Schools Must Safely Reopen for Our Children’s Sake

I opened this week’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on "Challenges to Safely Reopening K-12 Schools" by emphasizing the importance of safely reopening schools for the sake of public health and our children's future. There is a wealth of guidance and scientific information that indicates that schools can and should safely reopen this fall, following guidelines put forward by the CDC and other organizations.

Education is a local responsibility and each school must adapt to their unique challenges. CDC guidance makes it clear that a school in a hotspot must be more cautious than a school where transmission is very low. But all schools can and must develop a plan to resume in-person learning.

Additionally, our teachers faced an unprecedented challenge in the spring and worked hard to adapt and improvise in order to fulfill the most important of our societal responsibilities: the education of our children.

Parents, including myself, also became teachers in the newly opened home school settings. I want to thank all of the teachers and parents for what they have done – and extend a thank you to all who will help us get our kids back into school this fall.

Support for U.S. Shrimpers & Families Impacted by COVID-19

This week, the Trump Administration approved $30 million of shrimp purchases under the Section 32 program, which distributes emergency food assistance to states and food banks nationwide. This is great news for the U.S. shrimp industry, including Louisiana shrimpers, who tirelessly work to provide their delicious, world-class product. This program will support our shrimpers who have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, while providing U.S. shrimp proudly produced in Louisiana and the entire Gulf Coast to the families who need it most.

Meeting with the South Central Industrial Association (SCIA)

I recently met with the SCIA Board of Directors to discuss critical Louisiana infrastructure projects and offshore energy operations. Louisiana's offshore energy producers are critical for achieving American energy dominance and safeguarding access to our nation’s oil and natural gas supply. It was great to meet with the SCIA leaders and discuss how we can best work together to support energy production and coastal restoration in Louisiana.

Meeting with the SCIA Board of Directors

Community Updates

• Strengthening Louisiana’s Hurricane Protection System: I, along with other Members of our Congressional Delegation, fought hard to secure reforms that will ensure that Louisiana families are not on the hook for bloated tabs when necessary flood protection and coastal restoration projects, like post-Katrina hurricane protection, aren’t delivered by the Army Corps of Engineers in a timely and affordable manner. I will continue fighting to get this proposal signed into law to strengthen our state’s hurricane protection system.
  
  
• Securing Our Medical Supply Chain: President Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. government to buy essential medicine from American companies. This is a big step towards bringing our medical supply chain home and decreasing our dependence on other countries, like China, for life-saving medication.  
  
  
• Operation Warp Speed: Last Friday, Operation Warp Speed, the Trump Administration's bold effort to develop and deliver hundreds of millions of doses of a safe, effective vaccine for COVID-19 by January 2021, added another coronavirus vaccine candidate.
  
  
• Phase Two Extension: This week, Governor Edwards announced the Phase Two order will be extended in Louisiana through August 28. Phase Two includes the statewide mask mandate, closure of bars to on-site consumption and crowd size limits of no more than 50 people for at least another 21 days.
  

It is an honor to represent you in Congress. For more information please visit my website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages.


God Bless,