Bill Cassidy: “what you see depends on where you sit. Last Friday, it was announced that the BRIC Program, or the Building Resilient…”

“what you see depends on where you sit. Last Friday, it was announced that the BRIC Program, or the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program, run by FEMA would end, and money which had been allocated would be pulled back from the States which were receiving it. Now, most families across the country have not heard of the BRIC Program, but if you were to explain what it does, they would say, oftentimes, that they need it. I can tell you folks in Louisiana do. Louisiana has benefited the most per capita in the BRIC's latest round of funding, and I would argue that this actually saves tax dollars for the rest of the country because the BRIC Program helps prevent against flooding, flooding that may occur after a big rain event or after a hurricane. And in Louisiana and in many parts of our country, this is an inevitable part of life. But the best way to recover from a flood is to never flood at all. The old saying: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Another: A stitch in time saves nine. The same principle applies to flood resilience and mitigation infrastructure. When we invest in levies and floodwalls, communities are protected when the storm hits, and the Federal Government saves billions in a recovery effort that never has to be done. If you go down to South Louisiana, for example, you will see homes elevated by the BRIC Program that were not previously elevated.…”