On President’s Visit, Gov. Edwards Requests Additional Assistance For Louisiana
BATON ROUGE - Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards visited with President Barack Obama on his visit to Louisiana to see first-hand the severe flooding that left 20 parishes with a major federal disaster declaration. Having received the federal disaster declaration, Gov. Edwards made several requests of the federal government directly to President Obama. Each request is meant to provide additional assistance to Louisiana residents who have been impacted by this disaster.
“I would first like to thank you for visiting Louisiana and for the support your administration is giving to our state in this time of great need,” Gov. Edwards said in the letter. “As Louisiana rebuilds from this catastrophic and historic flooding event, our federal partners have been responsive to all of our requests. In particular, I want to express my appreciation for the work done by Administrator Fugate and his team at FEMA. From the very beginning of this event, FEMA has been by our side and I am confident this cooperation will continue through our recovery.”
“As you know, this flood event has been devastating for South Louisiana,” Gov. Edwards continued. “It has resulted in destruction to homes, businesses, and public infrastructure in 26 parishes, with 20 of those parishes being included in the Major Disaster Declaration. Further, this event comes on the heels of the March 2016 flood event which saw flooding in every corner of the state and included 37 parishes in the Major Disaster Declaration. As in previous times of difficulty for Louisiana, our people have risen to meet the challenge and to help their friends, families, and neighbors – or even total strangers – begin the process of starting anew. While we do not doubt the ability of our citizens to recover, we need the help of the federal government.”
The areas of Gov. Edwards' requests included:
- State cost share reduction
- Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds
- Hazard mitigation funds
- FHWA Emergency Highway Funding
- Title 32 status for Louisiana National Guard
- Waiver of state cost share for Hurricane and Storm Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS)
- Community Disaster Loan Program
- Recovery Task Force
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