MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $8,091,480 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Louisiana disaster aid.
“Storms like Laura and Ida ravaged key education and transportation infrastructure in Louisiana. This $8.1 million will help Calcasieu Parish cover the cost of repairing school facilities and aid the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport with Hurricane Ida repairs,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $7,071,039 to the Calcasieu Parish School Board for repairs to Barbe High School facilities resulting from Hurricane Laura damage.
- $1,020,441 to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to repair Hurricane Ida damage.
Kennedy announces $5.7 million for generators in Vermilion, St. Helena, St. John the Baptist Parishes
Apr 11 2025
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $5,658,060 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for generators in Vermilion, St. Helena and St. John the Baptist Parishes.
“Louisianians work hard to make their communities more resilient and prepare for the next storm. This $5.7 million will make sure Vermilion, St. Helena and St. John the Baptist Parishes are equipped with back-up power to better withstand severe weather,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $2,330,986 to Vermilion Parish for the installation of five permanent natural gas generators.
- $1,725,750 to St. John the Baptist Parish for the installation of two permanent industrial generators.
- $1,315,800 to St. Helena Parish for the installation of 11 permanent industrial generators.
- $116,549 to Vermilion Parish for management costs associated with generator purchase and installation.
- $95,875 to St. John the Baptist Parish for management costs associated with generator purchase and installation.
- $73,100 to St. Helena Parish for management costs associated with generator purchase and installation.
WASHINGTON – Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) today reintroduced the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Animal Trafficking (FIGHT) Act to enhance national animal fighting laws by providing more tools to law enforcement and citizens to curtail cockfighting and dogfighting.
“Those engaging in dog and cock fights are abusive, organized and dangerous—and their heinous behavior must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. It’s illegal to abuse God’s creatures for sport, and this bill would give law enforcement crucial tools to end this cruel practice,” said Kennedy.
"Animal fighting is cruel, illegal, and unacceptable. It’s time we take stronger action to stop these heinous abuses against animals and protect them from being exploited for entertainment and profit. This bill will tighten enforcement to put a stop to illegal animal fighting,” said Booker.
Despite being criminalized, cockfighting and dogfighting are still common across the country. Cockfights can become hubs of violence because of the illegal activity that often accompanies them.
Cockfighting may also pose a danger to public health during the ongoing avian influenza outbreak, as people who handle bloodied birds risk becoming infected by them.
The FIGHT Act would amend Section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act to strengthen and enhance enforcement against animal fighting. This bill would:
- Ban simulcasting and gambling on animal fights in the U.S., no matter where the broadcast signals for dogfights and cockfights originate.
- Halt shipments of mature roosters (chickens only) shipped through U.S. mail. This legislation does not address shipments of baby chicks, which are used in accepted agricultural operations. Shipping dogs through the mail is already illegal.
- Creates a citizen suit provision allowing private right of action against illegal animal fighters and ease the resource burden on federal agencies.
- Enhances forfeiture provisions to include real property used in the commission of an animal fighting crime.
The full bill text of the FIGHT Act is available here.
Kennedy announces $27.6 million in Hurricanes Laura, Ida, saltwater intrusion aid for Louisiana
Apr 10 2025
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $27,580,024 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Hurricanes Laura and Ida and saltwater intrusion aid for Louisiana.
“Louisiana communities are tough as a boot and work hard to rebuild from any kind of disaster. This $27.6 million will help Louisianians recover from the heavy costs of saltwater intrusion and Hurricanes Laura and Ida,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $16,470,490 to Jefferson Parish for costs associated with a temporary freshwater pipeline installed due to saltwater intrusion in the Mississippi River.
- $4,618,876 to the Office of Risk Management for repairs to 23 buildings at Nicholls State University resulting from Hurricane Ida damage.
- $2,560,880 to the Lafourche Parish School Board for repairs to South Lafourche High School resulting from Hurricane Ida damage.
- $1,751,666 to the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District for repairs to the earthen levee protection system resulting from Hurricane Ida damage.
- $1,170,252 to the city of Kenner, La. for repairs to the Pontchartrain Convention and Civic Center resulting from Hurricane Ida damage.
- $1,007,860 to the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury for repairs to Israel Lafleur Park in Lake Charles, La. resulting from Hurricane Laura damage.
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) argued that the federal government should stop subsidizing public media programming in Louisiana and elsewhere throughout the country in a speech on the U.S. Senate floor.
Key excerpts of the speech are below:
“Now, look, you don’t have to be a Latin scholar to see that these articles are biased—every single one of them—at the federal level and at the state and local level in Louisiana. And you know what, that’s the right of these state and local television stations. They have the right to say this stuff, but they don’t have the right to say it with your money.”
. . .
“These folks have the right to publish that, but they do not have the right to publish it with taxpayer money—$500 million a year. And I think you know how I feel. We know how President Trump feels, but I hope the U.S. Congress, in our reconciliation package, abolishes the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and no longer gives them or any media organization in this country a single solitary dime of taxpayer money.
“That’s not the role of the federal government, and—given these kinds of articles—to do so incites the anger of at least half of our country, and that is not right.”
Watch Kennedy’s speech here.
Kennedy blasts NYC public school system for promoting antisemitic toolkit: “Still in disbelief”
Apr 09 2025
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) questioned why the New York City public school system published an antisemitic newsletter that encouraged students to attend a “rage week” against Israel in a speech on the U.S. Senate floor.
Key excerpts of the speech are below:
“I’m still in disbelief. . . . The New York public schools publish a monthly newsletter. It is called the Office of Student Pathways Newsletter. . . . In the latest newsletter they blasted out, they had one of those bullet points that they made in the newsletter that is kind of—when you look at it on the internet, it is kind of pale blue. You can click on it, and it sends you to another site.
“The bullet point on the newsletter that the public schools of New York sent out was called: ‘Guidelines for teaching about genocide.’ And if you clicked on this phrase in the newsletter, it sent you to another site. Do you know what the site was? ‘Stop Gaza Genocide Toolkit.’ The administration of the New York public schools, the largest in the country, is sending this out to its teachers and its students and to the world. If you take a look and you say, ‘What is in this toolkit, this Stop Gaza Genocide Toolkit?’ It contains the biggest bunch of antisemitic rot you can imagine.”
. . .
“But then the article goes on to say that it has been discovered that a similar version of the toolkit—this oversight—was published in the newsletter in the prior month. It was in the Oct.-Nov. 2024 newsletter. That document called on all the teachers and all the students in the New York public schools—and everybody else reading the newsletter—it called on them to participate in ‘rage week’ and ‘resist genocide’ by mobilizing on Saturday, Oct. 5, for a ‘day of action’ ahead of the anniversary of Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. That was the date of the terrorist attack on Israel, which apparently the administration of the public schools wants to celebrate.”
Watch Kennedy’s speech here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $1,055,556 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for generators in Red River Parish, La.
“When disaster strikes, Louisianians rely on back-up power to stay safe. This $1.1 million will help Red River Parish cover these costs and prepare for the next storm,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $1,000,000 for the purchase and installation of 21 permanent generators, switches, foundation pads and security fencing in Red River Parish.
- $55,556 for management costs associated with generator purchase and installation in Red River Parish.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today reintroduced the Targeting Child Predators Act to help stop children from being exploited online.
“Innocent children are uniquely vulnerable to wicked people who commit one of the worst crimes imaginable in the internet’s shadows. Law enforcement should have every resource at their disposal to stop and punish child predators, and this bill delivers a critical tool for the good guys,” said Kennedy.
Current law gives suspected predators opportunity to evade prosecution and criminal accountability when electronic communication service (ECS) providers alert them to potential law enforcement investigations.
When law enforcement investigates online child exploitation cases, they typically match an IP address to a suspected predator. Officials may then use this evidence to obtain a subpoena to collect the name of the person attached to the IP address from an ECS provider.
ECS providers comply with these subpoenas, but often inform users of the search—in these cases, suspected child predators—of the request. Suspects who discover that law enforcement is investigating them regularly erase their internet search footprints, which can make prosecuting online child predators nearly impossible.
The Targeting Child Predators Act would allow law enforcement to block ECS providers from notifying suspected child predators that they are being investigated for at least 180 days if law enforcement certifies that doing so is necessary to prevent destruction of evidence, flight and other misconduct.
Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) cosponsored the bill.
“We live in a digitally dominated world and while there are many positive benefits that come with that, there’s also a dark underbelly. This legislation would support law enforcement’s efforts to mitigate the dangerous threats that lurk behind the screens we look at daily and safeguard Texas children from harm,” said Cornyn.
The Targeting Child Predators Act does not expand what type of evidence law enforcement can collect and allows for judicial review of a nondisclosure requirement attached to a subpoena.
The Child Rescue Coalition, Raven, Major County Sheriffs of America and the National Fraternal Order of Police support the Targeting Child Predators Act.
“The TCPA will streamline data access for law enforcement in child exploitation cases, without compromising their investigations, or repeatedly burdening the Judiciary, enabling quicker investigations to protect and rescue victims from online predators,” said Greg Schiller, CEO, Child Rescue Coalition.
“This bill will prevent tech companies from notifying child predators of subpoena service which will keep vital evidence from being destroyed and increase law enforcement’s ability to rescue victims,” said Jennifer Dunton, Director of Legislative Affairs at Raven.
“MCSA commends Senator Kennedy for introducing the Targeting Child Predators Act. If those who target and exploit children are tipped off when a criminal investigation is underway, they can destroy evidence and as a result complicate the recovery of evidence. This bill would help to minimize this possibility and improve our chances of putting them behind bars. We encourage Congress to act on this important legislation,” said Sheriff Bill Brown, President, Major County Sheriffs of America.
“The ‘Targeting Child Predators Act’ makes a common-sense change that ensures that law enforcement has the necessary time to conduct thorough investigations and build strong cases against offenders. This change would ultimately help remove predators from our neighborhoods and make our internet communities safer for children and families,” said Patrick Yoes, National President, National Fraternal Order of Police.
The full bill text of the Targeting Child Predators Act is available here.
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been taking peace negotiations with Ukraine seriously and warned him not to disrespect President Trump in a speech on the U.S. Senate floor.
Key excerpts of the speech are below:
“To get respect, you have to act respectfully. To be taken seriously, you have to act seriously. We know that. It is a matter of common sense. President Putin in Russia is not acting with respect toward the United States of America or President Trump. President Putin is not acting seriously.
“I don’t know a single fair-minded person with an IQ above his age who doesn’t want peace in Ukraine. . . . We all want to see peace in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy wants to see peace in Ukraine. President Trump wants to see peace in Ukraine. I thought President Putin did. I am beginning to wonder.”
. . .
“[President Putin] said, ‘I want China to be part of the negotiations and India and Brazil and South Africa’—and get this; this will curdle your lunch—‘North Korea.’ Mama Gump said that stupid is as stupid does. President Putin is not interested in peace.”
Watch Kennedy’s speech here.
Kennedy announces $1.3 million in Hurricane Ida aid for Louisiana Office of Risk Management
Apr 03 2025
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $1,265,547 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Louisiana disaster aid.
“Hurricane Ida’s storm surge, rains and winds badly damaged facilities in our state. This $1.3 million will help Louisianians cover the cost of office contents that Ida destroyed,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $1,265,547 to the Office of Risk Management to replace office contents that Hurricane Ida damaged.
