[StBernard] The Word from Washington - Building on Louisiana's 2007 Victories

[Westley Annis]

Dear Westley,

Hello to all of my friends in south Louisiana! I hope you and your family
had a pleasant holiday season and are enjoying a prosperous new year.  As we
begin planning for another productive year in Washington, I am pleased to
take a moment and share with you some of the progress we made last year in
Congress on behalf of south Louisiana.

 
Top Five Victories of 2007 for South Louisiana
 
1. Authorizing Over $3 Billion in Federal Funding for Water Projects for
South Louisiana
More than any other piece of legislation passed by Congress last year, the
Water Resources Development Act(WRDA) was a huge step forward in our efforts
to protect and restore Louisiana's coast. The WRDA bill included full
authorization for the Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Hurricane and Storm
Protection System, a 64-mile system of levees, locks and floodgates that
will provide hurricane and flood protection to about 120,000 people and
1,700 square miles in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes.
 
WRDA also authorizes $90 million in federal funding to bring the federal
levees in the South Lafourche Levee District up to 100-year protection,
which will make homes within the district eligible for the National Flood
Insurance Program.  
 
Also, WRDA authorizes up to $100 million in federal funding to consolidate
the scattered levees in lower Jefferson Parish into a comprehensive
hurricane protection system for the town of Lafitte.
 
In addition, WRDA authorizes approximately $1.9 billion in federal funding
for the Corps of Engineers to begin projects that are part of their
comprehensive coastal restoration plan for south Louisiana. 
 
Finally, WRDA deauthorizes and calls for the physical closure of the
Mississippi River Gulf Outlet ("MR-GO"), the 76-mile ship channel through
St. Bernard Parish that has been dubbed the "hurricane highway."  
 
WRDA is a landmark piece of legislation for south Louisiana, and I am proud
our delegation stood together in leading our colleagues in Congress to
override the President's veto and turn this bill into law. 
 
2. Major Hurricane Relief and Recovery Bill Provides over $6.4 Billion in
federal funding for Gulf Coast

Last May, Congress also passed a major appropriations bill (H.R. 2206) that
included $6.419 billion in federal hurricane recovery and relief funding for
Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states. This bill provided $110 million in
federal funding for fisheries disaster relief; $1.433 billion in federal
funding for east and west bank levee protection in New Orleans and the
surrounding parishes; $30 million in federal funding for K-12 education
recruitment assistance and $30 million in federal funding for higher
education assistance in south Louisiana; $50 million in federal funding to
help state and local law enforcement curb crime; and millions in federal
funding for many other recovery needs. 
 
The bill also included $4.1 billion in federal funding to replenish the FEMA
Disaster Relief Fund, which funds vital disaster recovery projects like
repairing sewage and water treatment facilities; rebuilding public buildings
like schools, firehouses, and police departments; and hauling away debris
from the storm.
 
3. Waiver of 10% Local Match for Disaster Recovery Projects and Forgiveness
of Community Disaster Loans
The legislation passed last May also waived a federal requirement that local
governments match 10 percent of the cost for disaster recovery projects
before the remaining 90 percent is filled by the federal government. By
passing this waiver, Congress mandated that the federal government now pay
100% of the disaster recovery projects in south Louisiana, which include
emergency sheltering, repair of public buildings, debris removal, and
assistance to individuals. Waiving the state and local match for federal
assistance grants will allow Louisiana to invest an estimated additional
$1.2 billion in other critical recovery needs.
 
This legislation also made Community Disaster Loans in Louisiana eligible
for forgiveness. The loans were provided by the federal government to
hurricane-affected local governments immediately following Katrina and Rita
to help them continue daily operations, such as payroll for law enforcement
and emergency responders. Many local governments do not have the ability to
repay this massive debt, as their tax bases were devastated by the storms.
The Louisiana delegation and I argued that, in the past, these loans had
been forgiven following many other major disasters, including Hurricane
Andrew and the September 11th terrorist attacks. Estimates predict the loan
forgiveness provided in this bill will relieve Katrina- and Rita-affected
local governments of $320 million in debt they don't have the tax base to
repay.
 
4. Fully Funding the Road Home Program
Last June, I began facilitating conversations between House leadership and
Governor Kathleen Blanco and the Louisiana Recovery Authority concerning the
funding shortfall facing the Road Home program. These conversations
continued over several months and, thankfully, resulted in Congress
providing an additional $3 billion in federal support for the Road Home
program in a Defense spending bill signed into law in November. The Road
Home has helped thousands of Louisianians to return to their homes and
rebuild their lives, and I am very pleased it will have enough funding to
provide grants for everyone who qualifies.
 
5. Supporting Louisiana Agriculture with New Farm Bill
We also saw great success for sugar farmers with the passage of the 2007
Farm Bill. The bill, which should be finalized in early 2008, will help
protect domestic sugar producers from the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) by renewing the federal sugar policy that helps keep the
market stable. 
 
As head of the House Sweetener Caucus, I worked with the bill's authors to
enhance the sugar policy in the new Farm Bill with two improvements. First,
the bill passed by the House increased the loan rate for raw cane sugar a
half cent, to 18.5 cents/lb., which will help sugar growers by slightly
increasing the market price for their crops without affecting consumer
costs. The loan rate has not been increased since 1985, and this improvement
is very important to an industry that has seen the cost of production
increase dramatically in recent years.    The Farm Bill also enhances
current U.S. sugar policy by establishing a small sucrose ethanol program to
move surplus sugar supplies into the ethanol sector.
 
Sugar is one of Louisiana's most important commodities, representing a
nearly $280 million a year industry, and I will continue to fight for our
sugarcane farmers in Congress.
 
Five More Victories Benefiting All Americans
 
2007 was the first year since I came to Congress that Democrats have been in
the leadership. We worked together with Republicans to pass bipartisan
legislation that will benefit all Americans. A strong economy benefits
everyone, and last year in Congress I have supported many measures that will
hopefully relieve some of the financial burden on  working Americans. Here
are a few highlights:
 
6. Raising the Minimum Wage to $7.25 an Hour
In the same appropriations bill passed last May that provided over $6.4
billion federal funding for hurricane recovery, there was also a provision
increasing the minimum wage by $2.10 over two years, to $7.25 an hour.  I
believe Americans who put in a hard day's work should not still live in
poverty in the richest nation in the world. As a former small-business
owner, I understand how hard it is to keep your head above water.
Nonetheless, it is impossible for anyone to make ends meet on $5.15 an hour
- just $10,700 a year for a fulltime worker - and I am proud to have to
voted to give millions of hard-working Americans a raise.
 
7. Tax Relief for the Middle Class
We also worked together to pass the legislation to prevent an additional 23
million middle class Americans from having to pay thousands more in taxes
this year because of the flawed Alternative Minimum Tax. Without this
legislative fix, 194,068 Louisianians, including 28,120 in the Third
Congressional District, would have had to pay more in taxes come April 15
this year. Hardworking Louisianians already pay too much in taxes, and this
bill ensures that they won't get hit with a huge, unexpected tax hike in
2008.
 
8. Keeping Our Promises to Veterans
We also passed several measures that will honor our promises to our brave
veterans by improving their benefits system.  The Veterans Affairs funding
bill, which was included in the consolidated appropriations bill that
Congress passed in December, will increase federal funding for the VA by
$6.6 billion over the 2007 level. This additional funding is vital for
addressing the needs of new veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and
will help eliminate some of the current problems in veterans' healthcare,
such as the huge backlog of veterans' benefit claims and much-needed
maintenance projects at veterans' facilities. This record funding increase
is the largest in the 77-year history of the Veterans Affairs department,
and is long overdue. By honoring the promises our government has made to
them, we can in small part thank our brave veterans for their sacrifices and
commitment to protecting our freedom.  
 
9. Increasing Energy Efficiency while Combating Global Climate Change
Like many South Louisianians, I am concerned about the threat our coastal
communities face from rising sea levels and more frequent and severe
hurricanes.  Last year, Congress passed a major comprehensive energy reform
bill that will combat global climate change and also save Americans money
through better energy efficiency measures.
 
The Energy Independence and Security Act requires car manufacturers to
increase vehicle fuel efficiency to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 -- the first
congressional increase in 32 years -- and will slash U.S. oil consumption by
more than 4 million barrels per day by 2030. The legislation also expands
the use of American-grown biofuels to 36 billion gallons in 2022, and will
increase energy efficiency of buildings, homes, appliances, and lighting.
 
Increased vehicle fuel efficiency will save American families an estimated
$700 to $1,000 a year at the pump and the new building, appliance, and
lighting efficiency will save consumers $400 billion through 2030. This bill
is a balanced approach toward fighting global climate change and increasing
the United States' energy security, and I am proud to support it.
 
10. Making College More Affordable for Students and their Families
Making college more affordable will ease financial strain on millions of
American families and last year, Congress passed The College Cost Reduction
Act of 2007 to address this need. The bill, which became law in September,
will help millions of students pay for college by increasing federal
scholarships and lowering student loan interest rates, while also providing
incentives for students who commit to teaching at high-need schools or to
entering public service professions. Students in Louisiana stand to receive
an estimated $479,452,000 in additional financial aid over the next five
years as a result of this historic legislation.

We accomplished a great deal during this past year but, as always, there is
more work to be done. I am honored to represent south Louisiana in Congress
and will continue to fight to improve our communities and our nation as a
whole. I am here to serve you, so please don't hesitate to call my office in
Washington, or one of my four offices in Louisiana, if there is anything I
can help you with or if you want to share your opinion on upcoming issues in
Congress.  May you and your family have a healthy and safe 2008!

 Regards,

Charlie Melancon
U.S. Representative, Third Congressional District of Louisiana