A split Congress may not be good news for Louisiana-centric legislation

Five out of six Louisiana U.S. House members find themselves out of power as Democrats take control of the lower chamber with a new Congress sworn in on Thursday. LSU Political Science Professor Dr. Robert Hogan says this could make it harder to get funding for Louisiana specific flood protection projects.

“A lot of the members of Congress who have been working on these projects to try to get them through the House are going to be stymied, because if you are not in the majority in the House, you don’t have hardly any power.”

Hogan says with Democrats in control of the House, expect climate change-related legislation to come up.

The increased partisanship in Congress is unlikely to make that a reality though. Hogan says The House and Senate couldn’t even agree on a budget when both were controlled by Republicans, so get ready for two years of hardcore gridlock.

“It’s going to be very difficult doing what even used to be routine in Congress, like you’re seeing right now. The split is certainly going to have an effect on the ability to get anything done.”