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Last week we visited Shreveport, and later Alexandria, to announce our goals for cracking down on sex offenders during this year’s legislative session. Last year we took some important steps forward in this process, but there is still much work left to be done.
We have outlined seven steps to make our state’s families safer. First, violent offenders will submit to mandatory psychiatric evaluation after the conclusion of their prison sentence and parole terms. And, as the Shreveport Times reported, “If a psychiatric evaluator determined the offender was likely to commit a crime again, the change would mean a district attorney could request indefinite, forced evaluation of that person until he or she was deemed to be no longer a threat.”
Dear Friends,
Restoring our Coast
When we took office last January, we made certain that a priority of this Administration would be to greatly increase our efforts to restore our coast and build up our hurricane and flood protection systems. Today we took a great step towards that goal in Southwest Louisiana.
The Governor’s Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority signed an agreement with Ducks Unlimited to restore and protect nearly 2,500 acres of coastal marshes in Cameron Parish. I was proud to join them today in Lake Charles, and in the next two years this public-private partnership will put more than $3.2 million towards the construction of nearly 250,000 feet of marsh terraces in Black Lake marsh and the adjacent West Hackberry Marsh.
Dear Friends,
Welcoming the New Administration
I would like to congratulate President Obama on yesterday’s inauguration, and thank former-President Bush for his service to our country. I am confident that we will work well together with the new administration to ensure that our state has access to the resources we need as we move forward.
I was also honored to visit Houma and celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this past Monday. Dr. King taught our nation many valuable lessons, and his legacy will continue to be felt for generations to come.
A Promising First Year
Last Wednesday marked the one year anniversary of our administration taking office, and while there is still much work left to be done, we have accomplished quite a few great things for our state. As the Baton Rouge Advocate reported, The Ethisphere Institute named us, “No. 8 among the 100 most influential people in business ethics,” – a great sign that the reputation that used to surround our state is changing. We have also cut taxes on businesses and families, revamped our state’s workforce development systems, and taken the first steps towards modernizing our health care system.
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Sincerely, Governor Bobby Jindal
Dear Friends,
A Strong Economy, An Efficient Government
As I said in the Monroe News-Star, the reason I worked so hard to be governor is I want to be one part of moving our state forward. A significant part of that process will be making our government more efficient, and learning to do more with less.
In order to tighten the reins on government spending and keep our state from facing a deficit, we have identified and are implementing $341 million in savings for the current budget year. We did this without, as the Shreveport Times noted, “making major cuts in higher education (or health care) [that] would be counterproductive to positioning the state's work force for the future.”
We have also accomplished this without raising taxes on the hardworking residents of our state or raiding the state’s rainy day fund. We must continue to move Louisiana forward even as we tighten our belt and reduce government spending.
These reductions in spending come as we continue to take steps to improve our state’s business climate. While the first 11 months of 2008 saw a loss of nearly two million jobs nationwide, as the Baton Rouge Advocate reported, “Louisiana employment had gained a net 6,800 jobs by the end of November — an increase of 0.4 percent, compared with a loss of 0.7 percent for the South as a whole and a loss of 1.4 percent for the nation.”
We also announced last week the implementation of a pilot program to help prevent students from dropping out. As written by the Alexandria Town Talk, “the program will focus on providing skills training to encourage teens to stay in school.” Part of ensuring the continued success of our state’s economy is providing the best training possible to our students, providing them with the skills they need in order to succeed.
We will continue looking for solutions to make state government more efficient while finding innovative ways to keep our economy growing. While we may not be completely immune to the effects of a national economic downturn, we can certainly put ourselves in a place to succeed in the future.
Governor Jindal speaks following a meeting with members of Louisiana's Congressional delegation
Pushing our Priorities in Washington
This past week I met with members of our state’s congressional delegation, including Senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, and Representatives Rodney Alexander, Charles Boustany and Steve Scalise, to talk about what our delegation needs to pursue in the new Congress and with the new Presidential Administration. As noted by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, I am confident that “the delegation will be able to work across party lines to get things done for the state.
The major issues facing our state currently are ongoing disaster recovery efforts, coastal restoration efforts, health care improvements, and FEMA reforms. The federal government still must help our agriculture industry and fisheries recover from the substantial damage incurred by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, as well as grant our state full federal cost share for Hurricane Gustav. As full cost share has been granted for Hurricane Ike, it makes absolutely zero sense to force local governments to determine which storm did what damage, clogging the recovery process with unnecessary red tape.
We will also continue working to speed up the use of oil and gas royalties for coastal erosion projects. The storms of the past four years have shown that we no longer have time to wait to rebuild our coast, and that it should be a top priority not only of our state, but of our nation. For decades we have given so much to our nation’s energy industry, and it is time to start taking care of ourselves as well.
This includes working with the Corps of Engineers to rebuild and restore our wetlands with sediment dredged from South Louisiana's navigation channels, 90 percent of which is currently dumped into the Gulf of Mexico. We must also accelerate the implementation of restoration projects already approved by the federal government that have been delayed for one reason or another.
Finally, we must change the way FEMA operates. At present, states and local communities are not able to bid projects until FEMA decides how much of the work will be eligible for reimbursement. With more than 4,000 projects still waiting following Katrina and Rita, FEMA must establish an expedited appeals process that will allow our people to finish rebuilding their schools, police and fire stations. The agency must also do a better job of prepositioning supplies before a disaster – a problem which caused significant issues following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
I am confident that our delegation will work well the new Congress and new Administration, and we will continue to stay in close contact with them regarding our state’s priorities.
Visiting Communities
Over the past week we held town halls in St. Francisville, Start, Simsboro , Greensburg, and Krotz Springs. As reported by the Monroe News-Star, I told a visiting class from Start Elementary that being Governor is the best job in the world, and I look forward to seeing you as we continue to travel to communities across the state.
Sincerely, Governor Bobby Jindal
Dear Friends,
Today, folks everywhere are making their New Year’s resolutions. One of my resolutions this year is to continue the mission that you and I started almost one year ago – creating a New Louisiana.
Together, we made historic reforms in 2008, and with your help, we will continue to pursue important priorities in 2009 for further strengthening our workforce and developing our economy to make Louisiana the best place in the world to raise a family and pursue a great career.
We will continue our work to attract more business investment – we have already had three headquarters move to Louisiana from other states this year alone! And, we will work to improve our health care system by expanding coverage and giving patients more information and choices about their health care.
What’s your New Year’s Resolution this year?
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Bobby Jindal has a 100% pro-life voting record according to the National Right to Life Committee.[31] He opposes abortion without exception.[32][33] He does not condemn medical procedures meant to save the life of a pregnant woman that would indirectly cause the termination of the pregnancy.[34][33] Jindal also supports the use of emergency contraception in the case of rape.[33] He opposes embryonic stem cell research[35] and voted against increasing federal funding to expand embryonic stem cell lines.[31]
Bobby Jindal opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage, and has voted for a constitutional amendment to restrict marriage to a union between one man and one woman.[36]
As a private citizen, Jindal voted for the "Stelly Tax plan",[37] a referendum named for former state Representative Vic Stelly of Lake Charles, which swapped some sales taxes for higher income taxes. Whether or not the "Stelly Plan" is giving the desired results is still hotly debated statewide. Early Republican challenger Steve Scalise challenged Jindal on his vote for this tax plan before Scalise dropped out of the congressional race in 2004. As Governor, Jindal initially opposed reforms to the Stelly plan that would result in over $300 million in tax cuts. He later agreed to the tax cut after the legislature appeared headed to eliminating the entire personal income tax which Jindal also opposed.[38] Talk show host Moon Griffon subsequently refused to air radio ads paid for by the organization Believe in Louisiana crediting Jindal for Stelly reforms saying "Now, they are taking credit for the biggest income tax cut in the history of Louisiana and I felt like it was a lie. To be real blunt, very misleading and it was an outright lie because he had fought hard against it".[38]
Jindal voted yes on making the PATRIOT Act permanent, voted in favor of the 2006 Military Commissions Act, supported a constitutional amendment banning flag burning,[39] and voted for the Real ID Act of 2005.[40] Jindal has an A rating from Gun Owners of America.[41]
He was a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee.[42] In 2006, Jindal voted with the Republican Caucus 97 percent of the time during the 109th Congress.[43]
Jindal also supports co-payments in Medicaid.[44]
In 2006, Jindal sponsored the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act (H.R. 4761), a bill to eliminate the moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling over the U.S. outer continental shelf, which prompted the watchdog group Republicans for Environmental Protection to issue him "an environmental harm demerit".[45] Jindal's 2006 rating from that organization was -4, among the lowest in Congress. The nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters also censured Jindal for securing passage of H.R. 4761 in the House of Representatives; the group rated his environmental performance that year at seven percent, citing anti-environment votes on 11 out of 12 critical issues. Jindal's lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters is seven percent.[46] Despite claims that Jindal's bill was successful,[47] H.R. 4761 was replaced by S 3711 (known as the Domenici-Landrieu Fair Share Plan). The original Senate version was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President Bush.[48]
In 2007, Jindal led the Louisiana delegation in Congressional earmark funding. According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, in 2007, Jindal's earmark funding was 14th among all Congressmen.[49] As Governor in 2008, Jindal used his line item veto to strike $16 million in earmarks from the state budget while allowing $30 million in legislator added spending.[50]
Jindal supports the teaching of intelligent design in public schools.[51]
On June 25, 2008, Jindal signed the "Sex Offender Chemical Castration Bill", authorizing the chemical castration of those convicted of certain sex offenses.[52]
Bobby Jindal has also voted against giving the federal government jurisdiction to help local law enforcement with hate violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender and disability.[53]
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Bobby was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on June 10, 1971.
Bobby graduated from Baton Rouge High School in 1988, and later attended Brown University where he graduated with honors in both biology and public policy.
He then attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and received his graduate degree in 1994.
Timeline: | |
| 1988 | Graduates from Baton Rouge High School |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Graduates from Brown University with honors, in biology and public policy |
| 1994 | Graduates from Oxford University as Rhodes Scholar with a graduate degree |
| 1994-1995 | Advises Fortune 50 companies as a consultant for McKinsey and Company |
| 1996 | Appointed Secretary, Department of Health and Hospitals; rescues Louisiana’s Medicaid program from bankruptcy by turning a $400 million deficit into three years of surpluses totaling $220 million. |
| 1998 | Appointed Executive Director, National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, a 17-member panel charged with devising plan to reform Medicare |
| 1999 | At the request of the Governor’s Office and the Legislature, volunteers his time to study how Louisiana might use its $4.4 billion tobacco settlement Appointed President of the University of Louisiana System (16th largest in the U.S.) |
| 2001 | Appointed by President to be Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of Health and Human Services |
| 2003 | Resigns from federal post to return to Louisiana and run for Governor |
| 2004 | Elected to U.S. Congress, representing Louisiana’s first district |
| 2006 | Re-elected to U.S. Congress Announces intentions to run for Governor of Louisiana |
| 2007 | Elected Governor of Louisiana with 54 percent of the vote in the primary |
| 2008 | Sworn in as Governor of Louisiana |
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