Louisiana Senator John Kennedy did not hold back Thursday, leveling a scathing critique against the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) and its “spectacular and impressive record of graft, corruption, mismanagement, incompetence, and theft.”
Speaking on the Senate floor, Kennedy detailed a long list of financial failures that he claimed makes him want to “stick my head in the oven.”
The Senator brought what he called a list of “receipts as long as King Kong’s elbow” to highlight decades of scandal within the agency.
He pointed to a former Chief Financial Officer who stole $900,000 in taxpayer money and a Section 8 director who “just took a voucher for himself and paid his own rent.”
Kennedy noted that despite receiving roughly $70 million in federal funding annually, HANO has allowed a $1.5 million water bill to go unpaid at the Guste Homes complex, which houses over 300 elderly and disabled residents.
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“The water company predictably says, ‘Well, hey, we’re going to cut off your water,'” Kennedy said, questioning how a management company with an $8 million annual overhead failed to cover basic utilities.
He specifically targeted high-priced consultants, mentioning one individual who received over $660,000 since 2003. Kennedy noted the consultant describes herself as a “grief mentor” and “spiritual healer,” sarcastically adding, “Isn’t that special?”
HANO officials have suggested the Guste project is currently a “mess” with “too much deferred maintenance,” leading to a request for $60 million in new federal funds to tear the complex down and start over. Kennedy flatly rejected the proposal, stating such a request would be granted only “when donkeys fly.”
“Don’t come back and ask for more money to fix your mistakes from the American taxpayer,” Kennedy warned. He urged the Mayor and City Council to use their appointment powers to “get rid of the thieves” and “get rid of the incompetence.”
Addressing the request for a $60 million bailout to replace the troubled facility, Kennedy concluded with a blunt assessment: “Gag me with a spoon. Get your act together before you come back to me or anybody else in Washington.”
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