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BATON ROUGE –Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-Louisiana) met with St. John the Baptist Parish President Jaclyn Hotard in LaPlace, and St. James Parish President Pete Dufresne, Sheriff Willy Martin and other parish officials in Convent. They discussed what their parishes need to recover from Hurricane Ida.

“I met with St. John and St. James officials this morning,” said Dr. Cassidy. “There are deep needs, but progress is being made. My goal is to obtain the federal aid needed to address Hurricane Ida, and to also pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill to better prepare for the next hurricane.”

The destruction seen across the region also shows a need for housing solutions, Cassidy said.

Since Hurricane Ida, Cassidy has reviewed damage or met with officials in Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, St. Charles, St. Tammany and Terrebonne parishes, to assess their needs following Ida. He also took an aerial tour with the U.S. Coast Guard following the storm. He joined the Louisiana Congressional Delegation to request a Major Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Ida, a request President Joe Biden granted.

Additionally, on Friday, September 3, Cassidy met with President Biden in St. John Parish and asked that he support supplemental disaster relief for those affected by Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta and other natural disasters in 2020. On the following Tuesday, the White House Budget Office issued a formal request asking Congress to do that. Cassidy also joined the Louisiana Congressional Delegation to add Hurricane Ida to the list of hurricanes from which Louisiana needs assistance.

Background

In January of 2021, Louisiana requested $3 billion to address unmet recovery needs after Hurricane Laura. Cassidy and Louisiana’s Congressional Delegation have previously called on Congress to support disaster relief for southwest Louisiana. They continue to press their colleagues to approve the measure. Additionally, FEMA recently awarded 11 grants totaling over $68 million to state and local governments as reimbursement for costs related to Hurricanes Laura and Delta, and future flood mitigation.