Governor John Bel Edwards, seen here in a September meeting of the Restore Louisiana Task Force, expressed optimism Tuesday about additional federal disaster relief funding for the state.
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana may receive additional flood relief money, but the push for federal aid is far from over, Gov. John Bel Edwards said.
Disaster relief funding included in the Continuing Resolution the U.S. House Appropriations Committee released Tuesday includes an additional $4.1 billion in disaster assistance for states impacted by flooding and hurricanes.
This assistance follows an initial down payment of $438 million out of $500 million that was secured in September’s CR.
Louisiana is expected to receive more than $1.2 billion in Community Development Block Grants, in addition to other funds.
“We are making significant progress in obtaining the necessary resources from the federal government to recover from the historic floods in March and August," said Gov. Edwards. "This additional assistance is a significant step in the right direction that will give Louisianans some much-needed help as we continue to rebuild. I want to thank the Obama Administration, leaders in Congress, and our entire Louisiana congressional delegation for their work to secure this funding. We still have a long ways to go, and while this is not all that Louisiana needs, we are extremely grateful for the support from around the country.
“Make no mistake, we will return to Congress in the spring to ask for additional assistance to complete our package. Louisianans deserve nothing less than a full recovery, and my administration won’t stop until we are able to secure that. I look forward to continuing to work with the Louisiana delegation, as well as the Trump Administration, to get the assistance we need next year.”
Gov. Edwards visited Washington, D.C. five times since September to lobby for disaster relief funding following historic flooding in March and August. In September, Congress approved more than $500 million in disaster assistance for states, which included $438 million for Louisiana alone. This initial down payment of assistance was secured in record time, less two months after the August flood.
On Monday, Nov. 21, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the guidelines for how the funds can be spent. The state is currently developing its plan within those guidelines and will submit a plan for approval prior to the funds being disbursed.
