Louisiana GOP lawmaker urges FEMA aid for 'hurricane' like ice storm as DHS shutdown drags on
Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., is calling on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist northern Louisiana to recover from a recent ice storm while the partial government shutdown limits...
By Fox News · Fox News
Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., is calling on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist northern Louisiana to recover from a recent ice storm while the partial government shutdown limits the agency’s operations. "What I've been trying to share with people is that this was like a hurricane for North Louisiana. A hundred thousand people were without power, many over a week. Not only that, but people lost their lives," Letlow told Fox News Digital. " We get a lot of attention in South Louisiana for hurricanes. People are very familiar with that, but North Louisiana just encountered a major ice storm. Louisiana is not known for its ice storms, so this is relatively new." SENATE RACES TO AVERT THIRD SHUTDOWN AS DHS DEAL TAKES SHAPE Letlow believes the agency can assist people in her district to clear fallen trees that have destroyed power lines, damaged homes and restricted mobility. She said her own family has grappled with the storm's fallout. "In my parents' own yard — they couldn't even get out of their driveway for over a week trying to handle all of these tree limbs that came down," Letlow said. Her calls for assistance follow a letter from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, urging the Trump administration to declare a state of emergency. DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS INTO 4TH DAY AS SENATE DEMOCRATS BLOCK FUNDING OVER ICE REFORMS "I urge you to provide an expedited declaration in order to provide federal relief to these highly impacted communities. I anticipate that once we have the opportunity to fully assess damages around the state, a number of additional parishes will need federal assistance to allow them to recover from the disaster," Landry wrote. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which governs FEMA, went into a shutdown last week when lawmakers on Capitol Hill remained gridlocked over funding legislation for the agency over demands Democrats have made about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In the wake of two deadly confrontations between immigrat…