WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) issued the following statement on the death of a Mandeville police officer today:

“It’s heartbreaking when a law enforcement officer dies in the line of duty keeping us safe.  St. Tammany is my home parish, and I know the city of Mandeville is hurting today.  The loss of a police officer hurts all of us.  God bless our law enforcement officers.  You awe us with your bravery and sacrifice every single day.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) announced today that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration will award a $4.2 million grant to improve port infrastructure at the West Calcasieu Port in Sulphur, Louisiana.

This grant will fund the construction of a bulkhead and crane pad for loading and unloading barges at the West Calcasieu Port.  The Department of Commerce estimates that this project will create 400 jobs.  This improvement project will enhance the port’s resiliency to natural disasters, support private investment and drive economic development in the region.

“The West Calcasieu Port Facility plays an important role in the commercial activity along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, including barge fleeting and marine construction,” said Senator Kennedy. This EDA grant is an important investment in Louisiana’s economy that will help create more jobs in a growing industry.”

“The Trump Administration is working hard to fulfill its commitment to rebuild communities devastated by natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “These improvements will boost the Port’s capacity to serve the critical maritime transportation needs in the region and to boost job growth in the local community.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (FSGG), advanced the FSGG FY2020 Appropriations bill today that prioritizes federal agencies and programs that will promote consumer privacy, reunite people with lost savings bonds and save taxpayer dollars.  

The FSGG subcommittee appropriates funds for a diverse group of federal government departments and agencies such as the Executive Office of the President, the Department of the Treasury, the federal judiciary, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The FY2020 FSGG appropriations bill includes a provision to reunite approximately $24 billion in unclaimed savings bonds with their bondholders.  These bonds are currently sitting in the U.S. Treasury. Sen. Kennedy’s provision will require the U.S. Treasury to digitize the records of the unclaimed property, which will make it easier for Americans to search for and redeem their bonds. The full Appropriations Committee will consider the bill on Thursday.

“This Committee has a responsibility to the taxpayers to ensure each and every dollar is spent wisely.  I am proud to say we accomplish that with this bill,” said Sen. Kennedy. “We provide the resources necessary to return $24 billion in lost savings bonds to their rightful owners, repair crumbling buildings before they have to be replaced and pursue unpaid taxes that prevent us from lowering the deficit.”

Sen. Kennedy chairing FSGG subcommittee markup on Tuesday

Bill Highlights:

Department of Treasury – The bill provides $12.87 billion for the Treasury Department, which is $105 million more than the enacted level.

• Treasury Departmental Offices – $223 million for Departmental Offices, an increase of $9 million above the FY2019 enacted level. Additional funds will allow the Department to manage a growing caseload associated with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, invest in information technology improvements, and hire additional staff to conduct economic analysis of tax regulatory actions. 
  • Savings Bonds: $25 million to digitize unclaimed savings bonds records.
  • Treasury Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) – $167.7 million for TFI, which combats terrorism financing and administers economic and trade sanctions through its Office of Foreign Assets Control. The FY2020 amount is $8.7 million above the enacted level and is $1 million more than the President’s budget request.
  • Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – $11.414 billion for the IRS, including $200 million more than the FY2019 enacted level for enforcement activities to address the tax gap.
    • In addition, to ensure accountability and transparency, the bill includes:
      • A prohibition on IRS funds for bonuses or to rehire former employees unless employee conduct and tax compliance is given consideration;
      • A prohibition on funds for the IRS to target groups for regulatory scrutiny based on their ideological beliefs;
      • A prohibition on funds for the IRS to target individuals for exercising their First Amendment rights;

Executive Office of the President (EOP) – $717 million for EOP.  The bill maintains the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) and Drug-Free Communities (DFC) programs within the Office of National Drug Control Policy.  The bill provides $280 million for the HIDTA program to combat heroin and prescription opioid abuse and $100 million for the DFC program.

Judiciary – $7.418 billion in discretionary funding for the federal judiciary, which is $166 million above the FY2019 enacted level.  This will provide sufficient funding for federal court activities, including timely and efficient processing of federal cases, court security, and defender services.

District of Columbia – $673 million in federal payments to the District of Columbia. Within this amount, the bill provides resources for public safety and security costs, and supports the District of Columbia court system and offender supervision program.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) – $274 million for the CFTC, which is $6 million above the FY2019 level and $10 million below the FY2020 budget request. 

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – $339 million for the FCC, which is offset by regulatory fees and equal to the enacted level.  The bill also provides $132.5 million for the spectrum auctions program.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – $312.3 million for the FTC, which is $2.6 million more than the FY2019 enacted level and equal to the FY2020 budget request.

General Services Administration (GSA) – The bill allows GSA to spend $9.83 billion out of the Federal Buildings Fund, an increase of $546 million compared to the FY2019 enacted level.  This level will provide funding for rent payments for privately-owned office space leased by the government, and operations and maintenance costs for buildings owned by federal government agencies across the nation. Of this amount, the bill provides $446 million for construction.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – $1.767 billion for the SEC, which is $10 million more than the budget request and includes $11 million for the potential relocation of the SEC’s New York Regional Office.  This appropriation is fully offset by fees.

Small Business Administration (SBA) – $876 million for the SBA to provide assistance to small businesses, expand the economy, and increase job growth for unemployed and underemployed Americans.  The bill fully funds the disaster loans program at $177 million.  The bill also funds several valuable programs, including $131 million for Small Business Development Centers, $31 million for microloan technical assistance, and $14.2 million for veterans outreach programs.

Other Oversight, Accountability, and Noteworthy Provisions:

• Maintains current levels of pay for the Vice President and other senior political appointees;
• A prohibition on funding for grants or contracts to tax cheats and companies with felony criminal convictions—and new provisions to ensure compliance with these provisions;
• A prohibition against the use of funds to paint portraits of federal employees, including the President, Vice President, Cabinet Members and Members of Congress;
• A requirement that agency inspectors general have timely access to agency documents and records;
• A requirement that all departments and agencies link contracts that provide award fees to successful acquisition outcomes, and prohibit the use of funds to pay for award or incentive fees for contractors with below satisfactory performance; and
• A new requirement that provides transparency into advertising produced or disseminated at U.S. taxpayer expense.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) went to the Senate floor Thursday to warn against creating a system that puts the federal government – instead of states – in charge of elections.  Sen. Kennedy said the U.S. already is successfully addressing election security concerns.

States received $380 million before the 2018 midterm elections to shore up the security of their systems.  Even though they only spent a fraction of the money ahead of the elections, there were no successful security breaches.  The Senate has passed bills that would make it a federal crime to hack an election system and that would bar anyone who interferes or attempts to interfere in elections from entering the U.S.  The proposals are pending in the House.

“This country started out as a self-reliant, tax-adverse union of states.  States insisted on running their own elections, and it’s worked,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “Russia tried to interfere in the last presidential election.  It’s true.  They did it.  They didn’t change a single vote.  What makes our elections safe is there are multiple layers that would have to be hacked.  If we nationalize our elections, we’re going to be living in a world designed by the Post Office.”  

Click here or the photo below to watch Sen. Kennedy’s floor speech:

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