WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to identify and bring to justice criminals guilty of targeting Catholic churches and worshipers. 

“In August 2020, I wrote a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) expressing alarm over the violence in the United States aimed at Catholics and their institutions and property. In that correspondence, I highlighted examples of the senseless acts of destruction that had taken place: For example, rioters attacked a bookstore run by nuns, vandals demolished reverent statues, and arsonists set churches on fire. In one case, criminals targeted a church while worshipers were still inside. I concluded by asking that the department, which you now head, act swiftly and carefully to bring an end to these heinous crimes,” Kennedy wrote.

Kennedy pointed out that the DOJ never responded to that letter and that violence against Catholicism has continued largely unchecked.

“Data compiled by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops shows that almost 80 additional attacks have occurred in America since August 2020. While arson still seems to be a popular offense, graffiti and the beheading of holy statues have also become crimes of choice. . . . In my state of Louisiana, a delinquent broke the heads off statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary and threw planters and statues at the church’s stained-glass windows,” continued Kennedy.

“The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Yet during the COVID-19 pandemic, people of faith experienced significant interference with the practice of their religion. If the government continues to let these crimes go unpunished, it will further inhibit the people’s practice and enjoyment of their fundamental, constitutional right. Thus, I again ask that the DOJ increase efforts to identify and prosecute criminals targeting Catholic people and property so that the tens of millions of Catholics in our country can continue to practice their faith safely,” Kennedy concluded.

Kennedy’s August 2020 letter is available here.

The letter is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $16,157,989 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for south Louisiana in disaster relief.

“Louisianian families have suffered a brutal year-and-a-half of hurricanes. They are strong, but they need help, and this $16 million will help our state recover,” said Kennedy.  

The FEMA aid will fund the following:

• $5,357,821 to Plaquemines Parish for debris removal related to Hurricane Ida.
• $4,281,255 to the Jefferson Davis Electric Cooperative for state management costs as a result of Hurricane Laura.
• $3,040,097 to the South Lafourche Levee District for debris removal related to Hurricane Ida.
• $2,263,025 to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development for debris removal related to Hurricane Zeta.
• $1,215,791 to Lake Charles Memorial Hospital for emergency protective measures related to Hurricane Delta.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and more than 20 other senators in urging President Biden to boost defense spending and reverse his anti-energy policies so the U.S. would be better positioned to compete against Russia and China. The letter comes ahead of Biden’s State of the Union address, which the president will deliver tonight.

“. . . as our nation prepares for this new era of authoritarian aggression led by the dictators in Russia and China, we have serious concerns that we encourage you to address in tonight’s State of the Union and thereafter act upon immediately,” the senators wrote.

“First, you must submit a robust military budget that significantly increases defense spending to reflect the realities of our geostrategic competition with China and Russia. Your Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget proposed significant real cuts to the Department of Defense when, at the same time, you proposed massive increases to almost every other federal agency and department. Putin and Xi were undoubtedly encouraged that the President of the United States proposed significant budget cuts to his own armed services,” the senators continued.

“Second, your Administration’s energy policies—which focus on restricting, delaying, and killing the production of American energy—have had the predictable but catastrophic effect of driving up energy prices for American working families, increasing pinks slips for American energy workers, and significantly empowering our adversaries, especially Putin, who has used energy as a weapon for decades,” continued the senators.

The senators pointed out that the Biden administration has worked to disarm America’s energy sector and expressed hope that Biden will make a course correction in his State of the Union address. They encouraged the president to take several actions to reverse his anti-energy policies, protect America’s national security and support American allies, including:

• Rescind the decision to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline.
  
  
• Commit to fast-tracking and producing American energy on federal lands.
  
  
• Direct the Department of the Interior to finalize a new five-year offshore lease plan by June 30, 2022.
  
  
• Sanction Russian oil and gas exports to America and U.S. allies.
  
  
• Issue all pending export licenses and announce an initiative to surge American liquefied natural gas exports to America’s allies and partners in Europe who are dependent on Russian energy.

“The American people are looking to their President to rise to this critical moment. Our national security, global stability for ourselves and our allies, as well as the prosperity of every American family are on the line,” concluded the senators.

The letter is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) and more than 30 other lawmakers in urging Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to advocate that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) prevent member countries from facilitating exchanges of Russia’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). The lawmakers also oppose any additional SDR allocations that would bolster Russia’s reserves as it wages a war of aggression against Ukraine.

“The hostile invasion of Ukraine this week demonstrates why the IMF should have never approved its latest $650 billion general allocation of SDRs in August 2021. As Republicans have repeatedly raised, general SDR allocations are not targeted and have no conditions on what the SDRs can be used for,” the lawmakers wrote.

“The Biden Administration’s support for the IMF’s $650 billion general allocation, of which more than $17 billion went to Russia, ran counter to U.S. sanctions against Moscow even before the invasion of Ukraine. We cannot allow these reserve assets to help the regime withstand the latest sanctions announced by the President, let alone offer additional billions through further allocations,” continued the lawmakers.

“As the largest shareholder of the IMF, the United States has a responsibility to ensure that the Fund is not misused to support Russia’s warmongering in Ukraine. We urge you to take all necessary measures to prevent this,” they concluded.

The IMF created the SDR as an international reserve asset to supplement IMF member countries’ official reserves. The IMF distributes these assets to member countries based on each country’s IMF quota, which depends on its size relative to the global economy. Member countries receive SDRs and can exchange them for U.S. dollars or for the currencies of other IMF members.

In addition to this letter, Kennedy introduced the No Dollars for Dictators Act in June 2021 to prohibit the IMF’s SDR allocations from going to perpetrators of genocide and state sponsors of terrorism unless Congress authorizes the allocation.

The lawmakers also directed the letter to Acting U.S. Executive Director of the IMF Elizabeth Shortino.

Background

The IMF distributes SDRs according to each country’s economic standing in the global economy.

While some have claimed that SDRs offer the U.S. a no-cost way to assist poor countries, this is demonstrably false. The $650 billion IMF allocation made in August 2021 will require the U.S. to issue debt in order to cover loans issued through SDRs. The U.S. will have to pay interest on such debt, and that interest will exceed any interest that the U.S. may receive on the loans it issues.

There is no requirement that countries—including Russia, China and Iran—that receive loans from the U.S. through SDRs ever repay the principal. As a result, the financial burden of these loans will fall on the U.S. taxpayer.

The letter is available here.