Dear friends,

I visited every corner of Louisiana during August, talking to regular folks in Louisiana about the challenges you’re facing and what needs to happen to help. Business owners, veterans, fishermen, local officials, law enforcement officers and others sent me back to Washington with plenty of common sense ideas to make our state and nation an even better place.

Here are a few of the things I worked on during August:

Safe Haven Groundbreaking

Opioid addictions destroy families and affect the young and old, rich and poor.  We have a crisis across this country and in Louisiana.  The Trump administration’s drug czar, Jim Carroll, visited Louisiana earlier this year to talk to those on the front lines of this fight.  In August, he came back to help us break ground on the Safe Haven crisis center in Mandeville.  Located on the grounds of the former Southeast Louisiana Hospital, Safe Haven will be a 24-bed facility offering comprehensive behavioral health treatment.  This facility will help combat the opioid addictions in our state and serve as a candle of hope in the battle against addiction.

Prescription Drug Costs

Traveling around the state, I repeatedly heard folks talking about the rising cost of prescription drugs.  Too often, families are faced with the difficult decision of paying their electric bill or purchasing life-savings drugs for a loved one.  This problem is especially dire for our senior citizens, and that is unacceptable.  I met with AARP representatives to discuss this issue and ways we can lower health care costs.  I introduced legislation aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs and making generic pharmaceutical drugs more available to patients.  We cannot continue putting American lives at risk due to sky-high drug prices.

Visiting with Veterans

Our veterans fought for our freedom, and out of respect to their service, we owe them the best care we can offer.  I enjoyed visiting the Northeast Louisiana War Veterans Home in Monroe where I learned of the heroic actions of Korean War Veteran Corporal Jarvis Renfroun, former member of the 82nd Airborne Division.  It’s always an honor to meet with our nation’s veterans, and I’m grateful for their service. 

Returning Unclaimed Savings Bonds

More than $25 billion in matured, unredeemed savings bonds is sitting in the U.S. Treasury waiting to be claimed. Over the years, savings bonds were purchased and lost, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be redeemed.  I introduced the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act, which would give states’ Unclaimed Property programs access to the U.S. Treasury’s records on the bonds. We can make it easier for people to locate and claim the savings bonds that their grandmothers bought for them decades ago.    

Senator Sightings:

While visiting Broussard, I was honored to meet several of its finest officers.  I appreciate their service to their community.

WWII veteran Anderson Wilson served in the classified Ghost Army during WWII.  I was honored to meet him and his family.  I am sponsoring legislation to present all the members of the Ghost Army with Congressional Gold medals.

I appreciated the opportunity to speak at the Natchitoches Chamber of Commerce and visit with some of the fine folks from Natchitoches.

Rescue dogs are the best kind of dogs.  I enjoyed visiting with some of the adoptable animals at the SPCA in New Orleans, the same place where our dog Jack lived before joining our family.

It’s time for some football.  I enjoyed visiting with Gayle Benson and the New Orleans Saints as they gear up for another great football season.

Grant Roundup