BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The federal government will pick up the full cost of 30 days of debris removal and other emergency response activity in Louisiana for Hurricane Laura.
President Donald Trump has authorized the federal spending for debris pickup, emergency protective measures and direct federal aid to individuals for a continuous 30-day period that the state will set, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and Gov. John Bel Edwards each announced Friday.
Usually, the state must pay a 25% cost share for the federal assistance.
Cassidy, a Republican running for reelection this fall, said he personally asked Trump for the federal government to cover the costs, rather than asking Louisiana to pay a share.
Laura made landfall in Cameron Parish on Aug. 27, devastating large portions of southwest Louisiana including the city of Lake Charles. Thousands of residents remain displaced.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.