[StBernard] Word from Washington: Cabinet Secretaries Tour Gulf Coast, Grants for South Louisiana Law Enforcement, Health Care

[Westley Annis]

As spring blooms, the world seems fresh with new hope and  life.  These past
few weeks we have had several reasons to feel hopeful in south Louisiana.
We saw evidence that Gulf Coast hurricane recovery will be a priority for
the new President.  Less than 50 days into the new administration, two
newly-appointed cabinet secretaries came to Louisiana to view for themselves
the progress we've made since the storms and the challenges that still
remain. 

Before leaving, both high-ranking officials pledged to be better partners in
Louisiana's rebuilding than their predecessors had been, and committed their
agencies to finding ways to say "yes" to us instead of "no."  Their energy
and positive attitudes were a breath of fresh air and I am looking forward
to seeing the changes they will make to better aid our recovery.

In the past few weeks we have also started to see how the stimulus funding
would reach individual communities in South Louisiana.  Grants were
announced for towns and parishes throughout the Third Congressional District
to support law enforcement and local criminal justice needs, as well as a
major grant for a community health center in Franklin.  With all the
rhetoric going on at the national level about the stimulus, it was
reassuring to see that our communities in south Louisiana would directly
benefit from the government spending.

Presidential Cabinet Secretaries Tour New Orleans, St. Bernard Parish
On March 5th, I joined Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan on their tour of New
Orleans and St. Bernard Parish to assess the region's hurricane recovery
progress.  I believe that to really understand the challenges in rebuilding
south Louisiana, you need to see it with your own eyes and hear directly
from the people on the ground.  With their visit, Secretary Napolitano and
Secretary Donovan saw that while great progress has been made in rebuilding
what was lost in Katrina and Rita, the recovery is far from over, and Gustav
and Ike had caused further damage.

At the conculsion of their listening tour, the secretaries announced
hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for Louisiana to assist with the
long-term recovery.   As part of that announcement, Secretary Napolitano
said FEMA would provide $12 million in additional funding to help repair the
St. Bernard Parish Water Treatment Plant. This funding represents a major
step forward for St. Bernard, because for the past three years FEMA has
repeatedly denied the parish's requests to replace the treatment plant.  We
are all pleased FEMA has decided to reverse this decision and help the
parish rebuild a crucial part of their infrastructure.

In addition, Secretary Donovan announced HUD's acceptance of the state of
Louisiana's $438 million plan to support long-term disaster recovery
following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike last year.   Louisiana's recovery
strategy seeks to produce affordable rental housing, help commercial and
agricultural businesses, and support coastal restoration.  The state will
provide more than 70 percent of its allocation to local parishes to support
a variety of affordable housing, infrastructure, agricultural, and economic
revitalization programs.

As the months and years pass, we find it more and more difficult to keep
South Louisiana's hurricane recovery needs a national priority.  However,
this visit from top officials in the new Administration is very encouraging.
I am pleased that, only a few weeks into their new jobs, Secretary
Napolitano and Secretary Donovan are already getting their feet wet.  Their
visit to Louisiana demonstrates President Obama's commitment to rebuilding
the Gulf Coast and I hope to see a continued focus from the Administration
on our recovery.  

Grants for Law Enforcement, Health Care in South Louisiana
In the past few weeks we also learned that towns and parishes in the Third
Congressional District will receive over $2.25 million in federal grants to
support law enforcement and improve the criminal justice system in their
communities.  The grants were authorized by the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, also known as the economic stimulus bill, to help state
and local governments prevent budget cuts to their law enforcement programs.
To see a full listing of the grants, click here
<http://melancon.congressnewsletter.net/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&g
piv=2100035597.39111.417&gen=1&mailing_linkid=6272> .

This funding will be used to help communities keep their neighborhoods safer
with more cops, prosecutors, and probation officers; more radios and
equipment; more help for crime victims and more crime prevention programs
for youth.

Our local law enforcement officers in south Louisiana are the critical first
responders during emergencies and disasters, and they deserve our strong
support. These grants will provide law enforcement in our towns and parishes
with additional resources to help them fight crime and make our communities
safer places to live and raise a family.

In addition, recently we learned that the Teche Action Board has been
awarded $1,050,000 in federal funding to help them provide quality health
care to more uninsured and underinsured Louisianians at their clinic in
Franklin.  This funding was also authorized by the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.

The Teche Action Clinic provides primary care treatment to people within the
community regardless of their ability to pay. I have supported federal
funding for the clinic in the past, including a $580,645 award from the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services in 2007 that allowed the clinic to
hire additional physicians and clinical staff, giving them the capability to
treat 2,700 more patients each year.

Maintaining a healthy workforce is essential to growing our economy and
strengthening our communities. The need for quality health care doesn't stop
when you lose your job and your insurance, and health centers like the Teche
Action Clinic provide an important safety net for many struggling south
Louisianians.  At a time when health care costs are skyrocketing, I am
pleased that one of the first priorities the stimulus money will address is
access to affordable primary health care.

Thank you for allowing me to share some of the good news that Louisiana has
experienced recently.  As your representative in Congress, I am proud to be
working on behalf of the people of south Louisiana and see great things in
our future. As always, I would like to hear from you so please feel free to
write, email or call my offices and share your opinion on the many issues we
are considering in Congress. 
 
Regards,

Charlie Melancon