Budget deal offers limited fix to SBA loan issue for Louisiana flood victims, but Graves and Gov. Edwards say it falls short
But the disaster-relief provisions could have done far more to help recovering flood victims, said
Sen.
"The votes just aren't there to do it," Kennedy said. "The next-best thing is what we've done."
Kennedy likewise highlighted additional funding
Fitzhugh Elder IV, a deputy staff director for the
"The biggest challenge facing
About 3,800
But the bill wouldn't change things for the 8,500 homeowners hit by the 2016 floods who took out SBA loans, often at the urging of federal disaster officials. Both Graves and Edwards said those flood victims shouldn't be left out of a fix.
Graves said Thursday afternoon that he was furiously working to amend the package's disaster-relief provisions -- which he called "awful policy" -- or secure a commitment from leaders on
An initial draft of the
Graves blasted the draft in a video posted online Wednesday afternoon, warning that the
But Graves raised further concerns Thursday that the specific legal language in the bill might limit the SBA duplication-of-benefits changes only to grants funded by a specific
A staffer for the
The fate of the disaster package, part of a broader budget deal struck earlier this week by
If the overall
A broader change to the SBA duplication-of-benefits issue was included in the
The
That bill also included a raft of other reforms to federal disaster-recovery policy Graves has championed. The proposed changes would've streamlined the way local governments are reimbursed by the
"We are continuing to fight this legislation and fix this because it is ridiculous that we have a bipartisan solution that passed with an overwhelming majority in the
The
Edwards sent a letter Thursday evening to
"The language crafted by Congressmen Graves and Richmond would provide critical assistance to not only
But Kennedy said blame for problems with the state's flood-recovery efforts rests at the
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