The president recently approved a request by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) for 100 percent direct federal assistance to help his home state of Louisiana manage the aftermath of Hurricane Laura.
President Donald Trump amended a disaster declaration for Louisiana after Sen. Cassidy called him to ask for the federal government to completely cover the costs of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Laura, according to the senator’s office.
“President Trump assured me when Hurricane Laura was threatening the Louisiana coast of whatever was possible to help Louisiana recover,” said Sen. Cassidy. “Granting 100 percent federal cost share for debris removal is one more fulfillment of that promise. I thank President Trump and the people of Louisiana for their resiliency and for keeping hope.”
The 100 percent federal cost share will last for a continuous period of 30 days established by the State of Louisiana, according to the lawmaker’s office.
“Hurricane Laura inflicted widespread devastation upon Louisiana from Cameron Parish to Ouachita Parish,” Sen. Cassidy said. “The combined effects of the coronavirus pandemic and Hurricanes Laura and Delta have exhausted many communities’ ability to recover on their own.”
In September, Sen. Cassidy wrote President Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) asking them to waive the local cost-share percentage (25 percent) and cover 100 percent of the costs associated with damage from Hurricane Laura, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, making it the strongest to hit Louisiana in more than 150 years.
“While the prompt federal assistance and relief efforts by FEMA and other federal agencies to assess the damages and needs of our Louisiana citizens is commendable, there is no doubt that much more needs to be done before there is anything resembling a return to normalcy in the hardest-hit communities impacted by Hurricane Laura,” Sen. Cassidy wrote at the time. “A stronger federal commitment to help people and communities recover from this cataclysmic hurricane is therefore required.”