Sw Louisiana News

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) announced today that FEMA is awarding an additional $33,665,799.56 million in federal grants for hurricane recovery efforts in Southwest Louisiana.

The funding is made available through the major disaster declaration for Hurricane Laura (DR-4559-LA), which Congressman Higgins supported.

The reimbursement includes:

• $2,599,655.79 to the Office of Risk Management for building repairs to McNeese University. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
• $2,360,537.10 to the Office of Risk Management for repairs to the LERC Building at McNeese University. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
• $4,362,027.89 to the Office of Risk Management for repairs to the Farm Building at McNeese University. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
• $2,801,975.04 to the Office of Risk Management for repairs to the Rockefeller Office Buildings at McNeese University. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
• $2,247,619.50 to the Office of Risk Management for repairs to the Equine Center at McNeese University. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
• $2,264,528.62 to the Calcasieu Parish School Board for repairs to Vinton Elementary School. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
• $7,887,056.40 to Jefferson Davis Electric Co-Op Inc for permanent restoration of damaged 69kV transmission lines. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
• $3,675,311.55 to the Jefferson Davis Electric Co-Op Inc. for permanent restoration of the damaged Hackett Substation power transmission and distribution facility. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
• $1,918,229.67 to the Calcasieu Parish School Board for building repairs for Oak Park Elementary School. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
• $3,362,076.00 to Calcasieu Parish for residential mitigation of 16 properties. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
• $186,782.00 to Calcasieu Parish for management costs related to the residential mitigation efforts. The award is made pursuant to Section 1215 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018, which amended Section 324 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.

Much of our official Congressional work to advance recovery projects occurs behind the scenes. Funding finalization and the associated formal announcement of funding are the result of constant efforts over many months with FEMA and state and local stakeholders. All funding will be delivered to the State of Louisiana. The state is responsible for disbursing the funds to each sub-recipient.

A more extensive timeline of Congressman Higgins' actions on hurricane recovery is available here.

Congressman Higgins issued the following statement:

“Southwest Louisiana has stood as a pillar of strength through every storm we have faced. Our communities stand resilient throughout the recovery mission and keep our spirits high. To date, our office has delivered $4.2 billion in recovery relief. We will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to deliver the resources needed to recover and mitigate against future disasters.”

For more information, visit clayhiggins.house.gov