Rep. Higgins talks hurricane recovery, missed House votes following election victory

Lafayette, LA (KPLC) - Congressman Clay Higgins will hold on to his 3rd District Congressional seat following Tuesday night’s election.

Higgins celebrated the victory in Lafayette after defeating his seven opponents.

Our 7News crew was there and got to ask him questions one-on-one after his win.

We asked Higgins about criticism of people saying he left Southwest Louisiana and Lake Charles in the dark after Hurricane Laura and how he would like to respond to that. In addition, we asked what was his proudest moment in that recovery process.

“Well it hasn’t stopped,” he said. “We were on the ground after Laura, hours after Laura. My office was destroyed. We were part of what happened and our participation has been very, very aggressive.”

Higgins goes on to talk about the $3.7 billion dollars of federal aid that has been dedicated to Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes, but he also said it’s still going to take a while to recover.

“The role that we played began in the days preceding Laura. They continued for two years and we’re just not going to stop fighting for the citizens we serve,” Higgins said.

When asked about the Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles, he said the Louisiana federal delegation is completely united in working for funding.

“I expect we’ll break ground in 2024,” he said. “That’s what we anticipate now. Funding is an issue that needs to be agreed upon by the local and state elected officials, and then the federal government will perform.”

As far as House votes, ProPublica did an analysis citing Higgins has missed over 11 percent of votes over the last two years, making him the eighth most absent voter. The analysis also reveals he has missed votes in his past two terms. So, we asked him why.

“So all these guys that vote from home or from their sailboat, I don’t do that. When I vote, I vote on the House Floor as the founding fathers intended. So, if I miss a vote, that means I wasn’t physically able to be there,” Higgins said.

He told 7News that some of his earlier absences were because his wife was sick.

“Haters ate going to hate but the people of Louisiana know I’m a very hard-working guy and my work ethic carries through to congress,” he said.

Higgins will enter his fourth term in January 2023.

During his victory speech, Higgins said he plans on running again in two years.

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