“When Hurricanes Irma and Maria dealt the Virgin Islands heavy blows in 2017, Louisianians raced down to help our neighbors rebuild. . . . Now, the bills are way past due, and Louisiana companies are going under as a result. When these companies buckle, Louisiana jobs vanish with them. . . . These businesses must be made whole, and every party involved must answer to Congress for the harm done to our workers and businesses.”

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today announced that he intends to issue a formal call for an investigation into why companies in Louisiana and other states haven’t been paid many months after performing hurricane recovery work in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“When Hurricanes Irma and Maria dealt the Virgin Islands heavy blows in 2017, Louisianians raced down to help our neighbors rebuild. These Louisiana companies are disaster recovery experts and operated in good faith. They paid salaries and living expenses on the promise that FEMA, prime contractors such as AECOM and the government of the Virgin Islands would fulfill their obligations. Those promises were broken.

“Now, the bills are way past due, and Louisiana companies are going under as a result. When these companies buckle, Louisiana jobs vanish with them. There’s no time for delay: These businesses must be made whole, and every party involved must answer to Congress for the harm done to our workers and businesses,” said Kennedy.

Several Louisiana companies, and numerous other Gulf states’ companies, performed hundreds of millions of dollars in recovery work in the Virgin Islands following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. More than two years after the storms, those companies are still owed approximately $200 million.

The investigation should, believes Kennedy, include FEMA, the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, AECOM, TSG, Witt O’Brien’s and other prime contractors or entities that were involved.

Kennedy is currently working with the relevant Senate committees to determine jurisdiction and venue for the investigation and related hearings and will be issuing a formal call in the coming weeks.