Sen. Cassidy grants $965,000 to Shreveport, Hammond airports
'Airports are often the first impression visitors have when traveling to Louisiana. These projects will make Louisiana's airports safer and more reliable while creating jobs and boosting local economies,' said Dr. Cassidy.
Shreveport Airport: ARTPORT free exhibit, reopens after 10-year hiatus
According to the news release, the Shreveport Airport Authority will receive $881,000 in federal funding to enhance safety by installing 13,650 feet of wildlife fencing and eight gates at the Shreveport Downtown Airport.
The City of Hammond will receive $84,000 in federal funding to rehabilitate 36,000 feet of taxiways and 640 square yards of the terminal apron at Hammond Northshore Regional Airport, maintaining pavement integrity and reducing debris hazards.
In 2024, the Shreveport Airport Authority received $2 million to construct a new terminal gate space.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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American Press
2 days ago
- American Press
Landry: State's successes the 'greatest story that has yet to be told'
The 20th annual Chamber Southwest Louisiana LegisGator Luncheon was hosted at L'Auberge Casino Resort on Friday. LegisGator is the largest legislative event in the state. Hosted each year to bring constituents, state and federal representatives together in the same room, the luncheon serves as an opportunity for lawmakers to update community members on state and federal actions directly. This year several state leaders attended the luncheon, including U.S Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy and Gov. Jeff Landry. This was not the first LegisGator for these government leaders, but it was for Chamber of Southwest Louisiana President Scott Walker. He opened the luncheon by speaking on how the region is 'on the cusp' of dynamic change. He stepped into the role of president about six months ago. In that time, he has recognized Southwest Louisiana as an adaptive region 'built on energy, industry and grit' that 'pulls together to get things done.' 'We are shaping and innovating the future of energy, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense,' he said. 'I see us creating opportunity here, right here in Southwest Louisiana. We can create opportunity here for companies, for workers, for families and for our communities.' For Landry, LegisGator was an 18-month check-in. More than a year into his term. Louisiana has been gradually moving up the ranks in surveys, with the state jumping up in nationwide rankings, he said. This is in addition to statewide increases in job opportunities, new business interests and an impending industrial boom, he said. Louisiana has reached a historic level of economic activity, Landry said. There is $70 billion in private investment planned throughout the state — from the $10 million AI data center being built in Richland Parish to the several carbon-capture projects that have been proposed in Louisiana. Among that growth, he called Southwest Louisiana one of the 'bright, shining spots' in Louisiana. With investments like the LNG Center of Excellence and the I-10-Calcasieu River Bridge Project, the region is keeping up with the state's momentum. These steps taken towards a more diversified economy are thanks to 'one of the most cohesive congressional delegations,' he said. One of those delegates is Cassidy, who is finishing his second term as a U.S. Senator. Working to better the state and country is his 'higher purpose,' he said. 'If I'm only living for myself, what's the worth of living? But if I'm waking up and thinking about how do I work and win for the people of Louisiana and the people of the United States of America, I got a spring in my step.' He spoke to a few of the feathers he has in his legislative cap. He worked to help secure the $11 billion Louisiana infrastructure that came with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which includes $150 million for the Calcasieu River Bridge and 'hundreds of millions of dollars' for flood mitigation and coastal restoration. Kennedy said he believes the state's future can be better than its past and present, but will take hard work and self-sufficiency. 'We're only as good as our dreams. We shouldn't fear our future when we ought to grab hold of it. I'm not going to bubble wrap. No one's coming to save us but ourselves, folks. And in Washington, D.C., the water is not going to clear up until you get the pigs out of the creek.' Louisiana's present is the 'greatest story that no one in this state is writing about,' Landry said. 'Over the past 18 months, we have actually been able to assemble that critical mass of people who want to put aside the selfish part of politics and are hell-bent on changing the state,' he said. 'We are no longer the laughingstock of the South. Louisiana, for once in a lifetime, is poised to take its place as a leader in a new industrial South. And if you don't believe me, just go look up Google.' He urged residents to get 'past the gaslighting that people like to do that divides us' and have 'faith in those that we have elected to change the state.' 'While we have waited, I want you to know, we don't wait anymore. Today, the world gets to see us as who we are. … As the people who get to share a culture of hard work and humility,' he said. 'And whether they write this story today, or not, today we are living in the greatest story that has yet to be told.'
CNBC
3 days ago
- CNBC
Social Security marks its 90th anniversary — here's what could happen to future benefits
Ninety years ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, which created the program that now sends monthly benefit checks to millions of Americans, including retirees, disabled individuals and families. But by the time the program celebrates its centennial, benefits may not look the same as today's Social Security payments. The reason: Social Security's trust funds, which the program relies on to help pay benefits, are facing a looming shortfall. Starting in 2033 — two years before its 100th anniversary — the program may only be able to pay 77% of scheduled benefits for retirees, their families and survivors, Social Security's trustees projected in an annual report released in June. However, should those funds be combined with Social Security's trust fund for disability benefits, as has happened in prior emergencies, payments may be cut one year later, in 2034. At that point, 81% of scheduled benefits would be payable, Social Security's trustees project. Importantly, Social Security benefits would not disappear entirely. The program would still have ongoing income from payroll taxes to help fund benefit payments. That scenario is not inevitable. Changes to the program may be enacted sooner to shore up its funding and prevent sudden benefit cuts. Most, 83%, of surveyed Americans think Social Security reform should be a top priority for Congress, even if it means benefit cuts or tax increases for future beneficiaries, according to a new poll from the Bipartisan Policy Center's American Savings Education Council. The group polled more than 4,000 adults. "This is the time for action," said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, who is among the lawmakers pitching a plan to help restore the program's solvency, told Cassidy has teamed up with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia., to co-lead a bipartisan pitch — the centerpiece of which is a new $1.5 trillion investment fund for Social Security, separate from Social Security's current trust funds. The initial $1.5 trillion outlay would be borrowed. Because the money would be held in escrow and could be liquified, it would not increase the national debt, Cassidy said. The funds would be invested more aggressively than Social Security's current trust funds, which are invested in U.S. Treasury securities. Because those investments are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, they are secure. However, the average rate of return over a one-year period was around 2.5% in 2024. In contrast, the S&P 500 has returned an annual average of around 10%, though those results vary from year to year. Investing the proposed separate investment fund in stocks, bonds and other investments could cover an estimated 70% of Social Security's trust fund shortfall, Cassidy said. That would make it much more doable for lawmakers to address the remaining 30%, he said. The senators' plan does not include any benefit cuts or tax increases for seniors, Cassidy said. It would provide benefit increases for two cohorts — beneficiaries age 80 and older who are at less than 200% of the federal poverty level, and low earners who have a long work history earning low wages. Lawmakers could consider increasing the size of the investment fund to help cover the rest of the shortfall, he said. Rights to manage the fund would be left to a bidding process, which could result in lower fees and higher returns, Cassidy said. Critics, including Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., have said investing in other securities as the senators' plan suggests would privatize Social Security and therefore threaten Americans' retirement security. In response, Cassidy points to the federal Railroad Retirement system, which in 2001 moved from investing solely in government bonds to more aggressive instruments, including stocks. That change was approved by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and has helped the program operate with a positive balance today. Still, some experts are dubious. In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Andrew Biggs, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said while he applauded the first bipartisan plan to fix Social Security in two decades, he questions whether the plan could work. Among the concerns he details are the amount of money that the plan requires the government to borrow, as well as the increased investment risk that would be required without a guarantee of higher returns. Cassidy and Kaine are not the only lawmakers looking at potential solutions to solve Social Security's dilemma. Larson has a plan that has been reintroduced in multiple sessions of Congress that would provide benefit increases while increasing taxes on the wealthy. The last time Social Security was meaningfully enhanced was in 1971 under President Richard Nixon, Larson said in an interview with More than 5 million Americans currently receive below poverty-level checks from Social Security, according to Larson. Larson's most recent proposal from 2023 would temporarily increase benefits for all beneficiaries, while also providing specific enhancements for those receiving minimum benefits; widows or widowers in two-income households; and children of deceased, disabled or retired workers who are full-time students. The plan also proposes changing the way annual cost-of-living adjustments are calculated. To pay for those benefit increases, Larson's plan calls for income over $400,000 to be subject to payroll taxes. In 2025, workers stop contributing to Social Security for the year once they reach an income of $176,100. Both employers and employees pay a 6.2% tax on wages up to that threshold. More from Personal Finance:Social Security cost-of-living adjustment may be 2.7% in 2026'Big beautiful' bill does not eliminate taxes on Social Security benefitsHow having a 'bridge' strategy can help Social Security claiming The Bipartisan Policy Center poll finds a majority of Americans support lifting the cap on income subject to payroll taxes, with 65% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans. That includes a "significant majority" of respondents with annual household incomes over $200,000, according to the results. Larson's plan also called for a separate 12.4% tax on net investment income for taxpayers making over $400,000. Larson plans to reintroduce his plan in the current session of Congress with some tweaks. "We'll be rolling out a presentation in September that will include not only protecting Social Security, but also enhancing it," Larson said. The plan will also make it Congress' responsibility to act more frequently to help ensure benefits continue to meet individuals' needs, he said. "I think that that's got to be paramount to keeping this in check," Larson said. Larson plans to push for a vote on his bill. But he also wants an open debate. "There has to be a public discussion," Larson said. Most Americans — 64% of Democratic voters and 61% of Republicans — want Congress to work together across party lines to reform Social Security, the Bipartisan Policy Center found in its recent poll. That's as 41% of surveyed Americans expect Social Security will be their primary source of income in retirement, according to the BPC. Moreover, 74% of Americans worry Social Security will run out before they retire, while 80% worry Congress will cut benefits. Nevertheless, the poll results show Americans would welcome a "comprehensive, balanced reform package that entails both benefit adjustments and tax increases," said Emerson Sprick, director of retirement and labor policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. Increasing taxes on the wealthiest 1% to help repair the program's finances had the most support among BPC's poll respondents, with 85% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans. That's in contrast to the 65% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans who support a higher cap on payroll taxes. A majority of voters also support adjusting benefits for those most in need, with 63% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans; reducing benefits for higher income individuals, with 64% of Democrats and 61% of Republicans; and increasing the amount that both employees and employers pay into the program, with 61% of both Democrats and Republicans. Most voters also support encouraging legal immigration that would result in more workers paying into the program, with 64% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans. The urgency of addressing Social Security's funding woes will increase over time. Two new laws have provided generous enhancements for certain Social Security beneficiaries. The Social Security Fairness Act increased benefits for some public pensioners, while President Donald Trump's "big beautiful" budget and tax package provides a tax deduction for seniors. The changes in both laws will accelerate the trust fund depletion dates. The Fairness Act was included the Social Security trustees' latest projections. The more recent "big beautiful" legislation will move the insolvency date for the retirement trust fund to late 2032 up from the early 2033 trustees' projection, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Senators who are elected in 2026 will be in office during those projected depletion deadlines, Sprick said. As the trust fund depletion dates come closer, there will be more discussion about Social Security's future on Capitol Hill, Sprick said. The current proposals on Capitol Hill are a start, he said. "We've put this off for way too long; the political process moves very slowly," Sprick said. "But that does not negate the fact that these conversations are moving in the right direction."
Axios
5 days ago
- Axios
Spicy Senate fight
President Trump has added an unsolicited, high-profile confirmation fight to the Senate's plate when they're back from August recess. Why it matters: With a 140+ person backlog on civilian confirmations, Senate Republicans left Washington vowing to fast-track the rules. Senate GOP leaders told senators to be ready to move as soon as they return to D.C. in September, sources familiar tell us. Senators have suggested everything from shorter debate time to allowing more nominees to be voted on en bloc. 🌶 But the newest nominee's a doozy: Trump said yesterday he'll nominate Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics after he fired Erika McEntarfer. Zoom in: Antoni's confirmation process will first have to go through the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee which is chaired by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) Cassidy called McEntarfer's removal"understandable," and he had previously demanded answers as to why BLS's jobs reports were inaccurate. He's also up for re-election next year. But HELP includes frequent Trump critics: Sens. Susan Collins (R-Me.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). "BLS's years-long failure to produce reliable data — especially when that data has broad market-moving implications — is unacceptable," a Cassidy spokesperson told Axios. "Cassidy looks forward to meeting with Dr. Antoni to discuss how he will accomplish this."
