Kennedy introduces bill to help veterans maximize disability benefits, punish fraudsters
Jun 01 2023
The legislation would also protect individuals from fraudsters by ensuring that criminals face penalties for taking advantage of veterans.
“The government should not stand in the way of veterans’ ability to get the most out of their VA benefits. The PLUS for Veterans Act would protect veterans’ access to private organizations that help them file claims and impose criminal penalties on fraudsters,” said Kennedy.
Data shows that private VA claim consulting services are generally more effective in resolving VA claims than public Veteran Service Organizations are. The bill also establishes safeguards to make veterans aware of other options to get help filing claims and to prevent conflicts of interest.
The PLUS for Veterans Act would:
- Impose criminal penalties or fines on unaccredited individuals or businesses for directly or indirectly soliciting, contracting for, charging or receiving any fee or compensation with respect to the preparation, presentation or prosecution of any claim for VA benefits.
- Cap legislative fees that private providers can collect.
- Allow private groups to charge fees only when a claim is successful.
- Create medical protections to ensure private actors do not benefit inappropriately from relationships with medical providers.
Reps. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) are leading the legislation in the House of Representatives.
Full text of the PLUS for Veterans Act is available here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $3,096,913 in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Louisiana disaster aid.
“I am looking forward to seeing Lake Charles use this grant to restore its Civic Center facility after Hurricane Laura battered the community,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $3,096,913 to the city of Lake Charles for damages to the Civic Center Marquis Sign as a result of Hurricane Laura.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $1,441,613 in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Louisiana.
“I am grateful that this $1.4 million will help protect folks’ homes, schools and businesses from flood damage in Caldwell Parish,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $1,441,613 to Caldwell Parish to improve drainage capacity and mitigate flood damages to properties in Hurricane Creek.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $27,764,717 in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Louisiana.
“New Orleans is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina’s damage, and Calcasieu Parish is rebuilding from Hurricane Laura. I am grateful this $27.8 million will benefit Louisianians in both communities,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $20,990,022 to the Calcasieu Parish School Board for damages from Hurricane Laura.
- $4,683,479 to the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board for Hurricane Katrina.
- $2,091,216 to the city of New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Kennedy announces $45.5 million for Broadmoor and Central City to reduce flood property damage
May 26 2023
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $45,549,527 in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Louisiana.
“I’m happy to see this $45.5 million investment going to help reduce flooding in the Broadmoor and Central City communities to protect Louisianians’ homes and businesses,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $45,549,527 to the Broadmoor and Central City, La. neighborhoods to upgrade stormwater drainage infrastructure.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $16,537,874 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Louisiana disaster aid.
“I am grateful to see that this $16.5 million will go towards Vermilion, Calcasieu and Iberville Parishes, and to our state, for disaster recovery and flood prevention efforts,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $11,211,864 to the Louisiana Department of Military for emergency protective measures as a result of Hurricane Laura.
- $2,355,493 for the elevation of eight properties and the acquisition of three properties in Vermilion Parish to mitigate flood risk.
- $1,501,399 to the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury for emergency protective measures as a result of Hurricane Laura.
- $1,469,118 to Iberville Parish for emergency protective measures required as a result of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding.
Kennedy urges Durbin to de-politicize Judiciary Committee, return focus to border crisis, fentanyl epidemic
May 24 2023
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) and all other Judiciary Republicans in urging Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the committee’s chairman, to refocus the committee on addressing the most pressing issues facing Americans.
Instead, Judiciary Committee Democrats are forcing members to participate in a partisan effort to destroy the credibility of the Supreme Court and “weaponize the powers of the Committee in a political campaign of partisan destruction.”
The letter comes after Durbin led Judiciary Democrats in demanding information from Harlan Crow, a private citizen, related to travel and hospitality provided to a Supreme Court Justice.
“We write with grave concerns about your demands. Consistent with its Article I power and the Rules of the Senate, the Committee must have a legitimate legislative purpose for its inquiry into Mr. Crow’s affairs, and the scope of the inquiry must be reasonably related to its purpose. There appears to be neither here,” wrote the senators.
“Your requests appear misaligned and political. Further, they only target conservative members of the Supreme Court. To start, your letters claim that you believe ‘private access’ to justices—seemingly when justices socialize with anyone not on the Court—‘creates an appearance of undue influence that undermines the public’s trust in the Court’s impartiality.’ But judges, justices, politicians, and other public figures engage with friends in private settings every day—just as anyone else,” they continued.
“We urge you to withdraw your May 8th letters to Mr. Crow and his entities and to refocus the Judiciary Committee’s efforts on legitimate inquiries. With the country confronting a fentanyl epidemic and a crisis on our border due to illegal immigration, there are many issues worthy of this Committee’s time and efforts,” the senators concluded.
The full letter, which also cites relevant case law and numerous instances of hospitality received by justices that Democrats favor, is available here.
Kennedy’s recent defense of the Supreme Court in Judiciary Committee hearings can be viewed here and here.
State Department hears Kennedy’s concern over ongoing threat to religious freedom in Finland
May 22 2023
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has received a response from the U.S. State Department saying that the department has “directly engaged Finnish officials on” the cases of Dr. Päivi Räsänen and Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola. The Finnish Christians continue to be the targets of prosecution from Finland’s government for expressing their sincere religious views in a non-violent manner.
“Religious freedom remains under threat in Finland even though the court acquitted Dr. Räsänen and Rev. Dr. Pohjola more than a year ago. I appreciate the State Department’s attention to this pressing issue and urge it to continue to advocate for religious liberty and for Finland to abandon its efforts to prosecute faith. People shouldn’t be subjected to criminal prosecution for expressing their sincere religious views in a non-violent manner, yet the Finnish government is attempting for a second time to convict these people of faith,” said Kennedy.
Kennedy voiced concerns over this prosecution with the U.S. State Department’s Ambassador-at-Large in the Office of International Religious Freedom, Rashad Hussain, and U.S. Ambassador to Finland, Douglas Hickey, and has urged the U.S. State Department to engage the Finnish government over its refusal to accept the acquittal of Räsänen and Pohjola.
According to the State Department, the Finnish government’s appeals process will likely not result in a hearing until August 2023, but the U.S. embassy will continue to engage on the issue with officials and religious communities in Finland.
“As we have communicated to our counterparts, promoting respect for and protecting freedom of religion or belief remains an important U.S. foreign policy priority. The U.S. Embassy in Helsinki has closely monitored these cases and has raised them in discussions with Finnish government counterparts, as well as with religious and civil society leaders,”the State Department told Kennedy.
Background:
Räsänen and Pohjola were unanimously absolved of criminal liability for expressing their religious beliefs on March 30, 2022, and the court ordered Finnish prosecutors to pay nearly $67,000 in legal fees. The Finnish government, however, appealed the acquittal.
Kennedy originally wrote to the State Department in March 2022 to raise concerns about Finland’s prosecution of non-violent expressions of faith. The prosecution of Räsänen and Pohjola occurs while Europe continues to witness anti-Christian hate crimes and hostility toward Christian-led organizations throughout the continent.
Kennedy’s March 2022 letter is available here, and his December 2022 letter is available here.
The State Department’s May 2023 response is available here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $25,442,269 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Louisiana disaster aid.
“Hurricanes Ida and Laura struck our state badly. This $25.4 million will greatly help the folks in Calcasieu, Jefferson and Terrebonne Parishes in their recovery,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $12,819,966 to Calcasieu Parish School Board for repairs on the Barbe High School campus as a result of Hurricane Laura.
- $11,545,372 to Terrebonne Parish for electrical line repair as a result of Hurricane Ida.
- $1,076,931 to Jefferson Parish for emergency protective measures as a result of Hurricane Ida.
View Kennedy’s speech here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today spoke on the Senate floor in support of efforts to improve education for Louisiana’s children. Louisiana House Bill (H.B.) 12 would protect students from being promoted to the fourth grade if their reading deficiencies have not been remedied by the end of the third grade.
“Over half of my children, my young people, in Louisiana are not reading at their grade level, and, at some point, as a child is socially promoted in school and progresses, it almost becomes impossible for a child to learn if the child can’t read,” said Kennedy.
“We’ve got to be courageous enough to try new things that we think will work,” he added.
“Here’s what H.B. 12 would do: It would say, ‘Look, we’re not blaming anyone, but if you are a child in the third grade in Louisiana and you can’t read—according to objective standard—at an acceptable level, then you’re going to stay in the third grade . . . We think you can learn, and you can’t learn if you can’t read.’ Now, that doesn’t mean that the child just repeats the third grade with no help. We will assign that child special tutors. We will assign that child special attention. . . . Our kids deserve the chance. Every child can learn,” concluded Kennedy.
Louisiana spends $2,000 per student more than Florida and $2,600 more than Mississippi, but both states outperform Louisiana in grade four in terms of reading and math, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
According to reporting, Mississippi and Florida represent “the two biggest NAEP improvement stories of the last twenty years” and demonstrated notable gains on reading scores after enacting a measure similar to H.B. 12.
The Louisiana State House passed H.B. 12 by a vote of 88-15 on May 16, 2023. The Louisiana State Senate is now considering the bill.
View Kennedy’s full speech here.
