Press Releases

U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) joined members of Louisiana's congressional delegation in support of Governor John Bel Edward's request to President Trump to ensure the National Guard remains active in Louisiana's ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic through July 31, 2020. Under the major Disaster Declaration, Louisiana can deploy the National Guard across the state to serve on the front lines of the response effort.

The text of the letter can be found below or also found here.

Dear President Trump:

We are writing to urge you to approve the extension of funding for the continued use of the National Guard under 502(f)(2)(A) of Title 32, United States Code, through July 31, 2020. Governor John Bel Edwards has recently requested this authority to ensure the National Guard can continue to respond to your Major Disaster Declaration in connection with COVID-19. Furthermore, without this much needed deployment extension many national guardsmen who were activated at the start of this pandemic would end up being just one day shy of the 90 day threshold necessary to receive benefits for active duty service. This funding remains critical to Louisiana's ongoing fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The National Guard's unique capabilities have been an irreplaceable part of Louisiana's front line response to COVID-19. As of the time of this letter, Louisiana's Soldiers and Airmen have supported the testing of over 47,000 citizens, provided distribution of over 26 million items of personal protective equipment, provided foodbank distribution of over 5 million pounds of food, as well as participating in concurrent interagency planning and Incident Command Team augmentation. Sustaining the National Guard forces through July 31, 2020, will enable Louisiana to continue to reopen the state's economy by supporting aggressive action towards meeting phased testing goals, distribution of medical supplies and protective equipment, and state-wide foodbank operations. The unique capabilities of the National Guard remain a vital component of Louisiana's governmental and interagency efforts.

We urge your prompt approval of this request so that Louisiana may continue to employ the National Guard as deemed necessary to support COVID-19 response efforts. Thank you for your assistance in this important request.

Sincerely,