NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Getting more help for Hurricane Ida recovery could depend on getting the right people to see the damage.
President Joe Biden has been here, but Congressional leaders control a lot of the funding going forward.
Louisiana Congressman Troy Carter has invited Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to assemble a bipartisan team to visit. Congressman Carter believes it is important for leaders in Washington to see the devastation first hand.
“We’re talking about people. We’re talking about lives. We’re talking about communities. When the President talks about build back and he says build back better, he means it,” Carter said.
This would not be the first time representatives from Washington visit the Bayou State following a major disaster.
In January 2007, nearly 18-months after Hurricane Katrina, political heavy weights toured the area including then Senator Barack Obama.
“It’s important that we focus on getting this right and getting this done,” Obama said.
More than a year later, Pelosi and a group of delegates toured the region during a follow-up trip.
“We don’t come here again for a photo op and go home and say lets go back next year and see what those people did,” Pelosi said.
On Thursday, Senator Bill Cassidy said he is confident more funding will come to Louisiana.
“There’s a bunch of states in the northeast who have lots of damage. So, that Congressional Delegation is onboard with us. We’ve been the only delegation fighting so far. Now, we’ve got a bunch more,” Cassidy said.
Details of Pelosi’s potential trip are still being worked out.