Bobby Jindal for U.S. President

[Wyatt Lee]

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