School.

Governor's Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) Statewide Generator Project-$1.9M

This grant will fund generators for critical facilities and key state-owned facilities throughout the State of Louisiana.
Funding will be utilized to harden facilities with the installation of permanent generators, portable generators and automatic transfer switches to remain operational and functional during and after disasters.
This request includes the following parishes and cities: St. Tammany, Jefferson, St. Charles and Lincoln parishes and cities of New Orleans and Thibodaux.

LA Dept. Of Public Safety (State Police)-$1.6M

This award provides $1,667,951.83 in federal funding to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety (State Police) for Emergency Protective Measures.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) hosted a meeting in New Orleans today for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) officials and Louisiana bank leaders.

“FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg was gracious in coming to Louisiana in order to meet with our community bank leaders. I know he has a busy schedule so I appreciate his time,” said Sen. Kennedy. “Our community banks have a powerful story to tell, and it’s one that the FDIC needs to hear. This meeting is a signal of transparency to our communities that are hurting from the collapse of First NBC.”

Sen. Kennedy hosted a roundtable discussion for FDIC officials and bank representatives. The bulk of the meeting was devoted to a question-and-answer session between the FDIC and local banks about the failure of First NBC.

“I would like to thank Sen. Kennedy for the opportunity to meet with local business people and bankers in New Orleans and explain the FDIC’s processes to respond to issues arising from bank failures,” said FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg.

As a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Sen. Kennedy has fought for community banks in Louisiana and has introduced legislation to strengthen Louisiana’s community financial institutions.

Sen. Kennedy with FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg

Sen. Kennedy with FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg

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WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today announced that FEMA will spend $13.1 million in the parishes of Lafourche, Jefferson, St. Tammany and Livingston to protect property owners from future floods.

“This is a smart use of money through the National Flood Insurance Program,” said Sen. Kennedy. “In fact, I’ve offered legislation to reauthorize the program and to put a bigger focus on mitigation efforts. No one wants to flood. People lose their homes and businesses, and the federal government ends up spending a lot of money to help them rebuild. What we need to do is ensure that you don’t flood in the first place through elevation, the purchase of flood-prone properties and other mitigation work.”

According to FEMA, the grants are:

Lafourche (residential elevations) - $1.2M

This grant will fund the elevation of eight properties. The elevated properties will exceed base flood elevation ordinance levels, reducing the impact of large and small flood events. This activity reduces damages to residential structures in flood events, thereby reducing long-term costs to NFIP, the homeowners, reduces impact to emergency response personnel, and breaks the repeat-claim cycle. The cost share is 93% and comprised of three-severe repetitive loss properties and five-repetitive loss properties. This award is pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Act.

Jefferson Parish - 2016 Reconstruction of Flood Prone Structures - $4.6M

This grant will fund mitigation reconstruction of 24 properties in Jefferson Parish. The reconstructed properties will exceed base flood elevation with an additional two-feet of elevation to meet local ordinance levels, reducing the impact of large and small flood events. This activity reduces damages to residential structures in flood events, thereby reducing long-term costs to the National Flood Insurance Program and the homeowners, reduces impact to emergency response personnel, and breaks the repeat-claim cycle. The cost share is 100% federal because the properties are severe repetitive loss. This award is pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Act.

St. Tammany Parish – FMA 2016 Elevation Application II - $5.2M

This grant will fund the elevation of 23 properties. The elevated properties will exceed base flood elevation ordinance levels, reducing the impact of large and small flood events. The cost share is 94% federal because the project is comprised of 10 severe repetitive loss properties, 11 repetitive loss properties, and two insured properties. This award is pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Act.

Livingston Parish 2016 FMA - $2.1M

This grant will fund the elevation of four properties and the voluntary acquisition of nine properties. The elevation properties will exceed base flood elevation ordinance levels, reducing the impact of large and small flood events. The acquisition and elevation activities will reduce or eliminate damages to residential structures. The cost share is 99% federal due to the composition of two repetitive loss and 11 severe repetitive loss properties. This award is pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Act.

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WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today announced that FEMA has awarded $8.6 million to help Louisiana recover from the August 2016 floods.

FEMA awarded:

$5.9 million to Ascension Parish.
$2.7 million to Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School

“This money is vital to parishes that were devastated by the August 2016 floods,” said Sen. Kennedy. “Ascension Parish sustained heavy flooding and incurred expensive cleanup work. Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School took over a historic Baton Rouge campus only to be relocated by the flooding a week after starting classes. This money will help them recover and rebuild.”

The flooding created extensive debris that Ascension Parish had to remove. Cristo Rey was forced to relocate to a temporary location after losing its campus to the flood.

“Sen. Kennedy has worked hard to secure the flood recovery funding we need, and I appreciate his efforts,” said Ascension Parish President Kenny Matassa. “Every penny counts in our mission to rebuild Ascension Parish and make our community whole again.”

“The August flooding forced us to relocate last year from the former Redemptorist High School campus just a week after starting classes. Every single building on that historic campus was lost,” said Brian Moscona, principal of Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High. “This funding will allow us to return to a campus that has been part of the north Baton Rouge community for more than 65 years. I want to thank Sen. Kennedy for working with us to secure the funding that we need to recover.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and nearly a dozen colleagues sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Friday requesting the cancellation of the August state work period so the Senate can focus on delivering important and necessary reforms to the American people.

The senators emphasized that little time remains in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

“We need to focus on passing meaningful reforms for health care and taxes. We also need to pass all 12 appropriations bills that fund the federal government and extend the National Flood Insurance Program,” said Sen. Kennedy. “We don’t have time to go on vacation when there’s work that remains to be done for the American people. You wouldn’t put a cake in the oven and then leave to go on vacation before it has finished baking. I am ready to work nights, weekends and holidays.”

The senators wrote: “Our current Senate calendar shows only 33 potential working days remaining before the end of the fiscal year. This does not appear to give us enough time to adequately address the issues that demand immediate attention. Therefore, we respectfully request that you consider truncating, if not completely foregoing, the scheduled August state work period, allowing us more time to complete our work.

“Delivering meaningful results was never assumed to be easy, but the millions of Americans who placed their confidence in our leadership expect our full and best effort.”

View the full text of the letter below:

Dear Leader McConnell:

We are united in our belief that we must work with a sense of urgency to deliver conservative solutions for pressing legislative issues on behalf of the American people. Our current Senate calendar shows only 33 potential working days remaining before the end of the fiscal year. This does not appear to give us enough time to adequately address the issues that demand immediate attention. Therefore, we respectfully request that you consider truncating, if not completely foregoing, the scheduled August state work period, allowing us more time to complete our work.

There are five imperatives which must be accomplished this year. We must complete the first phase of Obamacare repeal and replace. Next, we have to pass a budget that serves as a reconciliation vehicle for reforming our outdated tax code. Before September 30th, we must agree on an appropriation that responsibly funds the government. Also, we must deal with our debt limit before that approximate date. If we successfully navigate those priorities, we can finally get to our once in a generation opportunity on tax reform. Growing the economy, repairing our infrastructure, and rebuilding our military are all dependent on accomplishing the tasks before us.

Each of these issues is challenging in its own right. For example, the passage of a budget and all twelve appropriations bills before September 30th is a rarity, occurring only 4 times in the last 43 years. However, the stakes are much higher this year. We simply cannot afford to lose any additional time in resolving these issues when tax reform is hanging in the balance. Robust change to our tax code is our single most important economic growth tool, and there is already growing anticipation for us to act. Failure to deliver could have devastating economic consequences.

We appreciate your leadership, both in advancing our agenda and by moving a package of bills this year to roll back regulations. This effort has already helped deliver much needed relief and advance economic growth. Further, we have been encouraged by your work to date to help us stay on track. However, there is much to be done.

Please be assured that our request is fully backed by our commitment to thoughtfully and diligently work through these issues. We simply recognize that making America great again requires a certain time commitment. Delivering meaningful results was never assumed to be easy, but the millions of Americans who placed their confidence in our leadership expect our full and best effort.

Sincerely,

______________________________ ______________________________

John Kennedy David Perdue