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Troy Carter lost congressional races to represent New Orleans in 2006 and 2008 before winning the seat in a special election in April.

So, what’s it like to finally secure his dream job?

“It’s everything I hoped it would be,” Carter said in an interview. “It’s been everything and then some. It’s not a walk in the park, though. You start early. It’s a lot of work. It’s been like drinking from a firehose – fast-paced. But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it.”

During his 75 days in office, Carter has hosted visits to New Orleans by President Joe Biden, to emphasize his infrastructure plan, and by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff. The husband of Vice President Kamala Harris visited a YMCA in Belle Chasse and a church in New Orleans to highlight the administration’s programs that provide food to the needy and aim to boost vaccinations.

“He seemed to morph into his role comfortably,” Carter said. “He very well could have been a candidate himself. You can feel his energy. I found him to be a genuine guy.”

On another front, Carter met with EPA Administrator Michael Regan to follow up on his campaign pledge to push for tighter monitoring of emissions from chemical plants in the River Parishes.

“We need to have better compliance and better utilization of technology to reduce harmful carcinogens in water and air,” Carter said. “We discussed how to involve community activists, who feel like they haven’t been listened to. The things I said in the campaign I meant. People won’t have to literally die for their jobs. Industry can co-exist with the community.”

Carter noted that he sponsored an amendment approved by the House that would ban the transport of horses across state lines, or to Canada and Mexico, to slaughterhouses for human consumption.

“I’m an animal lover,” he said.

The measure still needs Senate approval to become law.

Carter’s district includes most of New Orleans and the west bank of Jefferson Parish, the River Parishes and most of north Baton Rouge.

He has held four town hall meetings throughout the district and has opened six district offices.

“As member of Congress, I’m going to stay close to the ground,” he said.

If Carter has one regret, it’s the sharply partisan nature of Congress. Carter spent the past six years in the state Senate, where Democrats and Republicans differ over issues but work collegiately together.

Carter plans to follow the example of his predecessor, Cedric Richmond, and work on a bipartisan fashion with Republicans in the state congressional delegation on issues important to Louisiana.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy last week joined Louisiana’s congressional delegation in urging the Office of Management and Budget to prioritize Louisiana’s request for supplemental disaster relief in response to Hurricanes Laura and Delta.

“Today marks 328 days since the disaster, and as we approach the one-year anniversary of these devastating storms, we are hopeful that OMB will acknowledge the extreme need for supplemental disaster relief and issue a formal request. We respectfully urge you to expedite Louisiana’s request for supplemental disaster relief. The federal government must provide the thousands of severely impacted Americans in Southwest Louisiana with a real recovery. Our offices look forward to working with you to accomplish this mission,” the lawmakers wrote. 

Last week, Kennedy introduced the Gulf Coast Hurricane Aid Act of 2021. The bill would provide $1.1 billion in disaster relief to Louisianans recovering from last year’s hurricanes. To pay for the aid, Kennedy proposed using revenue from the Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auction last year, allowing the government to provide the aid without needing to borrow money or add to the deficit. The Senate blocked the bill’s passage.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Mandeville) and Reps. Clay Higgins (R-Lafayette), Steve Scalise (R-Jefferson) Garret Graves (R-Baton Rouge), Mike Johnson (R-Shreveport) Julia Letlow (R-Start) and Troy Carter (D-New Orleans) also signed the letter. 

“For the past year and a half, weather disasters in Louisiana have painted a fantastic impression of hell. Since the Senate blocked my $1.1 billion disaster relief bill last week, it’s clearer than ever that the Biden administration must prioritize getting relief to southwest Louisiana by sending a formal request to Congress. Louisianans are tough, but they’re tired, and they need help,” said Kennedy.

“It’s been over a year and our constituents, especially those in Lake Charles, are still suffering from the storms of 2020. Relief has taken too long. We’re working together as our congressional delegation to push the administration to support disaster relief for Southwest Louisiana,” said Cassidy.

“It’s been nearly one year since Hurricanes Laura and Delta devastated Southwest Louisiana, and our region continues to face extreme recovery needs. We are beyond the time for consideration. Southwest Louisiana needs help now. The entire Louisiana congressional delegation is united on this effort, but we need executive branch support to advance long-term recovery resources,” Higgins said. 

“Hurricanes Laura and Delta brought widespread devastation to Southwest Louisiana last fall, and thousands of residents are still picking up the pieces nearly one year later. As we head into the more active months of hurricane season, it’s imperative that additional supplemental disaster relief be delivered to Southwest Louisiana quickly so our communities can get back on their feet and make real progress toward a full recovery,” said Scalise.

“It’s been almost a year since Hurricanes Laura and Delta made landfall in Southwest Louisiana. To watch hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds go toward paying people to not work, bailing out private pensions, funding a bridge in New York, building a tunnel in California, or targeting EPA grants for environmental justice—and nothing for the 2020 hurricanes and natural disasters—is disgusting. To make matters worse, Congress rejected multiple amendments by our delegation to target disaster recovery funds for Louisiana and others impacted by the 2020 hurricanes. I appreciate the delegation coming together to push this long-overdue need for those impacted by multiple hurricanes last year. We look forward to working with the Biden Administration, and our state and local leaders to offer a hand up to those truly in need,” said Graves.

“As Louisiana braces for another hurricane season, many of our citizens who were devastated by last year’s historic storms are still recovering. With the first anniversary of Hurricanes Laura and Delta fast approaching, it is imperative that the Biden Administration issue a formal request for disaster relief to Congress, and I join my Louisiana colleagues in urging this action immediately,” said Johnson.

“After a devastating year that has brought hurricanes, floods and freezes, it is infuriating that the people of southwest Louisiana are still waiting on answers from the federal government. This assistance is crucial for people to be able to recover and rebuild and our delegation is united to ensure that the administration makes this a top priority,” said Letlow. 

“We are in the middle of the 2021 hurricane season, yet our communities have not recovered from disasters that occurred less than a year ago. The people of South Louisiana need assistance to both mediate the uncertainty of another deadly hurricane, and to support the long-term recovery process. I am confident the Biden Administration will work with us to get resources to those in need. I stand ready with my colleagues in the Louisiana delegation to work together to garner much-needed disaster relief. While I don’t represent this area, when disaster strikes we are one Louisiana,” said Carter.

A day after U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins revealed he is ill with COVID, he along with Rep. Garret Graves and Rep. Mike Johnson would not disclose Monday whether they have been vaccinated.

The other five members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation say they have received their COVID shot and are encouraging others to do so as well.

“The benefits vastly outweigh the costs,” U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy, R-Madisonville, said in an interview.

Higgins made his announcement days after House Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise announced that he had gotten his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID.

On Monday, the Louisiana Department of Health announced that caseloads have surged because of the delta variant. Louisiana has the worst infection rates in the country.

Higgins, a Republican who represents Lafayette and Lake Charles, has repeatedly side-stepped questions about whether he has received the vaccine and has criticized pandemic restrictions while calling for the full re-opening of the economy.

He disclosed in a Facebook post Sunday that he, his wife Becca and his son have all been infected by the virus.

Higgins said he and Becca also contracted the virus in January 2020.

“This episode is far more challenging,” he wrote. “It has required all of my devoted energy. We are all under excellent care, and our prognosis is positive. We are very healthy generally speaking, and our treatment of any health concern always encompasses western, eastern, and holistic variables.”

In April, Higgins told the American Press that his father-in-law died from COVID-related complications in December.

Higgins said then that his office has “aggressively promoted” the availability of vaccines, but he opposed the federal government making vaccines mandatory.

“If you want to get vaccinated, get vaccinated,” he said in a May Facebook post. “If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. If you don’t, then don’t. That’s your right as a free American.”

Higgins’ Facebook post on Sunday directed media inquiries to his Washington, D.C. office. But press secretary Andrew David did not respond to two emails on Monday.

Nor did Johnson, who represents northwest Louisiana in the U.S. House, or his press secretary.

The office of Graves, a Republican from Baton Rouge, would say only, “Garret lost his father to COVID earlier this year. He has followed all medical guidance from his physician.”

Louisiana’s eight-member congressional delegation lost Rep.-elect Luke Letlow in December just days before he was to take office.

Following Letlow’s death, his widow Julia won the seat in a special election in March. The district stretches from Monroe south to St. Francisville and then east to Bogalusa.

She was vaccinated in March.

“We’re in a war with a silent killer,” Letlow said Monday. “We now have a tool to combat it. We don’t need any more stories like mine. I hope no one else has to lose their life.”

Scalise, a Republican who represents suburban New Orleans, received his first dose on July 18 and said afterward, “Especially with the delta variant becoming a lot more aggressive and seeing another spike, it was a good time to do it.” He called the vaccines “safe and effective.”

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician and a Republican from Baton Rouge, has been vocal in touting the vaccines’ benefits.

“There are people who should not be dying who are dying from COVID infections,” he said on Bloomberg TV on Friday. “We had testimony from the CDC director. She said it’s an epidemic among the unvaccinated, 99.5% of the deaths are among those who have not been vaccinated.”

Cassidy added that if someone has qualms, “they shouldn’t be going on Facebook. They shouldn’t be listening to a politician. They should speak to their doctor. ...If you have a trusting relationship with them, I am hoping that moves folks to get vaccinated.”

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, a Democrat from New Orleans who took office in May, said he took his 86-year-old mother to be vaccinated early this year and was inoculated later after he became eligible.

Carter said his message to constituents is: “Wake up. Wake up, people. The life you save might be your own. This is real. People have died. People are dying once again. We cannot afford to take any chances. This delta variant is real. If you have any friends who haven’t, do the right thing. Take them to get vaccinated.”

Kennedy said the vaccines were developed after years of research that received a huge push during the final year of the Trump administration.

He said he is so confident in the vaccine that “as soon as they give a green light on the booster, I’ll take it. I know it works.”

Days after Gov. John Bel Edwards said he couldn’t instill a statewide eviction moratorium despite demands from U.S. Rep. Troy Carter (D-New Orleans) and housing advocates that he take decisive action, the governor praised President Joe Biden’s administration for implementing a new 60-day federal moratorium on evictions that will apply to most (if not all) of Louisiana.

A  previous eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expired July 31, and, as Carter pointed out in a letter to Edwards, 267,943 Louisianians report being behind on their housing payments. Edwards said he could not put in a statewide moratorium because “he does not believe he would have the authority to do so,” his office’s spokesperson said.  Carter and housing advocates said he does have such authority.  Cashauna Hill, an attorney who serves as the executive director of the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center, pointed out that in May 2020, the governor extended a moratorium on evictions.

But the news Tuesday that the CDC has created a new prohibition on evicting renters behind on their payments essentially eased some of the political pressure on Edwards.  The new CDC guidelines are to apply in counties with high or substantial rates of community COVID-19 transmission, or places with more than 50 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents.  More than 80% of U.S. counties meet that threshold, and 62 of the 64 parishes in Louisiana are listed by the state as being at “highest risk” of COVID-19 transmission.

In Wednesday’s press release praising the new federal moratorium, Edwards wrote that “as we combat this deadly new surge in COVID-19 cases, we are grateful for the additional time extended to those who are still struggling to remain in their homes during the pandemic.”

Louisiana, which has one of the country’s lowest vaccination rates, had more new cases of COVID-19 this week than any other state in the country. Louisiana also has 2,247 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, an all time high since the pandemic began.

Edwards also encouraged renters and landlords who hadn’t already done so to apply for rental assistance through the state. Renters can receive rental assistance for past-due rent dating back to April 2020 and up to three months of future rent through the Louisiana Emergency Rental Assistance program.

Those looking to apply can go to www.LAStateRent.com or call 877.459.6555 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Editor's Note: Due to a reporter’s error, the nature of the Senate vote was reported incorrectly. The 67-32 vote was to start debate on the infrastructure bill. We have updated the article and regret the error.

Washington, D.C., U.S.A was a busy place Thursday, 29 July, as lawmakers in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate moved forward on large appropriation bills, both of which included seafood-related line-items and initiatives.

In the House, a package of seven spending bills passed by a 219-208 vote. The appropriations package included funding for such agencies as the Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration and Department of Interior. Among the projects in the bill is a USD 6 million (EUR 5.1 million) initiative secured by Louisiana U.S. Reps. Garret Graves (R), Steve Scalise (R), and Troy Carter (D) that would redirect dredged sediment to coastal restoration projects in the state instead of having it dumped in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a speech on the House floor Tuesday, 27 July, Carter told his colleagues the three lawmakers teamed up in a bipartisan effort because “rebuilding his state’s coastlines [is] critical to the state’s way of life.”

“We know that our fisheries and our fishermen depend on a robust coast,” Carter said. “We know that by protecting it, we protect our economy and we protect those things that are critically important to the state of Louisiana.”

In addition, the House bill includes a provision that keeps the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from allocating resources for any offshore drilling expansion in unleased parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans, as well as the eastern half of the Gulf of Mexico.

Fishery councils, fishermen, and other industry stakeholders have been part of a broad coalition that’s worked to stop the expansion of oil exploration in areas inside the U.S. exclusive economic zone with existing fisheries.

“While there is still work to be done, the inclusion of this language is a significant step toward ending dirty and dangerous offshore drilling,” said Oceana Campaign Director Diane Hoskins in a statement. “The expansion of offshore drilling is incompatible with any serious effort to combat the climate crisis and threatens coastal jobs and economies that rely on a healthy ocean.”

While the House approved its spending bill, the Senate agreed to start debate on a bipartisan infrastructure spending bill by a 67-32 margin. Among the initiatives included in the USD 1 trillion (EUR 843.5 billion) package are USD 492 million (EUR 415 million) for a NOAA National Coastal Resiliency Fund and USD 200 million (EUR 168.7 million) for a marine debris program. Several ecosystem resiliency projects are also included in the bill, such as USD 172 million (EUR 145.1 million) for a pacific coastal salmon recovery fund.

Senate leaders have said they hope to pass the infrastructure bill before breaking for their summer recess, which is slated to start in the second week of August.