MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced a $1,880,865 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Louisiana disaster aid.

“Hurricane Ida left behind many damaged and destroyed streetlights, utility poles and powerlines in south Louisiana. This $1.9 million will help these communities with important repairs to their electrical infrastructure,” said Kennedy.

The FEMA aid will fund the following:

• $1,880,865 to the South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association for repairs to streetlights, utility poles and powerlines due to Hurricane Ida damage.

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and colleagues in announcing their intent to introduce the Stand with Israel Act to combat the United Nation’s (U.N.) persecution of Israel. The legislation would block any U.S. dollars from going to the U.N. if it downgrades Israel’s status in any way, such as preventing Israel from having certain voting powers, access to committees or other roles within the organization.

“The U.N. has failed to pass any resolution to condemn the October 7 terrorists, yet the Palestinian delegation has tried to delegitimize Israel by introducing radical resolutions. Even though the U.N.’s policies often run against American interests, we remain its biggest funder. We shouldn’t send American tax dollars to groups that demonize our strongest democratic ally in the Middle East while elevating terrorist-sympathizers and the Palestinian Authority,” said Kennedy.

Last month, Kennedy criticized the Palestinian Authority for introducing a U.N. resolution that would reward terrorism. The resolution would have supported an end to Israel’s presence in the West Bank, sanction Israeli officials and block other countries’ arms transfers to Israel. The U.N. General Assembly adopted the one-sided resolution without U.S. support. 

“Any attempt to alter Israel’s status at the UN is clearly anti-Semitic. That said, if the UN member states allow the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization to downgrade Israel’s status at the UN, the U.S. must stop supporting the UN system, as it would clearly be beyond repair. I am disgusted that this outrageous idea has even been discussed, and will do all I can to ensure any changes to Israel’s status will come with consequences,” said Risch. 

The legislation is the companion to the House of Representative’s bipartisan H.R. 9394, which Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) introduced. 

Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) also cosponsored the legislation.

Full text of the Stand with Israel Act is available here.  

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in the Ouachita Citizen arguing that America must stand firm alongside Israel until every American hostage is home safe. Kennedy noted that Hamas is still holding four American citizens in Gaza and argued that the Biden-Harris administration must do more to hold Hamas and its supporters accountable. 

Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:

“While our hearts go out to the many Israeli families who lost loved ones during Hamas’s attack, we cannot forget that October 7 was an attack on Americans, too.”

. . .

“At least four American hostages are still alive in Gaza, including Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Keith Siegel. Israeli officials believe three other Americans—Judith Weinstein Haggai, Gadi Haggai, and Itay Chen—died in captivity, but Hamas refuses to turn over the bodies of these Americans so their families can finally lay them to rest.”

. . .

“Both President Biden and Vice President Harris seem to have fallen silent in their support for Israel to appease a handful of leftist institutions that believe Hamas was justified in raping and murdering innocent people.

“The Biden-Harris administration continues to support the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA), for example, despite clear evidence that the global organization is riddled with Hamas supporters. Just last week, Israel killed a Hamas leader in Lebanon who just happened to be an UNRWA employee.”

. . .

“The same is true on college campuses. Last spring, anti-Israel rioters set up encampments on public property, vandalized buildings with antisemitic slogans, and blocked Jewish students from attending classes. One protester at Columbia University even held up a sign stating that Hamas’s ‘next targets’ were the Jewish students on American campuses. As some of the most influential universities in America devolved into campgrounds for antisemites, the Biden-Harris administration sat on its hands.

“These campus protestors—and far too many of my colleagues in Washington—seem to be confused about who the bad guys are in this conflict between Israel and Hamas. People in Louisiana, however, aren’t confused.

“Louisianians understand that the Hamas terrorists who brutally murdered and kidnapped innocent civilians are the bad guys. They know these campus protesters who are rooting for Hamas are like rocks, only dumber. They support the Israelis who are fighting to free the hostages, not the monsters who carried out the October 7 attack.

“As we reflect on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, I hope President Biden, Vice President Harris, and my colleagues in Washington will remember why we need to stand strong alongside Israel in its fight against evil. We must have Israel’s back until every American is home and Hamas is in ruins.” 

Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.  

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and 47 colleagues in introducing a resolution condemning Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Hamas took the lives of nearly 1,200 people, including more than 40 U.S. citizens, and abducted at least 251 individuals as hostages.

“The world will never forget how Hamas terrorists slaughtered roughly 1,200 people in Israel—including Americans—in a single day. One year later, U.S. citizens remain in captivity in Gaza, suffering at the hands of evil men with black hearts. Pres. Biden and Vice Pres. Harris have the duty and obligation to fully condemn Iran’s proxy militants, support Israel’s right to defend itself and bring American hostages home quickly,” said Kennedy.

Last month, Hamas took the life of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Hamas is also reportedly holding hostage Keith Siegel, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, and the bodies of three other Americans, Itay Chen, Judith Weinstein and Gadi Haggai, in Gaza.

“This time last year, I woke up in the Middle East to the unbearable news that Israel was under attack by Iran-backed terrorists and Americans were being killed and taken hostage. I immediately traveled into Israel to show that our nation’s friendship is unwavering, in good times and bad. Regardless of whether I have been in Jerusalem, Washington, or Iowa, I have worked around the clock to hold the White House accountable to its ‘ironclad’ commitment, bring our hostages home, and cut off the source of terrorism in Tehran. One year since that day, as Israel remains under attack on all fronts, Senate Republicans stand united with our greatest ally in the Middle East,” said Ernst. 

The senators’ resolution:

• Condemns Iran-backed Hamas for its brutal attacks on Israel, for killing and taking hostage U.S. citizens, for using rape as a weapon of war and for its inhumane treatment, torture and killing of hostages.

• Condemns the destructive and antisemitic protests in which protestors damaged property, tore down flags and burned and replaced them with Hamas flags while threatening Jewish Americans.

• Supports an outcome that will ensure the survival of Israel, destroy Hamas’s ability to reconstitute any leadership role in the region and safely release and return all American hostages.

Background: 

• In Sept., Kennedy issued a statement against the Palestinian Authority’s anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. General Assembly.

• In Aug., Kennedy urged the Biden-Harris administration to reverse its pause on weapons transfers to Israel.

• In July, Kennedy issued a statement after attending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.

• In May, Kennedy helped introduce the Israel Security Assistance Support Act to condemn the Biden-Harris administration’s pause on arms transfers to Israel and require the administration to reverse its pause.

• In May, Kennedy helped introduced a resolution condemning the Biden-Harris administration’s decision to halt the shipment of American-made ammunition and weapons to Israel. 

• In May, Kennedy also helped introduce a bipartisan resolution to reject the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. 

• In April, Kennedy urged the Biden-Harris Justice Department to protect students from antisemitic mobs on their university campuses.

• In Dec. 2023, Kennedy spoke on the Senate floor, urging the Biden-Harris administration to continue to support Israel until it successfully destroys Hamas.

The full resolution is available here.