WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) in introducing the Small Scale LNG Access Act to make it easier for small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers to export their product.

“Louisiana is the leading state for LNG production and export, and the Small Scale LNG Access Act would help our state continue to supply our allies with the clean energy they need. America’s economy and national security are tied to our energy independence, so we need more freedom to make the most of our energy resources,” said Kennedy.

“The United States cannot continue to cede energy production to countries like Russia and Iran. Producing cleaner burning natural gas here in the U.S. creates American jobs and exporting it abroad decreases global emissions. This bill benefits Louisiana workers, unleashes our energy dominance, and improves our environment,” said Cassidy.

“Expediting approval of small-scale natural gas exports would strengthen an emerging sector of Florida’s economy and bolster our existing ties with Caribbean and Latin American nations. Importantly, the bill would also ensure that bad actors, including the criminal regimes in Venezuela and Cuba, do not benefit from expedited access to American energy exports while they continue to undermine democracy and commit human rights atrocities,” said Rubio.

“Reducing the burden of federal regulations will mean more good paying jobs for Florida families in the emerging industry of small scale natural gas exports. Anything we can do to make LNG more accessible and cost-effective to our partners throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and decrease their reliance on Maduro and Venezuelan oil is good for the United States,” said Scott. 

“We must do everything we can to unleash American energy development, especially as the current administration does the opposite. That’s why I am proud to join Sen. Cassidy and my other Republican colleagues in introducing the Small Scale LNG Access Act to ensure the expedited, streamlined approval of small-scale LNG exports. This would be a boon to American jobs and provide long-term stability for suppliers here at home, while also helping Caribbean and Latin American countries get access to clean and reliable natural gas,” said Inhofe.

The Small Scale LNG Access Act would codify into law a Department of Energy rule that expedites the approval process for facilities that export small-scale shipments of LNG. Streamlining the approval process would boost American LNG production and promote job growth.

Kennedy previously helped introduce the Natural Gas Export Expansion Act to remove regulatory bottlenecks on the LNG trade. Kennedy’s op-ed about the bill is available here.

Text of the Small Scale LNG Access Act is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Republican senators wrote to President Joe Biden to oppose his administration’s reported plan to offer illegal immigrants up to $450,000 per person in taxpayer dollars to settle lawsuits resulting from those individuals’ violating U.S. immigration law.

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined Kennedy in asking the president to refuse to issue any settlement payments for immigrants who broke U.S. laws.

“At a time when respect for our country’s immigration laws is at an all-time low, our federal government is now seeking to financially reward aliens who broke our laws,” wrote the senators.

According to media reporting, the federal government is considering paying out more than $1 billion to illegal immigrants based on allegations against the Department of Homeland Security.

“These illegal immigrants disregarded our immigration processes, cut in front of those seeking to legally enter our nation, and put children at risk of great personal injury or death by placing them in the hands of abusive smugglers. Not only would these settlements be breathtakingly unjust and unwise, but they reinforce the conditions that make it easy for the cartels to recruit more people to undertake the treacherous journey to our southwest border, and serve only to encourage more illegal immigration,” they continued.

“Americans are a kind and generous people who welcome a diverse array of immigrants from around the world. Our nation has been made stronger by the generations of legal immigrants that have contributed to our country and achieved the American Dream. But rewarding illegal immigration with financial payments runs counter to our laws and would only serve to encourage more lawlessness at our border,” the senators concluded.

The letter is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today introduced the Main Street Growth Act to expand small companies’ access to capital markets.

“Small business owners work hard to serve their communities, but existing capital markets aren’t wide open to these job creators. The Main Street Growth Act would give smaller companies the option of listing on their own specialized exchanges, where they would be more visible to investors. These exchanges would promote growth in America’s economy by better meeting the needs of small business owners, their employees and investors,” said Kennedy.

Small companies often have difficulty accessing capital markets because their stocks are less visible and are traded less frequently than the stocks of larger companies.

The Main Street Growth Act would create tailored, dedicated exchanges known as “venture exchanges” for trading stocks in smaller companies. Giving small companies their own specialized exchanges would increase their visibility and access to capital. Venture exchanges would also give investors more access to the potential growth opportunities that small companies offer.

Listing on a venture exchange would be completely optional for small businesses, start-ups and emerging growth companies that qualify under the bill.

Text of the Main Street Growth Act is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $594,931,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for disaster recovery from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. This funding comes to Louisiana through the government funding bill, the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Act, that was recently signed into law.  

Sen. Kennedy advocated for the inclusion of the disaster relief for Louisiana in the bill.

“Louisianians are still reeling from the damage left by Laura and Delta. We need a helping hand as we rebuild, and I am pleased to see this $594.9 million that Congress set aside for Louisiana’s recovery efforts come to our state,” said Kennedy.

The Louisiana Office of Community Development will receive the award in the form of a community development block grant from HUD. The funds are part of the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Act. 

Background on Kennedy’s response to historic natural disasters:

• On October 19, the Senate passed the State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act, cosponsored by Kennedy. The bill would allow state governments to use unspent pandemic relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to provide relief for natural disaster victims and to invest in infrastructure needs.
  
  
• On Sept. 30, Kennedy voted in support of a short-term funding bill to send disaster aid to Louisiana and to extend the National Flood Insurance Program without raising the debt limit. This bill provided the $595 million awarded to Louisiana above.

• On August 2, Kennedy offered an amendment to the Senate’s infrastructure bill providing $1.1 billion in disaster relief to Louisianians recovering from Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta. The Senate blocked the amendment.  

• On July 21, Kennedy joined Louisiana’s congressional delegation in urging the Office of Management and Budget to prioritize Louisiana’s request for supplemental disaster relief. 

• On July 15, Kennedy introduced and asked the Senate to pass the Gulf Coast Hurricane Aid Act of 2021. The bill would provide $1.1 billion in disaster relief to Louisianians recovering from historic storms. The Senate blocked the bill’s passage. 

• On May 18, Kennedy again urged President Biden to provide supplemental disaster relief for southwest Louisiana. 

• On May 13, Kennedy helped introduce the Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act, which would allow rural homeowners, renters and small businesses to access disaster relief more easily in the wake of a natural disaster. 

• In September 2020, Kennedy wrote to Senate leadership, Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), to request that the Senate consider emergency supplemental aid to help Louisiana residents recover from Hurricane Laura.