U.S. Senate gives governments, hospitals shot in the arm

New Orleans CityBusiness, Oct 7, 2005 by CityBusiness Staff Report

The U.S. Senate today passed a bill allocating $750 million in emergency funding for local governments and hospitals effected by Hurricane Katrina.The bill, sponsored by U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R- Metairie), will now move to the U.S. House of Representatives.

While this is good news for Louisiana, it is not a done deal yet. I am going to be actively lobbying members of the House to get this measure addressed today, said Vitter.

The funds will be transferred from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund to the Community Disaster Loan program to help parish governments in Louisiana, county governments in Mississippi and Alabama and not-for-profit hospitals in the greater New Orleans area that remained open during and after Hurricane Katrina.

The services provided by our local governments and local hospitals are critical to the rebuilding process, Vitter said.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina left Louisiana's most severely affected parish governments with very little, if any, local tax revenue for the foreseeable future. The tax revenue is generated on a monthly basis and is used to pay the salary of parish employees, including emergency personnel and teachers, and keeps local governments operating.Community Disaster Loans apply to localities suffering decreased tax revenue as a result of a disaster.

The Senate version of the bill waives a mandate that these funds cannot exceed $5 million per entity.

We are using the funds that Congress has already allocated for aiding the victims of Hurricane Katrina and targeting the money where it is needed most without creating new spending, said Vitter.