“The Port of South Louisiana helps drive the state and national economies in a big way. I’m excited to see this grant create and protect jobs in LaPlace and around the region.”

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced a $13.4 million grant from the Department of Transportation to fund the Port of South Louisiana’s (POSL) Globalplex Multi-Modal Connections Project in LaPlace, Louisiana.

“The Port of South Louisiana helps drive the state and national economies in a big way. I’m excited to see this grant create and protect jobs in LaPlace and around the region,” said Kennedy.

Kennedy in September sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao asking the department to consider the port’s grant application.

“Our ports are an integral component of our Nation’s economic success. As the Administration continues to invest in America’s infrastructure, this program will further modernize and improve the efficiency of our waterways,” said Secretary Chao.

“The Port of South Louisiana is pleased to acknowledge being the recipient of a $13.4 million dollar multi-modal grant. These grant funds will go a long way to assist the Port with many very important multi-modal projects. We want to thank Senator Cassidy, Senator Kennedy and Congressmen Scalise, Graves and Richmond for their support and assistance. The Port also appreciates the confidence Secretary Elaine Chao has in the Port in awarding us this multi-modal grant,” said Paul Aucoin, Executive Director of the Port of South Louisiana.

As the largest tonnage port in North America, the POSL serves as a significant economic producer for the region and the nation. The project will construct a new heavy capacity dock access bridge, an access road, a rail spur and a dry storage area with conveyors to move bulk material.

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) released the following statement after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced plans outlining the public auction of the C-Band spectrum.

“My duty, and the FCC’s duty, is to the American taxpayers. The C-Band spectrum belongs to them, and the 5G opportunities it represents are also theirs. Unfortunately, the sum Chairman Pai suggested giving to foreign satellite companies is much too high, and it’s highly unfair to those taxpayers. We shouldn’t be in the business of spearheading Luxembourg bailouts when there are towns in Louisiana and across the country without access to broadband service.  

“My colleagues and I have put a bipartisan bill on the table that would pay down our national debt, modernize public safety and finally free rural communities from dial-up prison. Our priorities are in the right place, and I encourage the FCC to consider its proposal in light of those American priorities.”

Kennedy has been a proponent for a public auction of the C-Band spectrum and introduced the bipartisan Spectrum Management and Reallocation for Taxpayers Act with Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) last month.

This legislation would ensure billions of dollars in proceeds from the public auction of C-Band spectrum go to the taxpayers who own the spectrum. The SMART Act would give the FCC authority to conduct a public auction of C-Band spectrum and uses nearly all proceeds from the auction to bridge the digital divide, enable next generation public safety services and cut the national deficit.

“It’s time for SocGen to take responsibility for their role and repay the thousands of victims who lost their life savings in the Stanford Ponzi scheme. We will not stop hunting down these assets, which rightfully belong to many seniors and hard-working people in Louisiana.”

WASHINGTON — Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) sent a letter to Societe General Private Banking (“SocGen”) regarding its participation in the Stanford Ponzi scheme.

“It’s time for SocGen to take responsibility for their role and repay the thousands of victims who lost their life savings in the Stanford Ponzi scheme. We will not stop hunting down these assets, which rightfully belong to many seniors and hard-working people in Louisiana,” said Kennedy.

“Thousands of people lost everything in this scheme. SocGen’s failure to provide oversight of the Stanford accounts contributed to the victims’ losses. SocGen must make things right for the victims,” said Cassidy.

The letter criticizes SocGen’s failure to properly monitor Stanford-affiliated bank accounts, which were used to manage the personal assets of the Stanford group’s clientele. Although SocGen’s counsel stated there was no evidence that it knew about or participated in the Ponzi scheme, a Swiss court concluded that SocGen didn’t act in good faith when it worked with the Stanford International Bank. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority determined that, in the case of Stanford, SocGen violated its anti-money laundering responsibilities.

Kennedy and Cassidy’s offices conducted a meeting with SocGen’s legal counsel in April to discuss the litigation filed against them, yet no members of the board or management team attended.

“[B]e assured that the absence of SocGen leadership, along with the unsatisfactory and disingenuous responses we received during the course of this meeting, will only encourage our offices to continue its zealous investigation of SocGen and other financial institutions that enabled Allen Stanford and his entities to defraud investors of nearly $7 billion,” wrote Kennedy and Cassidy.

Since the meeting, the Louisiana senators have continued investigating SocGen and other financial institutions that assisted Allen Stanford and his entities in defrauding investors.

“The inescapable conclusion is there was a complete failure of due diligence and monitoring of Stanford-affiliated accounts that SocGen was obligated to conduct. Your counsel stated there was no evidence that it knew about or participated in the Ponzi scheme. Not only does that appear to be a dubious proposition, but, more importantly, the determination of the Swiss court suggests that there are systemic problems with SocGen’s anti-money laundering practices that warrant scrutiny by our offices and applicable regulatory authorities that we will be contacting,” said the senators.

Read the full letter here.

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) released the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s third State of the Union address.

 “Under President Trump, America has done the hard work of charting a path to remarkable strength and success. I’m firmly in favor of freedom, prosperity and building a better tomorrow for America’s kids. This evening’s address showed the president’s commitment to moving all these priorities forward.

“America is respected around the world again because the president is restoring a strong, decisive national defense. Peace often comes through strength, and America’s enemies know that they don’t get to write the rules any longer. At the same time, American workers are seeing higher wages and more job opportunities because the government is finally moving out of their way. The president is looking for ways to make quality health care affordable as Democrats’ plans for socialized medicine continue to fail hardworking Americans and the people they love.

“In short, Americans have reason to be optimistic. We have reason to be confident. And Congress has every reason to renew our efforts on behalf of workers, families and kids in Louisiana and throughout our country.”