Senator John Kennedy, who represents Louisiana in the United States Senate and serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has secured about $122 million for special projects across Louisiana as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 spending bills. The legislation is now headed to President Donald Trump for signature.
“In my role on the Senate Appropriations Committee, I’ve chased my colleagues like they stole Christmas to get Louisiana the funds we need for projects ranging from hospitals and labs to our roadways, airports, and emergency infrastructure. This $122 million will make Louisiana communities safer, healthier, and more prosperous, and I’m proud that Congress has voted to send this package to President Trump for signature,” said Kennedy.
The funding comes from several subcommittees, including Transportation, Housing, Urban Development and Related Agencies; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies; and Financial Services and General Government. These allocations are in addition to a previous $284.7 million Kennedy delivered for Louisiana projects earlier in FY 2026.
Projects funded under the Transportation bill include major investments such as $10 million for the St. Bernard Transportation Corridor to build a grade-separated crossing over LA 47 in St. Bernard Parish; $8 million for final design work on moving freight trains off streets in Gretna, Westwego and other Westbank communities; $7 million for new interchange construction supporting Meta’s data center in Ouachita Parish; $6.6 million for hangar expansion at Acadiana Regional Airport; flood mitigation on Airline Highway in Ascension Parish; widening U.S. 190 through Covington; roundabout construction in Tangipahoa Parish; modernization at Lake Charles Harbor; bridge replacement in Allen Parish; improvements along LA 47/Hayne Boulevard; painting facility expansion at Chennault International Airport; and ramp upgrades at Houma-Terrebonne Airport.
Housing and Urban Development funding includes planning a new Interstate 20 interchange in Lincoln Parish ($7 million), building an Emergency Operations Center in Lafayette ($5 million), facilities upgrades at England Airpark’s ACE Initiative ($4.5 million), redevelopment of Abbeville’s Historic Riviana Mall ($4.5 million), food bank support in Terrebonne ($2.5 million) and southwest Louisiana ($2 million), storm drainage improvements in Monroe ($2.2 million), among others.
The Labor-HHS-Education bill provides $29 million statewide: renovations at Centenary College of Louisiana to establish a School of Health Sciences ($10 million); research equipment at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans ($4.5 million); PET/CT equipment at Natchitoches Regional Medical Center’s cancer center ($4.035 million); rural health clinic construction focused on women’s health at Jackson Parish Hospital ($4 million); lab upgrades at University of Louisiana Lafayette’s Bio-Safety Facility Level 3 site ($2.5 million); simulation lab equipment for St. Tammany Health System ($1.05 million); maternal suite modernization at Ochsner LSU Health—Monroe Medical Center ($1.01 million); support for Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana sites ($1 million); mobile dental hygiene unit purchase by University of Louisiana Monroe ($905,000).
In the Financial Services bill, Kennedy secured $3.65 million toward building a regional food-and-beverage hub on Jefferson Parish’s Westbank aimed at helping small businesses grow with technical assistance programs, plus $750,000 supporting disaster preparedness efforts by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
Kennedy operates offices throughout Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans and Shreveport as well as Washington D.C., providing constituent services related to federal agencies according to his official website. He chairs the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs while serving on committees overseeing appropriations matters affecting veterans, farmers, small businesses and national security (source). Kennedy also engages with constituents through newsletters and public events (source).
