“When Hurricanes Irma and Maria dealt the Virgin Islands heavy blows in 2017, Louisianians raced down to help our neighbors rebuild. . . . Now, the bills are way past due, and Louisiana companies are going under as a result. When these companies buckle, Louisiana jobs vanish with them. . . . These businesses must be made whole, and every party involved must answer to Congress for the harm done to our workers and businesses.”

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today announced that he intends to issue a formal call for an investigation into why companies in Louisiana and other states haven’t been paid many months after performing hurricane recovery work in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“When Hurricanes Irma and Maria dealt the Virgin Islands heavy blows in 2017, Louisianians raced down to help our neighbors rebuild. These Louisiana companies are disaster recovery experts and operated in good faith. They paid salaries and living expenses on the promise that FEMA, prime contractors such as AECOM and the government of the Virgin Islands would fulfill their obligations. Those promises were broken.

“Now, the bills are way past due, and Louisiana companies are going under as a result. When these companies buckle, Louisiana jobs vanish with them. There’s no time for delay: These businesses must be made whole, and every party involved must answer to Congress for the harm done to our workers and businesses,” said Kennedy.

Several Louisiana companies, and numerous other Gulf states’ companies, performed hundreds of millions of dollars in recovery work in the Virgin Islands following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. More than two years after the storms, those companies are still owed approximately $200 million.

The investigation should, believes Kennedy, include FEMA, the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, AECOM, TSG, Witt O’Brien’s and other prime contractors or entities that were involved.

Kennedy is currently working with the relevant Senate committees to determine jurisdiction and venue for the investigation and related hearings and will be issuing a formal call in the coming weeks.

“South Louisiana has experienced significant flooding in recent years, and these FEMA grants will help fund critical elevation projects to protect homes from future disasters.”

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $5,755,890 in FEMA grants to support residential elevation projects in Tangipahoa and Orleans Parishes.

“South Louisiana has experienced significant flooding in recent years, and these FEMA grants will help fund critical elevation projects to protect homes from future disasters,” said Kennedy.

This funding is authorized by the National Flood Insurance Act. In New Orleans, structures located inside of the hurricane storm damage reduction system will be elevated one foot above the base flood elevation, while structures located outside of the system will be elevated by two feet. In Tangipahoa Parish, the resources will support elevating eleven flood-prone residential structures that have repeatedly suffered extensive loss.

“It’s asinine that we’re giving Chinese companies the opportunity to exploit hardworking Americans—people who put their retirement and college savings in our exchanges—because we don’t insist on examining their books. . . . I hope my colleagues in the House will immediately send this bill to the president’s desk so we can protect Americans and their savings.”

WASHINGTON – Today the Senate passed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act by unanimous consent. Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) introduced the legislation to protect American investors and their retirement savings from foreign companies that have been operating on U.S. stock exchanges while flouting Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight.

“The SEC works hard to protect American investors from being swindled by American companies. It’s asinine that we’re giving Chinese companies the opportunity to exploit hardworking Americans—people who put their retirement and college savings in our exchanges—because we don’t insist on examining their books. There are plenty of markets all over the world open to cheaters, but America can’t afford to be one of them. China is on a glidepath to dominance and is cheating at every turn. I hope my colleagues in the House will immediately send this bill to the president’s desk so we can protect Americans and their savings,” said Kennedy.

“As we continue to experience the economic fallout and volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to protect main street investors is all the more important. For too long, Chinese companies have disregarded U.S. reporting standards, misleading our investors. Publicly listed companies should all be held to the same standards, and this bill makes commonsense changes to level the playing field and give investors the transparency they need to make informed decisions. I’m proud that we were able to pass it today with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I urge our House colleagues to act quickly,” said Van Hollen.

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act prohibits securities of a company from being listed on any of the U.S. securities exchanges if the company has failed to comply with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) audits for three years in a row.

The bill would also require public companies to disclose whether they are owned or controlled by a foreign government, including China’s communist government. 

Many Americans invest in U.S. stock exchanges as part of their retirement savings, and dishonest companies operating on the exchanges put Americans at risk. This legislation protects the interest of hardworking American investors by ensuring that foreign companies traded in America are subject to the same independent audit requirements that apply to American companies.

Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have cosponsored the bill.

Background:

Congress established the PCAOB to inspect audits of public companies, ensuring the information companies provide to the public is accurate, independent and trustworthy.

Currently, China’s communist government refuses to allow the PCAOB to inspect audits of companies registered in China and Hong Kong. Such companies represent a keen risk to American investors as nearly 11 percent of all securities class action lawsuits in 2011 were brought against Chinese-owned companies accused of misrepresenting themselves in financial documents.

According to the SEC, 224 U.S.-listed companies are located in countries where there are obstacles to PCAOB inspections. These companies have a combined market capitalization of more than $1.8 trillion.

“The manufacturing industry plays a critical role in both state and national economies, and 3D printing will help take it to the next level. This funding will help educate university students and better equip Louisiana’s workforce.”

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $4,334,588 in funding from the National Science Foundation to the Louisiana Materials Design Alliance (LAMDA) to promote 3D printing research and education programs in multiple universities within the state. These institutions include Louisiana State University, Louisiana Tech University, Southern University and A&M College, Tulane University and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

“The manufacturing industry plays a critical role in both state and national economies, and 3D printing will help take it to the next level. This funding will help educate university students and better equip Louisiana’s workforce,” said Kennedy.

This funding will support LAMDA’s education products, including new courses and industry-supported technology. LAMDA will help grow the Louisiana science, technology, engineering and math workforce by providing research experience, course module development and professional development for undergraduate and graduate students, the hiring and mentoring of new faculty and training for community college educators.

Additional information about this funding is available here.