"Honor Code" and His Lawsuit

Photo source: Newslocker  

Governor John Bel Edwards' lawsuit against Attorney General Jeff Landry shows just how distorted the priorities of this administration are.

At a time when so many people are struggling to rebuild their lives from the flood and the Governor's Shelter at Home program is paralyzed by red tape and government bureaucracy, why is the governor wasting time and taxpayer money on lawsuits?

At a time when our economy is shrinking and tens of thousands of Louisianians are heading to the unemployment line, why is Governor Edwards picking a fight with the attorney general rather than fighting for new jobs? At a time when our state is facing so many difficult challenges, we need a leader and a problem solver, not a sue-first-ask-questions-later litigator.

And It's Only Beginning...................

Photo source: Oilfield Guru

I recently received an email from an insider in the oil and gas industry here in Louisiana concerning a disturbing trend that I fear will be starting because of short-sighted and ill-advised politicians sucking like leeches on the industry with the threat of lawsuits for coastal erosion.  In the email, which appears below, machine work that is normally done here in our state is now being moved to Texas because of the political climate surrounding people like Governor "Honor Code" Edwards and his crony attorney friends.

Shell recently ordered 10 offshore busing assemblies from a Texas machine shop that used to be machined in Louisiana.  Each assembly is about $120,000.

BP contacted same shop for similar work last week saying that they (BP) have to move work that used to be done in Houma to Texas because of a new political environment facing energy companies working in Louisiana.

Good for Texas but bad for Louisiana.

This is already starting and we haven't even filed the first suit against any oil company yet.  What will happen when our "Governor" finally does file that lawsuit?  I can tell you what will happen.  You'll see the decimation of an industry vital to families and hard-working taxpayers in Louisiana.

If you vote Democrat and working in the oil and gas industry, you seriously need to have your head examined.

But, don't blame me.  I voted for Vitter.

Graves Continues to Stay on Top of FEMA Regarding the "Shelter at Home" Program

Representative Garret Graves (LA-06) has continued to keep on top of FEMA and the "Shelter at Home" Program put into place following the floods of the Summer of 2016.  Graves points out several issues that he has with the program's implementation in a recent letter that was sent to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.  Highlights of the letter are:

1. Wasting money on bureaucracy
2. Inappropriate cap
3. Forcing the use of certain contractors
4. Rejecting the "Do It Yourselfers"
5. Transparency

A copy of the letter sent to Fugate can be found here.

Charles Boustany Releases a Piece Called "Finally" Regarding Treasurer John Kennedy

Photo source: YouTube

Congressman Charles Boustany, running for the seat being vacated in the US Senate by David Vitter, is in a heated contest with, among others, State Treasurer John Kennedy.  It seems that Boustany has set his sights on Kennedy with the latest piece being put out by the campaign, along with an accompanying video, highlighting what Boustany calls a "truth telling parody".

Below accompanied the video in an email released today:

The ad says: “He’s a career politician. He’s run for office ten different times.1 Backed a $1.1 billion tax increase.2
 
“John Kennedy led costly short-term budget gimmicks that cost taxpayers $200 million.3 Wasted taxpayer money renting office space from one of his campaign contributors.4
 
“Budget gimmicks. While the state’s credit rating is downgraded.5 John Kennedy: finally, someone is calling him out.”

1Career politician John Kennedy ran for office ten different times from 1991-2016.

1. 1991 – Attorney General (D), lost

2. 1995 – Attorney General (D), withdrew

3. 1999 – Treasurer (D), won

4. 2003 – Treasurer (D), won

5. 2004 – Senate (D), lost

6. 2007 – Treasurer (R), won

7. 2008 – Senate (R), lost

8. 2011 – Treasurer (R), won

9. 2015 – Treasurer (R), won

10.  2016 – Senate (R)

2John Kennedy backed a $1.1 billion tax increase on Louisiana oil & gas earlier this year as a way to make up the state’s budget shortfall. On WWL-Radio New Orleans, Kennedy claimed: “The total amount of waste and inefficiencies that the legislative auditor in these 36 reports identified just last year, in 2015, is $1.745 billion.” When challenged on his numbers, Treasurer Kennedy provided a report on government waste to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards identifying $1.7 billion in ‘waste’ – including $1.148 billion in uncollected revenue from the state’s temporary tax exemption on hydraulic fracturing from 2010-2014.
 
3A performance review of the Louisiana Bond Commission in February found that short-term budget gimmicks employed by Kennedy as Chairman of the Bond Commission dating back to the 2010-2011 budget year helped plug short-term budget gaps, but incurred long-term costs to the state of as much as $231 million.
 
4A report by The Advocate found that the Treasurer’s Office has leased office space since 2011 at One City Plaza in Baton Rouge at a cost of $369,597 per year to taxpayers. The Treasurer repeatedly ignored attempts from the Office of Facility Planning and Control to move to state-owned office space that would have saved the state $293,868 per year. Kennedy has received $21,600 in campaign contributions from the owner of the facility.

5Louisiana’s credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s in February 2016. According to the AP: “Treasurer John Kennedy said Moody’s decision surprised him."

Yet Another Parish Leader Comes Out Against "Honor Code" and His Intentions to Destroy the Oil and Gas Industry

Former legislator from Terrebonne Parish, Gordon Dove, who is now the Parish President for that same parish, has followed suit with many other public servants who have written our "Honor Code" Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, regarding his intention to sue the oil and gas industry for coastal erosion. 

Dove himself served on the Natural Resources and Environment Committee as Chairman and on the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA).  Dove goes on to point on that the majority of the issues surrounding coastal erosion lie with the US Corps of Engineers and of natural consequences.

The photos of the letter are below.

Garret Graves Eviscerates "Honor Code" Edwards on His Coastal Lawsuit Fiasco

Photo source: US House of Representatives

Garret Graves, US Congressman from Louisiana's 6th District, absolutely destroys our Governor, "Honor Code" Edwards, regarding his pursuit to extort money from the oil and gas industry so vital to the Louisiana economy. Graves goes into great detail regarding the impact such a lawsuit would have on our state and the oil and gas industry for which many of our taxpayers rely on for their livelihoods. 

The high point of the letter has to be Graves pointing out political ties with attorneys working on behalf of the state in this suit and Edwards.

"Coastal Louisiana is worth saving - not politicizing or used as a tool to enrich supporters and friends". 

A copy of the letter can be seen here.

Capt. Clay Higgins Celebrates 75 Years of the Sugarcane Festival in New Iberia

Photo source: YouTube  

Cap. Clay Higgins took part in the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the festival on 9/25/16 with a strong reception regarding his message of returning back to our roots and taking back D.C. from the entrenched. 

Fleming Surges to Statistical Tie with Boustany and Campbell in Senate Race

In the latest poll by JMC Analytics, Congressman John Fleming has surged to a statistical tie with Rep. Boustany and PSC Campbell for the race to replace Sen. David Vitter in the US Senate in Louisiana.  Fleming has moved up 6 points since the last poll done in July, while both Boustany and Campbell have held steady with support since the last poll.

A copy of the results of this poll can be found here.

Digital Privacy Shouldn't Depend on a Law Written in the Time of Stranger Things

Photo source: Project Tomorrow Blog

There is a bill making its way through Congress that attempts to address these issues. It's the International Communications Privacy Act. The bipartisan bill—introduced by Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Chris Coons, D-Del., and Dean Heller, R-Nev.—presents significant changes meant to reduce the temptation for law enforcement to overstep its bounds as it did against Microsoft by making MLATs viable options through greater transparency and accountability. More importantly, if implemented, it would codify into law a simple and clear standard: A warrant should always be required to access private information from a third party.

Read more: Digital Privacy Shouldn't Depend on a Law Written in the Time of Stranger Things

"Honor Code" Edwards and His Quest to Take Louisiana Back in Time

An excellent piece was recently written concerning the current Governor's quest to take Louisiana back to a time in place ruled by special interests.

Per the piece, "the biggest impact the election of Mr. Edwards means to the people of Louisiana and anyone doing business in the state will, if the Governor gets his way, mean a state government of trial lawyers, by trial lawyers and for trial lawyers."

It's no more evident that this is occurring than his recent attempts to appoint political donors into a lawsuit against oil and gas interests here in Louisiana.

Read more: Edwards Takes Louisiana Government Back In Time

Is John Kennedy Getting Desperate?

Photo source: The Advocate

On Wednesday, Charles Boustany refuted a story being circulated that he was someone involved with a prostitute that ended up murdered.  Per this piece, Boustany went on to state "it is all total lies – and everyone, even John Kennedy, knows it."

Read more: Congressman Charles Boustany blames John Kennedy for spreading prostitute-involved claims

Data Is Forever…

Photo source: Inside Sources

James Bond had it wrong — diamonds aren’t forever. Data is.

Its privacy ought to be, too.

Unfortunately, laws regarding who may access your data, how it’s accessed — and when — haven’t caught up to data storage technology.

As recently as 10 years ago, most data that was older than 180 days got automatically deleted from servers to make room for new data. This was necessary because of the physical storage limits of the servers in use at the time. The upside — privacy-wise — of this disappearing data was that it was no longer available to the government.

Which, under an out-of-date law, was legally empowered to access data older than 180 days without a warrant — or even probable cause. But today, there’s a huge problem, privacy-wise, because server storage capacity is now effectively infinite. Data is no longer automatically deleted after 180 days. It will probably still be there 180 years from now.

But the law allowing government to dig in to this data is still the same.

Read more: Data Is Forever…

Boustany Tours Flood Damage on Congressional Delegation Trip with Garret Graves, Out-of-State Members

(Baton Rouge, LA) – Dr. Charles Boustany (R-Lafayette) helped lead a congressional delegation trip with Representative Garret Graves (R-Baton Rouge) to Baton Rouge yesterday. The trip included several of the Louisiana congressmen’s out-of-state colleagues to tour flood-damaged areas in Baton Rouge.

Boustany said: “I’m proud to help lead a congressional delegation trip with Garret Graves to Baton Rouge to show our out-of-state colleagues the devastation in this area as our state begins the grueling task of rebuilding. I am committed to working with local, state, and federal officials to get Louisiana back up and running.”

Giving Back to Louisiana

In Denver Colorado, a group of people with ties to Louisiana held a fund raiser to benefit flood victims in Louisiana.

Held on September 2, 2016 at Stoney’s Bar and Grill, in Denver,  the group raised over $6300.00 to sponsor two families to gut and rebuild.  The proceeds went to the Nola Tree Project headquartered in New Orleans. The group served Gumbo and had 75 raffle prizes from various places around Denver. The food was donated by Sysco, beer donated by New Belgium Pabst and Stoney’s Bar and Grill donated everything else. Tony and the Blue Krewe played live music for free. Awesome band.

https://www.facebook.com/events/620551468105107/?ti=icl

Shane Larisey, an LSU graduate and whose parents were victims of the flood, coordinated with a core group of volunteers:

• Kelly McFeely
• Kelly McPherson
• Rebecca Brandt
• Jonathan Stelly
• Colleen Bavaro
• Anthony Bavaro
• Jennifer Herrington
• Mike Engelhardt
• Kristin George
• Jessica Camarillo
• John Sumpter
• Mitchel White

"Honor Code" Is Showing His True Colors

Here's something you've probably not heard on any of the media outlets. WWL and The Advocate are reporting on a story that broke last night highlighting Gov. John Bel Edwards’ involvement in a major pay-for-play scandal over legal contracts that were handed out to his top campaign donors to represent the state in coastal litigation.

Guess that "Honor Code" crap spouted during the campaign was just another lie from just another Democrat. 

Don't blame me. I voted for Vitter. 

The Advocate: Group of Gov. Edwards top donors added to legal team for potentially lucrative coastal lawsuit

http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/environment/article_36a72414-6fd3-11e6-84fb-533941a35403.html

WWL TV: Critics say Gov. Edwards is running his own 'Buddy System'

http://www.wwltv.com/news/investigations/critics-say-gov-edwards-is-running-his-own-buddy-system/312078675

Vitter, Grassley, Cassidy Demand Criminal, Immigration History of Alleged Illegal Alien Bus Driver Following Fatal Louisiana Crash

Photo source: KTLA

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.), along with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), today sent a letter to Jeh Johnson, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), demanding background information on the driver of a bus that collided with emergency personnel who were responding to another incident on a Louisiana roadway, killing two individuals and injuring scores more. The driver, Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, is allegedly in the country illegally and had a history of driving without a license. He was driving a bus reportedly full of other foreign nationals when the collision occurred on August 28, which killed a local fire chief Spencer Chauvin and civilian passenger Jermaine Starr.

“This past Sunday, two American lives were tragically cut short in a bus crash in St. John the Baptist Parish, and my thoughts and prayers remain with their families,” said Vitter. “As we continue looking into the circumstances surrounding the bus crash, it’s troubling to know that the driver responsible is an illegal alien who did not have the proper documentation to be legally driving in the United States. This tragedy absolutely could have been prevented, and it's important for Secretary Johnson to cooperate in investigating the illegal alien who took two innocent American lives on Sunday, including any prior criminal activity.”

“Sadly, this is yet another story in a long line of stories where innocent American citizens have been killed or injured by an illegal alien who has complete disregard for the laws of this nation,” wrote the Senators‎ in today's letter.‎

In their letter, the Senators are requesting records related to Rodriguez’ immigration history, including when he entered the United States, whether he applied for immigration benefits, such as deferred deportation, details on any immigration court orders, proceedings or notices and detainer or notification requests. The Senators are also seeking details on his criminal history, including prior arrests, charges, dispositions, jurisdictions and explanations for any releases from custody. Specifically, they are asking about any affiliations with criminal gangs and whether Rodriguez would have been considered an enforcement priority prior to the bus incident based on his previous encounters with law enforcement. Further, the Senators are seeking details on the company that chartered the bus, how Rodriguez was allowed to operate it without a proper license, and whether immigration authorities are examining the immigration status of the bus’s other passengers. Finally, the Senators are asking whether immigration authorities have been in contact with victims or their families regarding the incident.

Below is the text of today’s letter, or click here to read today’s letter.

August 30, 2016
The Honorable Jeh Johnson
Secretary
Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528

Dear Secretary Johnson:

On August 28, Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, an illegal alien from Honduras, was driving a charter bus without a license when he allegedly lost control of the bus and crashed into a firetruck that was responding to a previous accident. Two individuals were killed, Jermaine Starr, a back-seat passenger in a car Mr. Rodriguez rear-ended, and Spencer Chauvin, the St. John the Baptist Parish Fire District Chief, and dozens of others were wounded.

Trooper Melissa Matey, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana State Police, indicated that a majority of the passengers on the bus were believed to be foreign nationals, all of whom were reportedly on their way to Baton Rouge to assist with clean up following the recent, devastating floods in the area. At the time of this letter, the immigration status of these individuals remains unclear, as well as how Mr. Rodriguez came to be in command of the bus.

An August 28, 2016 report by the New Orleans Advocate also indicates that Mr. Rodriguez had been pulled over by Jefferson Parish authorities on August 5, and cited for driving without a license. Sadly, this is yet another story in a long line of stories where innocent American citizens have been killed or injured by an illegal alien who has complete disregard for the laws of this nation.

In light of the fact that Mr. Rodriguez is an illegal alien, please provide the following information no later than September 12, 2016:

1.      The alien registration number for Rodriguez, his complete alien file (A-file), including any temporary files, working files, or Service Center files, and all documents and items contained in them, all reports or notifications generated by DHS or in its possession about him, whether currently in written or electronic form, including, but not limited to, the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Executive Summary, criminal history or immigration summaries, detainers or requests for notification, I-213(s), and Notice(s) to Appear or other charging documents created to seek his removal from the United States.

2.      Please identify each and every date on which Rodriguez was encountered by a law enforcement agency in the United States, to include criminal and civil arrests, the nature of the charge, the jurisdiction where the arrest occurred, the disposition of that charge, the date(s) on which he was released from the custody of that law enforcement agency, and the reason(s) for the release.  Please provide the arrest and disposition documentation for each encounter.

3.      How and when did Rodriguez enter the United States? Was he ever served with a Notice to Appear?  Was it filed with an immigration court? Please explain.

4.      Did Rodriguez ever apply for any immigration benefits, including deferred action?  If so, was any application approved?  Please provide copies of any applications that he may have submitted, whether or not adjudicated.

5.      Has Rodriguez been removed previously?  If so, when?

6.      Has ICE issued a detainer or request for notification to any entity regarding Rodriguez?  Please explain.

7.      Was Rodriguez a member of, or associated with any criminal gang?  Please explain.

8.      If Rodriguez had been encountered by DHS enforcement officials prior to his arrest for murder, would he have met the requirements to be considered a priority for removal under the Administration’s Priority Enforcement Program?  If so, please provide the exact reason for such consideration.  If not, why not?

9.      Have the victims, or their immediate family members, been contacted by officials at ICE?  Please provide details.

10.  Is DHS investigating who or what company chartered the bus and hired Mr. Rodriguez to operate it without a valid commercial driver’s license?

11.  Is ICE working to determine the immigration status of the passengers on the bus Mr. Rodriguez was driving?

As you know, the Privacy Act authorizes disclosure of information to Committees of Congress. If you cannot fully respond to each and every request for documents or information set forth above, please identify the specific item requested to which you cannot fully respond and explain why you cannot respond.

Signed,

Charles E. Grassley                                       
Chairman                                                     
Senate Committee on the Judiciary          

David Vitter
Deputy Chairman
Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest

Bill Cassidy, M.D.
U.S. Senator

You Know Things Are Bad When the New Black Panther Party is Calling Out Democrats

Photo source: YouTube  

Houston New Black Panther leader and a member of the Nation of Islam, Quanell X, had something to say about Donald J. Trump. 

STONECIPHER: Initial Data ... Louisiana Flood of 2016

Photo source: KPEL 96.5

August 23, 2016

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, I hit the road from the undamaged north to the devastated south ... all along I-10 and I-12.  The need for demographic information was pronounced, and given that Louisiana governors and legislators have never seen the need for a state demographer, I took up the slack.  That pro bono work, as it turned out, continued for years.

For this latest natural disaster hammering a huge part of Louisiana, no name will be assigned.  Regardless that nearly 1-of-3 parishes in our state have been to relative degrees damaged by rising rainwater, there is no such shorthand.  To the victims, it is just plain hell.

The damage assessments we are now beginning to analyze clearly measure the depth and breadth of the suffering.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency - FEMA - has already included 20-of-64 Louisiana parishes in last week's initial "major disaster declaration," as listed here.  

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF) and Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce have initially reported additional assessment data, published by The Advocate newspaper.  That report can be read here. 

Included in that analysis are nine of the hardest-hit FEMA-identified parishes ... Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

In these 9 parishes alone:

...  110,000 homes, just under one-third or 31%, are in areas which received flood water.  That is 34,000 homes ... the equivalent of all housing units in Lake Charles, reported by the Census Bureau to be 32,000. 

...  There are some 281,000 people in flooded areas.

...  Sixty-six percent (66%) of these homes were owner-occupied, 22% rented and others vacant; 

...  In the overall region, including homes flooded and not, only 15% have flood insurance.

In hard-hit East Baton Rouge and Livingston Parishes:

...  Just under 208,000 residents live in flood-affected areas, i.e., "experienced flooding."

...  Just under 82,000 housing units in these two parishes are within the areas with flooding, 17% of East Baton Rouge housing and 87% of homes in Livingston. 

...  In East Baton Rouge, 61% of these homes were owner-occupied, as were 70% in Livingston Parish.  Seventy-five percent (75%) of those East Baton Rouge homes carry mortgages, and 67% of those in Livingston do.

...  In flooded areas of East Baton Rouge, the total value of homes is $5.7 billion.  The comparable value of Livingston Parish homes is more than $9.0 billion.

Who Stays, Who Goes?

Given that Louisiana is already prone to population out-migration - just under 600,000 of us, net, have moved out since 1985 - should we now expect a new wave of such losses?

The most important part of that answer is that we were likely already experiencing the front edge of that even before this disaster.  The implosion of oil and gas jobs has previously caused that response, and may well have already done so again.  Whoever now moves away, we cannot expect to ever know the reason. 

Next, we must remember how many important ways this is not Hurricane Katrina.  Thank Goodness, we have not lost over 1,000 lives.  This is no political or other cause celebre.  There will be nowhere near $140 billion in combined public and private "storm relief."  This is not about race:  albeit early, this flood seems to have hit as many black as white residents. 

Too, about six-of-ten households with damage causing displacement are in residences owned or being bought.  The inability to sell a home and move, as with those who have lost their jobs to collapsing oil and gas prices, is determinative.  Throughout my career, the results of every polling question even remotely related to home ownership feature such attachments. 

More likely to leave are those who were renting their homes.  Still, will these be in a position to walk away from their job, the school in which their children are enrolled, or the needs of other dependent family members?  It is these tethers, renter or not, which matter most.  

A different question entirely is whether or not those hardest-hit will rebuild only to stay and face a repeat event in their lifetimes.  What is the chance that 20-inches of rain will again fall in 48 hours ... on the same householders?  Each who lost their home in the past two weeks will make that decision in coming months, if they have not already done so.

As we already know, there is nowhere near enough housing stock in this region.  This is another way to understand that all things considered, residents fare best - whether insured or not - staying and repairing their homes.  Those who are in a financial position to do so, and simply do not care to run this risk again - relatively few of the total - may well move.

All said, it is far, far too early to reliably predict any of these answers.  In fact, it was four years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, in preparing for the 2010 United States Census, that I first believed I could "see" the Louisiana which emerged.

In short, Louisiana is taking another one on the chin.  My prayer is simple:  may all necessary help reach every soul who needs it, with real dispatch.  And, may no one use the attached, dramatic suffering to advance any partisan political agenda

Elliott Stonecipher

©  2016    ELLIOTT STONECIPHER    ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

BOUSTANY: The Painful Truth About Louisiana's 'Forgotten Flood'

Nearly one third of Louisiana’s parishes were underwater last week, but the country’s attention was fixated elsewhere.

Rain began falling on Friday, August 12. In some of the hardest-hit areas, it rained for days on end. Rivers ran backwards, levies overflowed, and the water kept rising.

Once the rain stopped, I immediately began touring damaged areas, meeting with local, state, and federal officials, and helping coordinate response efforts. The incredible resiliency and spirit of the people of Louisiana is inspiring, to say the least.

On Sunday, August 14, as I toured neighborhoods with standing water several feet deep in Youngsville, Louisiana, our truck pulled alongside a young man fishing in his front driveway. I asked him if he’d caught anything. “Two bass and an eel!” he replied with excitement, brandishing a proud smile that belied the damage all around him.

I talked with residents as they floated supplies down the street to their neighbors who were in need of water and food. Flood victims waved from cookouts in their front yard, standing in water up to their calves. The Chief of Police, acting as our guide, pointed out his own flooded house. He had no time to begin cleaning up because he was working around the clock to keep his community safe.

The stories are powerful and heartbreaking. But in Louisiana, frustration is mounting that the rest of the country could care less.

It took the president of the United States over a week to come to Louisiana. While the floodwaters rose, he continued to play golf on Martha’s Vineyard – a decision that struck many in my home state as callous. Especially after the media took former President George W. Bush to task for a supposed lack of empathy for victims of Hurricane Katrina over a decade ago. 

The New York Times, to its credit, apologized in an editorial to its readers titled “On Gulf Coast Flooding, The Times Is Late to the Scene.” In the editorial, the Times notes that reader Catherine Holmes of Georgia wrote to the paper: “Disappointing that Trump’s latest gaffe and the Olympics totally dominate your front page this morning, when so many in south Louisiana are suffering.” Similar stories highlighting the lack of focus on the crisis ran in USA Today, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, and Salon.

Arriving in Louisiana last Tuesday, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told me, Governor Edwards, and Congressman Cedric Richmond that he didn’t believe official Washington had any idea of what was going on in Louisiana. It took the agency several days to declare sixteen parishes that had been hit with severe flooding a disaster area, unlocking access to federal assistance for affected families. By Wednesday, 70,000 people in Louisiana had applied for assistance through FEMA.

Many of the victims don’t live in a federally-designated flood plain, meaning they have no flood insurance to recoup damages.

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon estimates only 14 percent of Lafayette residents affected by the flooding have flood insurance, and only 12 percent in Baton Rouge.

Even for those with flood insurance, the maximum disbursement is $250,000. While FEMA and private aid will help make up some of the difference, it could easily not be enough for many residents.

Applicants in non-flood zones may only receive up to $33,000 in assistance from FEMA. If this disaster requires supplemental assistance from Congress, I worry Members who haven’t been informed about the damage in Louisiana may not have the information they need to make good decisions when the body reconvenes in a few weeks.

The Red Cross labeled this 500-year flood “the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Superstorm Sandy.” On the ground in Louisiana, many are already calling this disaster the ‘Forgotten Flood.’

Governor John Bel Edwards surmised part of the reason this disaster has flown under the radar is due to the lack of a catchy name.

Unfortunately, now it has one. And that’s a shame.

Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD, represents Louisiana’s Third Congressional District covering Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Morgan City.

Someone Finally Gets What We've Been Saying For Years.....

Sen. BilI Cassidy has reiterated what all of us in South Louisiana have been saying for years, which is our levee systems and restoration of levees need to be addressed. The flooding last week is just​ the latest episode in this drams, going back to Rita and Ike.

Photo source: Daily Review

​“Whether it is south or north Louisiana, we’ve got a lot of levees that need to be updated. We’ve got flood protection that needs to be redone,” he said. “The advocacy of the people who are in affected communities is essential... No one else can present your case as well as you.”

Read more: ​Cassidy: Flooding proves need for regional focus