WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), met with U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, M.D., and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought today to discuss a solution to the duplication of benefits issue facing thousands of Louisiana families affected by the 2016 floods.
Today, Sen. Kennedy insisted that Vought and Carson agree on a realistic deadline to address this issue directly. Vought and Carson agreed to have answer back to the senators by April 16.
“I told Secretary Carson and Mr. Vought that they need to come back to us in two weeks with an answer to this duplication of benefits problem,” said Sen. Kennedy. “Congress has done its job and now we’re stuck pressuring the bureaucracy of HUD and the OMB. We have waited long enough for a solution, and my patience is running thin. If they come back to us in two weeks with an answer we don’t like, I plan to appeal to their boss, the President of the United States.”
Sens. Kennedy and Cassidy met with Secretary Carson on March 14 to discuss fixing this issue. On March 1, the senators sent a letter to Secretary Carson urging him to immediately address the duplication of benefits issue. On Feb. 27, Kennedy and Cassidy placed holds on two U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) nominees in order to put pressure on HUD and to reiterate the importance of the problem.