WASHINGTON (WGNO)— On Wednesday, Senator Bill Cassidy spoke on the Senate floor about the need for Hurricane Ida disaster relief.
In the press conference, Cassidy pushed for disaster assistance along with steps to prevent damage from storms like Hurricane Ida, which had as strong as 150 mph winds and was the 5th most powerful storm to ever hit the U.S. He pushed for strengthening infrastructure, improving highways for evacuation routes, and improving the electrical grid.
Hurricane Ida knocked out power across the state and some areas experienced intense flooding.
Senator Cassidy emphasized the importance of taking preventive measures and steps.
“It should not take hours to go through a 10 mile stretch in the capital region of Louisiana when a storm is on its way and there is a mandatory evacuation order.”
Cassidy said the damage from Ida could have been worse, but George W. Bush made a commitment to build those levees 16 years ago after Katrina. As a result, New Orleans was spared from the devastating flooding we saw during Katrina.
“The onus is on us to make the commitment now to harden the grid to bury power lines as one example, which not only protects Louisiana in a hurricane, it protects Texas in an ice storm and the West from forest fires.”
He also mentioned that recovery is a two-pronged approach. It starts with aid and finishes with the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
He added, “If we don’t do what’s right because of politics our country will suffer.”
