Baton Rouge, LA – March 24, 2020 – Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome sent a letter Tuesday to President Trump requesting the federal government support East Baton Rouge Parish during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayor Broome appealed to the Trump Administration to express the resources needed in the City-Parish.

“Local government budgets were not designed for a pandemic like this. We need the full weight of every federal department to support us through this crisis,” said Mayor-President Broome. “In Louisiana, our State is accustomed to responding to disasters of multiple types and magnitudes; however, this global pandemic has overwhelmed even the most meticulous and proactive planning we have implemented.”

The letter requests the Trump Administration invoke the Defense Protection Act, which would increase the domestic production of medical supplies and equipment. It also requests the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocate additional Emergency Solutions Grant funding to state and local governments.