Gov. Edwards Returning To Washington, Sets Up Recovery Group

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards is heading back to Washington to push for federal disaster aid for Louisiana, as he establishes a task force charged with overseeing recovery efforts from the August flooding.

The Democratic governor will meet with President Barack Obama and congressional leaders during his Wednesday through Friday visit.

He's seeking a $2.8 billion recovery package that Edwards says is crucial to Louisiana's rebuilding. The governor acknowledged getting the aid through Congress this month will be "a hard nut to crack."

On Tuesday, Edwards announced the creation of the Restore Louisiana Task Force, a 21-member group, that will help devise recovery and redevelopment plans on housing, economic development, education, transportation, agriculture and more.

Its role will be similar to the Louisiana Recovery Authority created after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

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