Congressman Bobby Jindal (LA-01) today announced that the new supplemental spending bill, which comes before the House Appropriations Committee today, will contain billions of dollars for hurricane recovery projects in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast. Jindal also asked House leadership to allow for a separate vote on hurricane relief funding without adding other unrelated provisions.
"While I am certainly glad to see more funding to help our state recover from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, I ask House leadership to allow a separate vote on this funding," Jindal said. "Too many people along the Gulf Coast are still struggling to recover from the hurricanes of 2005 for political games to be played with recovery dollars."
Last week Jindal sent a letter to the Speaker of the House requesting funding for certain projects, and three of Jindal's five requests were granted. Many of the provisions were also previously contained in bills cosponsored by Jindal. The supplemental calls for $1.3 billion in new funds to repair and accelerate completion of flood protection projects throughout the New Orleans metro area. In addition, $650 million will be provided to complete flood protection projects at the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal. Jindal's letter to the Speaker requested the $1.3 billion in funds for flood protection purposes.
"Our first priority must be ensuring that all of our communities have adequate flood protection," Jindal said. "The President's budget requested the shifting of $1.3 billion from projects on the East Bank of New Orleans to the West Bank, and this is not something we can afford to let happen. The Corps of Engineers has said the unfinished projects on the West Bank will cost $1.3 billion, which is exactly what the supplemental gives for flood protection in the greater New Orleans area. We cannot afford another disaster on along the lines of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and I will continue to call on my colleagues in Congress and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fully fund and implement all of Louisiana's flood and storm needs."
The bill also contains $60 million that may be used to help Louisiana's educational systems recover, as well as recruit and train new teachers and faculty. Three provisions from the RENEWAAL Act (H.R. 1372), of which Congressman Jindal is a cosponsor, were also incorporated into the supplemental. This includes $30 million to elementary and secondary schools in order to help them recruit and retain teachers and $30 million to higher educational facilities that were forced to suspend their operations for at least 30 days as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Jindal also requested both of these in his letter to House leadership. Finally, the bill will extend existing Federal waivers granted to damaged school districts so they may have continued flexibility in using recovery funds.
Jindal introduced legislation last Congress, the Natural Disaster Student Aid Fairness Act (H.R. 3863), which granted the Secretary of Education the waiver authority to allow higher education institutions to forgo local matching funds in federal campus based aid funds. This bill was signed into law on October 7, 2005. Jindal also introduced legislation that was included as part of the 2005 Department of Defense Appropriations bill which allocated $1.6 billion in education support for the thousands of children displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The money helped schools in Louisiana and Mississippi rebuild and reopen so displaced students could return home.
"As we continue to rebuild, ensuring that our educational system is able to rebuild better and stronger is of the utmost importance for our state's future," Jindal added. "I am glad that provisions building on my bill from last year were included in the supplemental. We must be able to rebuild and repair schools that were affected by the hurricanes, as well as make certain that these schools are able to hire and train new teachers. Our children's and our state's future are intertwined, and by improving our educational systems, we are improving our future."
Also included in the supplemental were three additional provisions from bills that Congressman Jindal has cosponsored. The first provision allows FEMA to forgive the Community Disaster Loans for local governments, which was called for in H.R. 680. Second is $550 million to extend Social Services Block Grants set to expire on September 30, 2007, originally part of H.R. 184. Finally, $910 million was granted to waive the state and local cost shares resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which was included in the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Federal Match Relief Act (H.R. 1144).
"I am very pleased that so many provisions from bills that I have cosponsored were included in the supplemental," Jindal said. "The government has always helped those rebuilding from disasters in waiving cost shares and forgiving certain loans, such as after 9-11 or Hurricane Andrew, and this is ensuring that we receive fair and equal treatment. This legislation will free up dollars for all of our rebuilding needs, so that we do not end up in another situation where dollars are taken from one project and given to another. These additional dollars will also help stimulate economic development, as well as provide essential services for the residents of Louisiana. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation in the House of Representatives and dispersing these much needed funds as quickly and efficiently as possible."
The supplemental is expected to come before the House of Representatives for a vote sometime next week.