WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today joined Lauren Daigle, a singer-songwriter, anti-human trafficking activist and Louisiana native, to discuss efforts to combat human trafficking and online child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Kennedy and Daigle were also joined by members of International Justice Mission, an anti-human trafficking organization.

“There ought to be consequences for monsters who commit crimes against children and any Big Tech company that isn’t doing their part to keep kids safe. I’m grateful to know that victims have strong advocates like Lauren Daigle in their corner. Lauren is beloved by Louisiana and her hard work makes us proud,” said Kennedy.

“I think both sides of the aisle can agree on how important it is to protect our children. I came to Washington today to urge Congress to pass the STOP CSAM Act, bi-partisan legislation that will fight human trafficking and online child sexual abuse material. I leave with a feeling of hope and optimism, and my sincere appreciation for the time that I was given on the Hill, especially by my fellow Louisianan, Senator Kennedy,” said Daigle.

Kennedy and Daigle discussed the importance of passing the STOP CSAM Act, a bill that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced that would allow abuse victims to sue technology companies that host online CSAM.

In June 2025, Kennedy voted with his Judiciary Committee colleagues to unanimously advance the bill.

The full bill text of the Stop CSAM Act is available here.

Kennedy also reintroduced his Targeting Child Predators Act in April 2025. His bill would allow law enforcement to better investigate suspected predators by making it more difficult for suspects to evade accountability.

The full bill text of Kennedy’s Targeting Child Predators Act is available here.

Watch Kennedy’s comments here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) delivered the following remarks on the U.S. Senate floor:

“We haven’t heard much about Iran lately. Iran has been busy, though. Just recently, Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador, and they designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is part of Iran, as a terrorist organization.

“Why is that? Because people connected with Iran firebombed a Melbourne synagogue, and then, a few months later, they struck a kosher deli in Sydney, Australia. Iran is still there, and it is still spreading terrorism.

“Iran has also been in the news just recently. The United Kingdom and France and Germany have announced that they are going to trigger snapback sanctions on Iran. What do I mean by that?

“You will recall that, in 2015, President Obama made a deal with Iran. We called it the JCPOA. And the JCPOA just said to Iran: If you will stop moving toward a nuclear weapon, we—meaning the United States of America and the other countries that are part of the United Nations—will remove the sanctions that we had placed on Iran for trying to develop a nuclear weapon. So, Iran said: ‘Pinky promise, we will stop building a nuclear weapon. You remove the sanctions.’

“President Obama agreed. He was naive. We removed the sanctions. The United Nations removed the sanctions. The United Kingdom, Germany, and France removed the sanctions. And, of course, the Ayatollah and Iran continued to develop a weapon. 

“Just because we have destroyed— ‘we’ meaning the United States of America—many of Iran’s facilities to make that weapon does not mean that the issue has been resolved. Iran has refused to come to the table, even still, to negotiate a settlement, a new JCPOA.

“And as a result—and I am very proud of them—the United Kingdom and Germany and France have said: ‘OK. We are going to reimplement those sanctions that we agreed to take off of Iran when they signed the first nuclear deal, which Iran welched on almost immediately.’ And, again, I want to thank our friends in Europe. They supposedly are going to reimplement those sanctions at the end of this month, and I hope they do.

“Of course, my preference would be to have Iran come to the table again before then and sit down with the U.S. and other members of the United Nations and resolve this issue of them having a nuclear weapon, but I don’t expect that to happen. 

“So, I know I have said it, but I want to say it again: Thank you, United Kingdom and Germany and France, for doing this, but we need to talk about the rest of the story.

“The sanctions, which will be on Iranian banking, on Iranian shipping, oil, and arms are only part of the story. These are U.N. sanctions. But just because the sanctions have been brought back on Iran, that doesn’t mean that they will be enforced.

“Now, normally these are United Nations sanctions on shipping and banking and oil and arms, so normally there would be a United Nations committee to enforce the sanctions. I hope there is, but I doubt it because I think that Russia and China are going to block a United Nations committee to enforce the sanctions.

“What is my point? My point is that just because Europe and, of course, the United States of America have agreed to reimpose those sanctions, we have still got to enforce them. We have still got to enforce them. And the United States needs to take the lead on doing that. 

“And we need to, joining with the United Kingdom and with Germany and with France, we need to make sure that the world understands that these sanctions are real and that we, as part of the West, are going to enforce them.

“This is important. I don’t want to see this get lost in our discussion about the importance of the Ukraine situation and other issues of national security. I don’t want this to get lost. 

“What you allow is what will continue. What you allow is what will continue. And unless you have an opium habit, you know that is just a principle we all have to learn the hard way. 

“So, I am hoping that the president and our friends in Europe will take the lead and not only snap back these sanctions but then enforce them. And unfortunately—I wish we didn’t have to do it because I feel for the Iranian people. I don’t feel any sympathy for the Ayatollah. We are just going to have to choke him to death economically.”

Watch Kennedy’s speech here.  

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $171,468,902 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Louisiana disaster aid.

“Louisiana families and communities have weathered severe natural disasters together with grit and determination. This $171.5 million will help our local governments, schools and other key facilities recover from the costs of Hurricanes Ida and Laura, as well as the Tiger Island Fire and other disasters,” said Kennedy.

The FEMA aid will fund the following:

• $76,679,189 to Terrebonne Parish for repairs to the Houma Power Plant in Houma, La., resulting from Hurricane Ida damage.

• $20,050,946 to Jefferson Davis Electric Cooperative, Inc., to restore power to substations that Hurricane Laura damaged.

• $12,910,889 to the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry for fire suppression measures taken during the Tiger Island Fire.

• $9,795,313 to Chennault International Airport Authority for permanent repairs to airport buildings in Lake Charles, La., resulting from Hurricane Laura damage.

• $8,204,429 to Lafourche Parish Hospital Service District #1 for the replacement of hospital building contents due to Hurricane Ida damage.

• $7,973,837 to Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness for management costs resulting from Hurricane Laura. 

• $7,174,797 to the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness for management costs resulting from severe storms and flooding.

• $5,812,314 to the city of Sulphur, La., for replacement of its Municipal Complex building due to Hurricane Laura damage.

• $5,781,660 to Jefferson Davis Electric Cooperative, Inc., for management costs resulting from Hurricane Laura damage.

• $4,378,638 to Hamilton Christian Academy for permanent repairs to school buildings in Lake Charles, La., due to Hurricane Laura damage.

• $2,828,625 to St. Tammany Parish for management costs resulting from Hurricane Ida.

• $2,113,691 to Cameron Parish for the replacement of Grand Lake Recreation Center facilities due to Hurricane Laura damage.

• $2,054,868 to the Lafourche Parish School Board for construction of improved school buildings due to Hurricane Ida damage.

• $2,040,663 to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals/Office of Public Health for emergency protective measures taken during the Tiger Island Fire.

• $1,484,806 to the city of Lake Charles, La., for permanent repairs to a city communications tower due to Hurricane Laura damage.

• $1,173,386 to the Office of Risk Management for the replacement of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Rockefeller headquarters building in Grand Chenier, La., due to Hurricane Laura damage.

• $1,010,851 to the Military Department of the State of Louisiana National Guard for fire suppression measures taken during the Tiger Island Fire.

Watch Kennedy’s comments here. 

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) delivered the following remarks on the U.S. Senate floor:

“The Congressional Budget Office is a bipartisan entity, as you know, Mr. President, that advises us on fiscal and financial matters. I appreciate their good work. A lot of smart people over there.

“The CBO, as we call it, has issued a report that says, as a result of our reconciliation bill—the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill—that 10.5 million Americans are going to be thrown off Medicaid. . . . I don't want to be unfair to CBO, but sometimes CBO makes these statements, and they don't give you the context in which they're making the statements. 

“If you say, ‘We're going to throw 10.5 million people off of Medicaid,’ and don't explain, in detail, why they've come to that conclusion, that's not fair. You're not getting the full story. You're not getting reliable information. That would be like asking a nun for advice about sex.

“So, let me tell you the other half of the story. . . . CBO says we're throwing 10.5 million people off of Medicaid. They weren't eligible for Medicaid in the first place. . . . For example, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services just came out with a report. Of those 10.5 million people that we're throwing off of Medicaid, 2.8 million of them are double-dipping. They're double-dipping. That's illegal. That's a violation of the rules. That means that a person has signed up—I’m from Louisiana—that means some people are signed up in Louisiana and Mississippi, for example. You can't double-dip. And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also found that of that 2.5 million people, 1.6 million of them are double-dipping by joining Medicaid and Obamacare.

“So, yeah, they're going to lose their Medicaid. They should. That double-dipping costs us $14 billion a year—$140 billion over ten years. . . . So, yeah, my friends at CBO, those people are going to lose their Medicaid. Did I mention that they weren't entitled to in the first place?

“Now, point two: the main determinant for Medicaid is income. . . . States are not supposed to sign up people for Medicaid who make too much money. I regret to say this—I don't know why, but it's human nature—some people don't tell the truth. Under President Biden, he encouraged the states not to check income eligibility. Just take everybody's word for it. . . . If the president sends a message to the states, ‘Don't worry about checking if people are making too much money.’ Guess what: some people are going to cheat, and they do. I wish they didn’t, but they do.

“Back in my state of Louisiana, our legislative auditor . . . did an exhaustive audit of our Medicaid program. They found in 2019 that 1,600 people had been signed up for Medicaid making over $100,000 a year. That’s 1,600 people making over a hundred grand a year. . . . This is Louisiana. Our median family income is only $56,000. These folks aren't qualified for Medicaid. They're taking money away from people who deserve it. . . . They’re not qualified for Medicaid. They're cheating. . . .

“Now, we also put in our reconciliation bill . . . a work requirement. Sometimes, not always, but sometimes the best way to get back on your feet is to get off your ass. 

“Now, the American people are the most generous people in the world. We spend trillions of dollars helping our neighbors. In our country, if you are hungry, we will feed you. If you are homeless, we will house you. If you're too poor to be sick, we will pay for your doctor. That's why we have Medicaid. That's why we have Medicare. 

“But those who can work should work. Our social programs were not meant to be parking lots. They were meant to be bridges. Sometimes. It's not always. If you're disabled, you should be on Medicaid. If you're too poor, you should be on Medicaid. But we've got a lot of people on Medicaid—we're not sure exactly how many—who could work. They choose not to. . . .

“We don't know exactly how many people are on the Medicaid expansion who can work who aren't working. There have been some estimates. They’re all over the map. I was looking in ‘The Economist’ recently. They estimated that 6% of the 71 million people on Medicaid are able-bodied and could work but choose not to. That's 6 million people. The average amount spent per person on Medicaid is $9,000 a year. So, if we could get all of those 6 million people to work—and we'll help them find a job—we'd save $54 billion a year. That's a half a trillion a year over a ten-year period. 

“So yes, CBO. It’s true that if someone is covered by the work requirement, and they say, ‘I don't want to work, I choose not to work,’ then they're going to lose their Medicaid. And again, we're not talking about somebody disabled or somebody pregnant. We're not talking about a mother with three young children. We’re talking about able-bodied adults, 19 to 64, they're healthy, and don't have kids at home. All we're saying is, ‘Come join the American dream and get a job.’

“So . . . the CBO report, as far as I’m concerned, is all salt and no tequila. They don't tell us why 10.5 million people are going to lose their Medicaid. And unless you have an opium habit, you'll see if you drill down and understand and try to understand that those 10.5 million people, God bless them, but they weren't eligible for Medicaid in the first place. 

“These reforms we're making to Medicaid are going to be able to provide much more money for the disabled Americans, the truly impoverished Americans, the truly sick Americans, the children who are too poor to be sick in our country. We're going to take this money we're saving and give them the quality health care they deserve. 

“And even after all these reforms, guess what? Hope you're listening, CBO. We aren't cutting Medicaid. Even after all these reforms, Medicaid is going to go up 20% over the next ten years. And that's the rest of the story, Mr. President.”

Watch Kennedy’s speech here.