GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said Thursday that the damage from Hurricane Harvey “just sucks,” and promised to vote “yes” on whatever financial help Texas needs.
“I’m just so sorry. I mean this whole thing is just, as you put it, horrific. It just sucks. I’m sorry, it’s just the only way I know to explain it,” Kennedy said on CNN’s “New Day.” “I don’t know why bad things happen to good people but they do. And we have to deal with it and we’re going to deal with it. It’s going to take a lot of money, but at a time like this you don’t think about the money. You don’t think about the mathematics, you think about the moral aspect.”
Kennedy sympathized with Texas, having experienced a similar fallout from Hurricane Katrina, and encouraged Texans not to give up.
“For the most part we dodged the bullet. Texas took it right in the gut, and I’m so sorry for them. I know what they’re going through. We went though it in Katrina and all I tell my friends in Texas is there are going to be times you want to give up, don’t. We’ll get through all of this together,” he said.
When asked about the federal flood insurance program, Kennedy was confident that those displaced by Harvey will receive monetary relief.
“If you have flood insurance, and you paid your hard earned dollars in premiums, by god you’re going to get paid. Now Congress is going to do whatever it takes. Yes, the flood insurance program is in debt about $25 billion. The line of credit will be extended. People will get paid. At some point when we get back to Washington, we’re going to have to reauthorize the program,” the senator said.
He added that he would be voting to give Texas whatever help it needs until state residents are stabilized and back to their normal lives.
“Our main concern right now is first, let’s get the situation stabilized in Texas and get people out of harms way, and then let’s help them get back on their feet. New Orleans did recover from Katrina, but we had a lot of help from the American taxpayer. And I can tell you right up front I’m going to vote to give Texas whatever they need to get back on their feet,” Kennedy said.
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