(Lafayette, LA) – Dr. Charles Boustany endorsed Treasurer John Kennedy in Louisiana’s open Senate race.
Boustany said: “Republicans who care about the future of our country need a Republican in the Senate who will work with Donald Trump to roll back the failed liberal policies of President Obama. I endorse John Kennedy and urge all my supporters to cast their vote for him.”
Posts tagged #charles boustany
Boustany Picks Up Endorsement of Baton Rouge Business Report
Per the piece that was released today, Boustany was endorsed for his race to replace Sen. David Vitter on the US Senate from Louisiana.
There are 24 candidates in the race for this seat. They range from longtime, yellow dog, populist Democrats to a longtime, ultra-conservative, white supremacist. Louisiana can ill afford to send either of these extremes to Washington to represent our state. We need to elect an intelligent and effective senator with integrity, who can team up with Sen. Bill Cassidy to help our state and nation.
Congressman Charles Boustany, a Republican who has served for the past 12 years, will make TEAM LOUISIANA solid in the Senate.
Boustany’s experience includes the House Ways and Means Committee and serving as chairman of the Tax Policy Subcommittee. He advocates for a simpler tax code and reduced regulation on business. Boustany is also a heart surgeon and understands the negative impact of Obamacare on patients, small business and the medical profession. He has voted to repeal the law and offered market-based solutions.
In talking with others who know and work with Boustany, they described him as, “Serious. Working hard every day. Studying the issues.” They also said, “He doesn’t crave the spotlight. He is intelligent, principled and effective for Louisiana.” Finally, one said, “His heart is right and he works well with people to get things done.” High praise.
Boustany is a native of Louisiana who graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and got his medical degree from LSU in New Orleans. He and his wife, Bridget, have raised their two children here.
Boustany has a record of accomplishments for the people of Louisiana and is the best choice for the U.S. Senate. He will make us proud.
Read more: Publisher: Endorsements for Boustany, Graves and Gissel
Charles Boustany Releases "Publicity Hound" Ad
Photo source: YouTube
The latest from Boustany's campaign takes aim at John Kennedy and his history of candidacies in various political races within the state of Louisiana.
Charles Boustany Receives Endorsement from The Daily Advertiser
Photo source: The Daily Advertiser
In Sunday's edition of The Daily Advertiser out of Lafayette, Congressman Charles Boustany received their endorsement for his candidacy in the Senate race for the seat being vacated by David Vitter. Boustany is running in a crowded field of 24 candidates and has been leading the pack in polling numbers for several weeks. In the endorsement, the paper highlighted Boustany as offering "right intention, dogged determination and sincere and informed leadership consistent with the needs of Louisiana and the nation."
The Daily Advertiser also highlighted Boustany's leadership on issues directly affecting the citizens of Louisiana, chief among them, the oil and gas industry. Additionally, his lead on coastal restoration, international trade, American security and international affairs were among the issues that were most important in their endorsement.
The story can be found at the The Daily Advertiser.
Charles Boustany Releases a Piece Called "Finally" Regarding Treasurer John Kennedy
Photo source: YouTube
Congressman Charles Boustany, running for the seat being vacated in the US Senate by David Vitter, is in a heated contest with, among others, State Treasurer John Kennedy. It seems that Boustany has set his sights on Kennedy with the latest piece being put out by the campaign, along with an accompanying video, highlighting what Boustany calls a "truth telling parody".
Below accompanied the video in an email released today:
The ad says: “He’s a career politician. He’s run for office ten different times.1 Backed a $1.1 billion tax increase.2
“John Kennedy led costly short-term budget gimmicks that cost taxpayers $200 million.3 Wasted taxpayer money renting office space from one of his campaign contributors.4
“Budget gimmicks. While the state’s credit rating is downgraded.5 John Kennedy: finally, someone is calling him out.”
1Career politician John Kennedy ran for office ten different times from 1991-2016.
1991 – Attorney General (D), lost
1995 – Attorney General (D), withdrew
1999 – Treasurer (D), won
2003 – Treasurer (D), won
2004 – Senate (D), lost
2007 – Treasurer (R), won
2008 – Senate (R), lost
2011 – Treasurer (R), won
2015 – Treasurer (R), won
2016 – Senate (R)
2John Kennedy backed a $1.1 billion tax increase on Louisiana oil & gas earlier this year as a way to make up the state’s budget shortfall. On WWL-Radio New Orleans, Kennedy claimed: “The total amount of waste and inefficiencies that the legislative auditor in these 36 reports identified just last year, in 2015, is $1.745 billion.” When challenged on his numbers, Treasurer Kennedy provided a report on government waste to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards identifying $1.7 billion in ‘waste’ – including $1.148 billion in uncollected revenue from the state’s temporary tax exemption on hydraulic fracturing from 2010-2014.
3A performance review of the Louisiana Bond Commission in February found that short-term budget gimmicks employed by Kennedy as Chairman of the Bond Commission dating back to the 2010-2011 budget year helped plug short-term budget gaps, but incurred long-term costs to the state of as much as $231 million.
4A report by The Advocate found that the Treasurer’s Office has leased office space since 2011 at One City Plaza in Baton Rouge at a cost of $369,597 per year to taxpayers. The Treasurer repeatedly ignored attempts from the Office of Facility Planning and Control to move to state-owned office space that would have saved the state $293,868 per year. Kennedy has received $21,600 in campaign contributions from the owner of the facility.
5Louisiana’s credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s in February 2016. According to the AP: “Treasurer John Kennedy said Moody’s decision surprised him."
Fleming Surges to Statistical Tie with Boustany and Campbell in Senate Race
In the latest poll by JMC Analytics, Congressman John Fleming has surged to a statistical tie with Rep. Boustany and PSC Campbell for the race to replace Sen. David Vitter in the US Senate in Louisiana. Fleming has moved up 6 points since the last poll done in July, while both Boustany and Campbell have held steady with support since the last poll.
A copy of the results of this poll can be found here.
Is John Kennedy Getting Desperate?
Photo source: The Advocate
On Wednesday, Charles Boustany refuted a story being circulated that he was someone involved with a prostitute that ended up murdered. Per this piece, Boustany went on to state "it is all total lies – and everyone, even John Kennedy, knows it."
Read more: Congressman Charles Boustany blames John Kennedy for spreading prostitute-involved claims
BOUSTANY: The Painful Truth About Louisiana's 'Forgotten Flood'
Nearly one third of Louisiana’s parishes were underwater last week, but the country’s attention was fixated elsewhere.
Rain began falling on Friday, August 12. In some of the hardest-hit areas, it rained for days on end. Rivers ran backwards, levies overflowed, and the water kept rising.
Once the rain stopped, I immediately began touring damaged areas, meeting with local, state, and federal officials, and helping coordinate response efforts. The incredible resiliency and spirit of the people of Louisiana is inspiring, to say the least.
On Sunday, August 14, as I toured neighborhoods with standing water several feet deep in Youngsville, Louisiana, our truck pulled alongside a young man fishing in his front driveway. I asked him if he’d caught anything. “Two bass and an eel!” he replied with excitement, brandishing a proud smile that belied the damage all around him.
I talked with residents as they floated supplies down the street to their neighbors who were in need of water and food. Flood victims waved from cookouts in their front yard, standing in water up to their calves. The Chief of Police, acting as our guide, pointed out his own flooded house. He had no time to begin cleaning up because he was working around the clock to keep his community safe.
The stories are powerful and heartbreaking. But in Louisiana, frustration is mounting that the rest of the country could care less.
It took the president of the United States over a week to come to Louisiana. While the floodwaters rose, he continued to play golf on Martha’s Vineyard – a decision that struck many in my home state as callous. Especially after the media took former President George W. Bush to task for a supposed lack of empathy for victims of Hurricane Katrina over a decade ago.
The New York Times, to its credit, apologized in an editorial to its readers titled “On Gulf Coast Flooding, The Times Is Late to the Scene.” In the editorial, the Times notes that reader Catherine Holmes of Georgia wrote to the paper: “Disappointing that Trump’s latest gaffe and the Olympics totally dominate your front page this morning, when so many in south Louisiana are suffering.” Similar stories highlighting the lack of focus on the crisis ran in USA Today, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, and Salon.
Arriving in Louisiana last Tuesday, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told me, Governor Edwards, and Congressman Cedric Richmond that he didn’t believe official Washington had any idea of what was going on in Louisiana. It took the agency several days to declare sixteen parishes that had been hit with severe flooding a disaster area, unlocking access to federal assistance for affected families. By Wednesday, 70,000 people in Louisiana had applied for assistance through FEMA.
Many of the victims don’t live in a federally-designated flood plain, meaning they have no flood insurance to recoup damages.
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon estimates only 14 percent of Lafayette residents affected by the flooding have flood insurance, and only 12 percent in Baton Rouge.
Even for those with flood insurance, the maximum disbursement is $250,000. While FEMA and private aid will help make up some of the difference, it could easily not be enough for many residents.
Applicants in non-flood zones may only receive up to $33,000 in assistance from FEMA. If this disaster requires supplemental assistance from Congress, I worry Members who haven’t been informed about the damage in Louisiana may not have the information they need to make good decisions when the body reconvenes in a few weeks.
The Red Cross labeled this 500-year flood “the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Superstorm Sandy.” On the ground in Louisiana, many are already calling this disaster the ‘Forgotten Flood.’
Governor John Bel Edwards surmised part of the reason this disaster has flown under the radar is due to the lack of a catchy name.
Unfortunately, now it has one. And that’s a shame.
Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD, represents Louisiana’s Third Congressional District covering Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Morgan City.
Boustany Announces $1.1 Million Raised in Second Quarter
(Lafayette, LA) – The Boustany for Senate campaign announced it raised $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2016. This is the biggest fundraising quarter in the 2016 cycle for Boustany, who leads all U.S. Senate candidates with nearly $4.3 million raised in 2015-2016.
Boustany Communications Director Jack Pandol said: “Louisianians from Abbeville to Zwolle are coming together to support Dr. Boustany because they want a conservative leader they can trust to get things done. Dr. Boustany is humbled by the incredible support across Louisiana and energized by the growing momentum for his campaign.
“This quarter’s fundraising number is a strong statement that Dr. Boustany is building support in every corner of Louisiana. The Boustany campaign will have the necessary resources to run a first-rate campaign and bring Dr. Boustany’s conservative, results-oriented leadership to the United States Senate.”
Boustany: In Light of FBI Decision, Clinton Should Withdraw Candidacy
(Lafayette, LA) – Dr. Charles Boustany (R-Lafayette) said that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should withdraw her candidacy for President of the United States after Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey said the FBI will not recommend criminal charges against her for using a private email server while serving as head of the State Department.
Boustany said: “Today’s announcement by the FBI may be a victory for Hillary Clinton’s personal ambitions, but it is a tragedy for the American people and the integrity of our institutions. No one should be surprised the American people no longer trust their government when they continue to witness people at the top getting away with breaking the law while families and small businesses are struggling. We need honest leaders who can work to rebuild the trust of the American people in their government.
“Given the FBI admitted Hillary Clinton’s email may have been hacked, this puts her at an unprecedented risk of manipulation and blackmail by foreign governments with sensitive classified material at her fingertips. No candidate in history has run for President as such a national security liability. It’s clear Hillary Clinton doesn’t belong in the Oval Office. She should immediately withdraw her candidacy for President of the United States.”
In Comey’s address, he said the FBI identified 110 emails in 52 separate email chains that included classified materials at that time. While the FBI could not directly confirm Clinton’s private server was hacked, Comey acknowledged it was possible. Comey characterized Clinton’s use of a private server as “extremely careless” but said the FBI could not identify any intent to break the law.
On June 26, former President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch met privately on the tarmac of the Phoenix, Arizona, airport amid the ongoing Department of Justice investigation into the use of a private server by Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State.
Boustany Continues Fight against IRS Overreach
(Washington, DC) – Dr. Charles Boustany (R-Lafayette) supported passage H.R. 5053, the Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act introduced by Representative Peter Roskam (R-IL). The bill prohibits the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from requiring a tax-exempt organization to include the name, address, or other identifying information of any contributor in annual returns.
Boustany spoke in support of H.R. 5053 on the House floor today.
Speaking on the House floor in support of the bill, Boustany said: “Back in 2012 when I was Oversight Subcommittee Chairman on Ways & Means, I started the investigation into the IRS’s unconstitutional targeting of conservative groups for their political beliefs… Taxpayers deserve to know whether the IRS is violating their privacy. This bill furthers that effort by preventing the IRS from targeting non-profits, prohibiting the agency from collecting the identity of donors who contribute to these organizations.
“The IRS still operates under the shadow of a scandal in which it admitted to targeting organizations based on their political beliefs… To successfully carry out its mission, the IRS must be viewed as an unbiased arbiter of the law. It cannot do that without coming clean. H.R. 5053 is a necessary step to require more accountability and transparency at the IRS, and I urge my colleagues to support this critical bill.”
Boustany launched the original investigation into the IRS as Chairman of the House Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee after conservative groups approached him with complaints of unlawful targeting by the agency. Boustany authored three bills to bring greater transparency and accountability to the IRS that passed the House in 2014. The bills are:
Ø H.R. 5418: Prohibiting officers and employees of the IRS from using personal email accounts to conduct official business.
Ø H.R. 5419: Providing a right to an administrative appeal relating to adverse determinations of tax-exempt status by the IRS of certain organizations.
Ø H.R. 5420: Permitting the release of information regarding the status of an investigation to aggrieved individuals or organizations.
Boustany Calls on VA Secretary to Apologize to Louisiana Veterans
(Lafayette, LA) – Dr. Charles Boustany issued the following statement after media outlets reported that Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald compared veterans’ wait times seeking much-needed healthcare to a trip to Disneyland.
McDonald said: “The days to an appointment is really not what we should be measuring, we should be measuring the veterans’ satisfaction. When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? What’s important?”
Boustany said: “Secretary McDonald’s comments trivializing the struggle of Louisiana’s veterans to get even basic care from the VA showcases everything that’s wrong with the agency. Secretary McDonald has been charged with the health and well-being of the men and women who return home from serving our country in combat. The Secretary’s contemptuous comments are disgraceful, and he should apologize to our veterans immediately.”
In Congress, Dr. Charles Boustany has led the charge to increase access to care for Louisiana’s veterans. In 2014, Boustany passed legislation winning authorization for two new veterans’ healthcare clinics in Lafayette and Lake Charles. Additionally, Boustany was a main proponent of the Veterans’ Choice Program created in 2014, which allows veterans to seek care from private healthcare providers in their communities. Boustany has introduced legislation expanding the Veterans’ Choice Program for veterans in communities that are under-served by the VA, like Lafayette and Lake Charles. He has continued to keep pressure on the VA to keep its promise to Louisiana’s veterans and complete clinics in Lafayette and Lake Charles as soon as possible.
Boustany on Rate Hikes: “All Our Worst Fears About ObamaCare Are Coming True”
Dr. Charles Boustany issued the following statement after news reports surfaced showing millions of Americans who have signed up for health insurance plans under ObamaCare will likely experience double-digit rate hikes in November.
Boustany said: “All our worst fears about ObamaCare are coming true. The President said you could keep your plan and your doctor – that’s been rated ‘Lie of the Year.’ The President said rates would go down, but instead rates have gone up. Now rates are projected to spike again by November.
“As a doctor, I know working families in Louisiana just can’t afford ObamaCare. We need a Senator who doesn’t just talk about how terrible this law is. We need a Senator who can actually get something done about it. As Louisiana’s next U.S. Senator, I’ll make sure ObamaCare is a distant memory, and I’ll work on policies that will actually lower costs and increase access to high-quality care for Louisianians.”
Last month, UnitedHealth Group announced it was pulling out of the ObamaCare exchange in Louisiana after an internal review showed the company expects to lose more than $1 billion nationwide in the exchanges for 2015 and 2016. UnitedHealth represents 13% of Louisiana’s 214,000 enrollees in the ObamaCare exchanges.
Dr. Boustany is the author of the largest legislative defeat to ObamaCare to date. Boustany wrote the bill and built the coalition in Congress to repeal the CLASS Act – an $86 billion budget-cooking scheme in ObamaCare even former Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted was “totally unsustainable.”
Read more: Obamacare's November surprise
Boustany Announces Iberia Parish Healthcare Grant
(Lafayette, LA) – Dr. Charles Boustany (R-Lafayette) announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded a $3,546,420 Health Center Cluster Grant to the Iberia Comprehensive Community Health Center in New Iberia, Louisiana. The grant program provides funding for community health centers in rural and underserved areas.
Boustany said: “As a doctor, I know the health of Louisianans in rural communities depends on access to high-quality healthcare close to home. This grant supporting healthcare services in Iberia Parish will help improve outcomes for patients and improve public health in the surrounding areas.”
Boustany Renews Call for Disaster Tax Relief Amid Louisiana Flooding
Image source: Daiky Caller
(Washington, DC) – Dr. Charles Boustany (R-Lafayette) renewed his efforts to pass H.R. 3110, the National Disaster Tax Relief Act. Boustany is a cosponsor of the bill along with his Louisiana colleagues Reps. Cedric Richmond (LA-2), Ralph Abraham, MD (LA-5), and Garret Graves (LA-6).
Boustany said: “Bridget and I continue to pray for the safety of our friends across the state of Louisiana. Unfortunately, Louisianans know well that it only takes one storm or natural disaster to destroy your home, business, church, or school. But Louisianans have proven time and again we have the grit and determination to rebuild.
“I believe we must give Louisianans whose lives are turned upside down the chance to rebuild. That’s why I am renewing my efforts to pass federal tax relief for disaster victims to ensure we give hard-working families every opportunity to get back on their feet.”
Boustany has been in contact with local officials in western Calcasieu Parish amid concerns of flooding along the Sabine River in Louisiana’s Third Congressional District. Additionally, Boustany supported Governor Edwards’ request for a federal disaster declaration in seven parishes in North Louisiana. Boustany says he will continue to work with the Governor’s office and his congressional colleagues to include more affected parishes in the disaster declaration as flooding continues to affect more parishes in the state.
The National Disaster Tax Relief Act will:
ØAllow expensing of qualified disaster expenses such as removal of debris or demolition
ØIncrease the tax deduction for charitable contributions for disaster relief
ØAllow the use of tax-exempt retirement plan funds in federally-declared disasters without penalty
ØAllow an additional tax exemption for individuals who are displaced as a result of a federally-declared disaster
ØAllow an exclusion from gross income of imputed income from the cancellation of indebtedness resulting from federally-declared disasters
ØProvide a special rule to allow individuals affected by a disaster from 2012-2015 to claim a full earned income tax credit
ØAllow the issuance of qualified disaster area recovery bonds
Charles Boustanty Calls Out Caroline Fayard Over Obama's Gitmo Comments
During another one of his almost daily legacy making speeches as of late, President Obama has decided to push his agenda of moving Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the US, effectively pandering to the left on his quest to close this facility.
In what is shaping up to be an epic battle for the seat in the US Senate being vacated by Sen. David Vitter, Charles Boustany issued the following today:
Campaign Manager Michael Hare: “If Caroline Fayard won’t stand up to protect Louisiana families now, how will she stand up for them in the United States Senate? President Obama is hell-bent on bringing hardened terrorists to our backyard, but Caroline Fayard hasn’t said a word about it. Dr. Boustany will continue to stand up to protect Louisiana families from President Obama’s dangerous terrorist resettlement plan. He won’t let President Obama put families at risk just to allow the President to fulfill an eight-year-old campaign promise.”
Boustany had the following to say today during a radio interview on Baton Rouge 107.3:
“If the President tries to close Guantanamo Bay, he will be in direct violation of the law. I won’t stand for that. Congress makes law, not the President, and we will not allow him to put American families at risk.”
Let's see if this latest shot over the bow provokes a response from the Democratic candidate Fayard.
Obama Signs Into Law H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act
Enrollment ceremony for the bill to officially send it to the President for signature
President Barack Obama has signed into law H.R. 644, which will accomplish the following:
- Create a dedicated unit within U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to prevent and investigate trade evasion
- Create a CBP point of contact for private sector trade evasion allegations with the authority to direct evasion investigations and the duty to inform interested parties about the status of investigations
- Require CBP and Commerce to establish procedures to ensure maximum cooperation and communication in order to quickly, efficiently, and accurately investigate allegations of trade evasion
- Direct CBP to enter into agreements with foreign countries to enable proactive investigation overseas
- Require CBP to annually report to Congress on all of the agency’s activities to combat trade evasion
The bill also contains the PROTECT Act safeguarding Louisiana seafood from illegally dumped foreign product. The Act was shepherded through the Congress by Congressman Charles Boustany, LA-03.
The following was said regarding passage of this bill:
Boustany: “It’s simple – if foreign competitors want to sell in our markets, they need to play by our rules. The PROTECT Act provides necessary safeguards to ensure no foreign entity can undercut American businesses and jobs in our own backyard. This is a monumental win for Louisiana. I’ll keep fighting to ensure our trade laws are fair and work to support American commerce.”
John Williams, Executive Director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance: “Simply stated, this would not have happened without the intensive and persistent efforts of Congressman Boustany. While the Congressman has been an effective champion of the US shrimp industry for many years, the enactment of this legislation may be the most far reaching and beneficial of all. Every year illegal shrimp imports defraud the federal government and American taxpayers of tens of millions of dollars in unpaid duties. They have also seriously injured our shrimp fishermen and the economies of coastal communities in Louisiana and throughout the Gulf and South Atlantic. This legislation will substantially strengthen the ability of US Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies to investigate, prosecute, and end these harmful fraudulent activities.”
Rep. Charles Boustany on SOTU Comments on the Oil and Gas Industry
Photo source: YouTube
Boustany, Abraham, and Graves Tell Senate to Act on Refugee Security
(Washington, DC) – Congressmen Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD, (R-Lafayette) Ralph Abraham, MD, (R-Alto) and Garret Graves (R-Baton Rouge) joined their colleagues in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urging him to hold a vote on the House-passed American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act.
The SAFE Act requires the Director of the FBI to certify thorough background checks have been administered for every refugee entering the United States from high-risk countries like Iraq or Syria, and requires that the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the FBI, and the Attorney General must affirm every refugee being admitted to the United States is not a security threat. The House passed the SAFE Act on November 19, 2015, but the Senate has not acted on the bill.
On Friday, January 8, authorities arrested two refugees – one in Sacremento, CA, and one in Houston – on terrorism-related charges. According to a report by CNN: “Both men were Palestinians born in Iraq and living as refugees in the United States, according to the U.S. Justice Department… Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, of Houston, is charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, of Sacramento is charged with making a false statement involving international terrorism.”
Boustany said: “We must do everything within our power to ensure no one is ever admitted to this country who wishes us harm. The hard truth is, there are bad actors who are willing to do anything – including exploiting America’s generosity through the refugee program – to attack the United States. If the Administration will not pause the admission of refugees from Iraq and Syria, they should at least be willing to conduct thorough background checks to ensure no one with terrorist ties is brought to this country.”
Abraham said: “The recent terrorism arrests show that the President’s process for vetting refugees is not working. Since he refuses to stop admitting these refugees, we must strengthen the process to make sure no terrorists enter our country. I urge the Senate to pass the American SAFE Act so that we can send this bill to the President. I believe in helping people when we can, but the security of our families and our communities is simply too important to risk on these refugees and the current failed vetting process.”
Graves said: “I commend law enforcement for identifying these individuals’ affiliations, apprehending them and preventing their ability to carry out any acts of terror on our soil, but Friday’s events further expose the shortcomings of the current system being used to vet these refugees coming across our borders. We must be proactive with our efforts to know who these people are, which is why we have called on the Senate to take steps to keep Americans safe by certifying that thorough background checks have been conducted for refuges entering America from high-risk terror countries.”
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A signed copy of the letter Boustany, Abraham, Graves, and their colleagues sent to Majority Leader McConnell can be found here.
Boustany on Obama’s Gun Control Executive Orders: “Our President is not a king”
(Lafayette, LA) – Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD, (R-Lafayette) issued the following statement after President Obama announced he will issue a series of Executive Orders aimed at restricting firearm purchases in the United States.
Boustany also announced he has cosponsored the Separation of Powers Restoration and Second Amendment Protection Act introduced by Representative Marlin Stutzman (R-IN). The bill renders any such actions that violate the Second Amendment or infringes on Congress’ Article I responsibilities as having “no force or effect,” prohibits funds for such actions, and establishes standing for Congress, state and local governments, and aggrieved persons to challenge such actions in district court.
Boustany said: “When this President can’t get what he wants, he acts unilaterally by Executive Order. Our President is not a king; he is meant to be held accountable by the people who elect him and by the coequal branches of our government.
“While the President complains about congressional inaction, Congress is already working on mental health legislation that will improve treatment and ensure guns are kept out of the hands of the mentally unstable. As a strong defender of our Second Amendment rights, I will work with my colleagues to block any backdoor attempt by the Administration to limit gun ownership for law-abiding American citizens.”
