{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://garretgraves.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/opinion-editorial-another-reason-give-thanks", "OPINION | Editorial: Another reason to give thanks", "2017-11-24", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "LA", "Garret Graves", "G000577", "garretgraves.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Thoughts this time of year often focus on reasons for which we should feel thankful -- family, shelter and wellbeing, among others. Residents in south Louisiana may need to add another item to that list.\nWould you believe it\u2019s the efforts of a few folks in Washington, D.C.?\nThe news that the White House Office of Management and Budget will ask for disaster supplemental appropriations, which include $12 billion for flood mitigation projects and another $1.235 billion for the school repairs not covered by FEMA, is a huge reason to give thanks.\nThe funds would be doled out through the Community Development Block Grant program and the Hurricane Education Account.\nPossible beneficiaries to this legislation include the long-awaited Comite River Diversion Canal, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has all but written off the books. The plan offered by the White House would possibly help with the completion of the project, which has been on the drawing board since the 1980s.\nThe funding package would also help with millions of dollars in flood-related school repairs for Livingston, East Baton Rouge and Ascension parishes. The money would help the parishes get past the FEMA-driven logjam on the $500,000 per building deductible which would cripple most school systems.\nIn addition, a bipartisan bill by Congressmen Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, and Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, would also waive the so-called \u201cDuplication of Benefits\u201d ban in which many residents who were urged to seek SBA loans were later told they could not qualify for FEMA grants.\nThe legislation would serve as a huge breakthrough for many residents whose comeback efforts have been slowed to a crawl because of the absurd regulation.\nThe asterisk on this whole equation is that it still awaits federal approval, but the concurrence by President Trump serves as an indication that south Louisiana still has a fighting chance for more help with what will be a long recovery process.\nDisasters in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico have made Louisiana\u2019s flood plights of 2016 seem like a distant memory. But we should give thanks that we have representation on Capitol Hill \u2013 from both sides of the floor, in fact \u2013 who continue to fight for us.\nIt\u2019s good to know a few people in Washington still care.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://garretgraves.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/opinion-editorial-another-reason-give-thanks"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7548942230641842, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}