Sen. Cassidy says Louisiana’s coastal areas will benefit from new federal infrastructure law

THIBODAUX, La. (WVUE) – Louisiana Sen. Invoice Cassidy stated Monday (Aug. 22) that the just lately handed federal infrastructure regulation will profit the state’s coastal communities whereas additionally serving to the oil trade.

“It has cash for coastal restoration, flood mitigation, issues that may revitalize the power trade,” the Republican lawmaker stated at a luncheon in Lafourche Parish sponsored by the Bayou Industrial Group.

Not removed from Freeway 1, the place homes sit alongside the bayou, Cassidy mingled with enterprise, civic and political leaders in Thibodaux. Touting methods the $1 trillion federal infrastructure regulation will profit the realm was excessive on his agenda.

Earlier than his speech, Cassidy instructed Fox 8 that the infrastructure package deal is benefitting smaller communities simply as it’s bigger, extra populated areas.

“One instance: There’s $65 billion to be sure that each parish and county, that everybody in them has entry to high-speed reasonably priced web,” Cassidy stated. “Now, while you go additional south than these parishes — Lafourche and Terrebonne — you start to lose web. (So) that’s financial growth, that’s catastrophe (help), that’s telehealth. So, that is going to filter out to smaller communities, less-populated communities, and that was a part of our intent.”

Stacey Nichols, government director of the Bayou Industrial Group, stated the enterprise group is a non-partisan group that doesn’t take positions on points, however invitations audio system to realize data.

“Within the enterprise neighborhood, there’s so many issues. However in our space particularly, we’re at all times speaking about coastal points, fuel manufacturing and drilling, issues like that. It’s going to range so much primarily based on trade.”

Cassidy stated offshore power manufacturing just isn’t being ignored.

“There’s going to be elevated offshore manufacturing, primarily based upon latest laws handed by Congress,” Cassidy stated. “Nevertheless it received’t simply be offshore oil and fuel manufacturing. Within the infrastructure invoice, there’s additionally cash for carbon seize utilization sequestration. We take one thing out of the bottom, however we use the identical workforce and the identical know-how to place stuff again underneath the bottom. It makes our trade extra aggressive. It creates extra American jobs.”

Lafourche Parish president Archie Chaisson stated federal purple tape stays a difficulty practically a yr since Hurricane Ida.

“It appears, in quite a lot of instances, that the great should undergo for the dangerous, as a result of individuals have misspent earlier obligations,” Chaisson stated. “However we’re hopeful to have the ability to work with Sen. Cassidy and even the FEMA administrator on how these processes work and see if there’s a approach to pace it up, in order that we are able to pace up the restoration on our finish.”

And with the Ida restoration not full in Lafourche Parish, some stated that provides to the angst because the hurricane season progresses.

“Look, we nonetheless have short-term roofs on quite a lot of our buildings,” Chaisson stated. “We nonetheless have pump stations which are in imminent hazard of failure. So all these issues that issue into our hurricane planning, in addition to the 4,000-plus individuals we nonetheless have in short-term shelter.”

Cassidy stated extra catastrophe funding may very well be made accessible.

“There’s one thing known as a catastrophe supplemental,” he stated. “We take all of the disasters within the nation, through which there must be just a little bit of additional {dollars} or quite a lot of further {dollars} to assist individuals utterly get well as a lot as they will. We predict there will likely be one other a kind of this yr and there will likely be further {dollars} to assist these of us nonetheless recovering from Ida.”

Rising flood insurance coverage premiums are a priority alongside the coast, in addition to in different areas of southern Louisiana.

“We’re preventing issues like our flood insurance coverage price maps and Threat Ranking 2.0 and the way that provides to the nervousness of people who find themselves nonetheless recovering, coping with their householders’ insurance coverage,” Chaisson stated.

Cassidy says he continues to work on flood insurance coverage points. It’s as much as Congress to reauthorize the Nationwide Flood Insurance coverage Program.

“It will likely be reauthorized this yr, I’m assured in that,” he stated. “However now we have been placing collectively a invoice which might each cap the quantity of price will increase, make this system extra reasonably priced, extra sustainable, extra accountable to the taxpayer.

“It’s going to have some price of development (in premiums) as a result of there’s inflation. Nevertheless it must be capped a lot decrease than this 18 %, which is compounding now, or else individuals will simply be unable to afford their flood insurance coverage.”

Cassidy additionally commented on the push to make public the affidavit associated to the search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida property. Cassidy known as for as a lot transparency as attainable.

“In impact, he admitted to having the paperwork, however stated they have been declassified,” Cassidy stated. “Effectively, that’s one thing we must always be capable of know, and the method needs to be as clear as attainable.

“The American individuals have to know, was there one thing there or is that this a political hit job?”

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