Eb-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I am rising to support the amendment that my colleague Senator John Kennedy will introduce. So I will speak before he introduces it, but I speak in support thereof.

Senator Kennedy is going to introduce an amendment that would increase and that would grant disaster relief in several regions of the country, but I speak on behalf of those in Southwest Louisiana.

A picture tells a thousand words. If you recall back 3 years ago, Hurricane Laura hit Southwest Louisiana. Two weeks later, almost on the exact same track, Hurricane Delta followed up, destroying that which had not already been destroyed by Hurricane Laura.

The devastation of these storms was dramatic. Now I thank the American people. There has been aid that has been given by fellow Americans to these communities, but it has been less than what is required. And flying over, the picture tells a thousand words. There are still blue tarps on top of roofs years after the storm has hit. And for those who are unfamiliar with it, blue tarps are when the roof has been destroyed, you place the tarp so that it hopefully provides protection that shingles otherwise would.

When you are on the ground and you go through the neighborhood, there are homes that are blighted, boarded up, and as they have been boarded up, criminals have come in and businesses have closed. This particularly affects lower income communities. Those who have more resources, they will recover, but those folks who need a little extra help, they are not.

And so, as we think about the aid that my fellow Americans are asked to give to their fellow Americans, I just will give some statistics. Hurricane Laura cost $19 billion in damages; Hurricane Delta another $3 billion; and Ida, of course, not only hit Southwest Louisiana, but cost $75 billion in damages from Louisiana to New York.

There is a lot that has happened. I ask for additional support as outlined in my colleague John Kennedy's amendment to finish the recovery for these folks who have endured so much.

I humbly ask my colleagues to support the amendment.

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Mr. CASSIDY. Madam President, I'll add to what my colleague, John Kennedy, said.

If you fly over southwest Louisiana, you see blue tarps. Those tarps are there because the families have not had the money to replace their roofs. If you get on the ground, you see blighted neighborhoods. Those blighted neighborhoods are where people have moved, the rooms are boarded up, criminals have entered, and those who have left are now prey to criminals. And as they have left, the businesses have closed.

We do so much in this country for those who have been injured, and we appreciate in South Louisiana all that has already been done. But there is a little bit more needed to particularly benefit those who are less well-off.

So I join my colleague, Senator Kennedy, in requesting that additional funding to complete the job started so Southwest Louisiana can become whole once more.

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