Cajun Conservatism
Image source: The Hill
They’re all good guys,” said Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, adding, “excluding Foster Campbell.”
“I don’t have to tell you what our industry is going through,” Briggs said. “If we ever needed support in D.C. and in the state, we need it today.”
Read more: Boustany, Fleming Tout Energy Credentials in Senate Race
Vitter submits Congressional Record for Frank Levingston, the nation's oldest WWII veteran who passed away on May 3, 2016
(Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) today submitted to the Congressional Record a recognition of the life and achievements of Frank “Uncle Frank” Levingston of Lake Charles, La. Levingston was the oldest veteran of World War II until his passing on May 3, 2016.
“As the oldest living World War II veteran, Levingston played an active role in building a greater United States for future generations. It is a privilege to recognize Frank Levingston who was a true American hero. His many accomplishments and commitment to serve his country will not be forgotten,” said Vitter.
Vitter met with Levingston at the Fort Polk Veterans Day Ceremony on November 10, 2014
Levingston was born on November 13, 1905 in Cotton Valley, La. When the United States entered World War II after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Levingston joined the United States Army, where he dutifully served as a Private and Automobile Serviceman and participated in the Allied invasion of Italy. After his honorable discharge from the Army in 1945, he became a union worker specializing in cement finishing. In 1981 Levingston moved to Lake Charles, La., which he called home for the rest of his life.
Levingston will be laid to rest on Tuesday, May 10, 2016, at the Wesley Grove CME Church in his hometown of Cotton Valley, La.
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
Photo source: The Advocate
“The Democratic Party has moved so far to the left that it’s fully aligned with socialism,” Fleming, a Minden Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate, told the Press Club of Baton Rouge.
Coupled with that, he said, are Republicans, who in 2010 asked voters to give them a majority in the U.S. House so the party could fix problems. “But nothing changed.” In 2014, voters also gave Republicans a majority in the U.S. Senate. “And folks, nothing changed,” Fleming said.
Read more: Louisiana congressman John Fleming: Voters frustrated by both Republicans and Democrats' leadership
Photo source: YouTube
At an event at the University of Massachusets, comedian Steven Crowder destroys a liberal loudmouth who started heckling before the program even began. You can see the carnage below:
Photo source: AFA
The American Family Association issued a Boycott Target petition in response to their irrational decision to let males enter female restrooms. Nearing one million supporters, the AFA has stated that this is one of their most successful drives concerning issues of morality. More information on the drive can be found here.
(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.”
Photo source: YouTube
The below video was recently released by the American Federation for Children and is in response to Gov. Honor Code's cutting of funding for schools of choice.
Source: YouTube
Below are excerpts from Vitter’s remarks:
“Today I rise to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that took the lives of 11 men and devastated many Gulf Coast communities. The men who lost their lives during this devastating incident will not be forgotten. Their names were:
Jason Anderson – 35, Midfield, Texas
Aaron Dale “Bubba” Burkeen – 37, Philadelphia, Mississippi
Donald Clark – 49, Newelton, Louisiana
Stephen Ray Curtis – 40, Georgetown, Louisiana
Gordon Jones – 28, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Roy Wyatt Kemp – 27, Jonesville, Louisiana
Karl Dale Kleppinger, Jr. – 38, Natchez, Mississippi
Keith Blair Manuel – 56, Gonzales, Louisiana
Dewey Revette – 48, State Line, Mississippi
Shane Roshto – 22, Liberty, Mississippi and
Adam Weise – 24, Yorktown, Texas
“In Louisiana, offshore oil and gas development is more than just our state’s largest economic drivers – it is a way of life, having supporting countless jobs and families across the region. That’s why our top priority must always be maintaining the highest level of safety standards, and in the last six years, we have been working to make sure this kind of human tragedy and subsequent economic losses never happen again. We must support policies that create a strong balance between having a strong regulatory scheme that promotes stringent safety standards while also allowing the energy industry to thrive. Fortunately, Louisiana’s resilience and recovery cannot be easily measured in terms of numbers and figures, but I can say with confidence that each and every Louisianian should be proud of how far we have come in recent years.
“In the six years since the tragic Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Louisiana has done what we do best – recover, rebuild, and progress. In order to build a brighter future for our families, businesses, and communities, we must also protect the symbiotic relationship between federal regulations and the oil and gas industry.”
Source: YouTube
Crowder puts together a piece on the ridiculous state we've put ourselves In regarding the use of a toilet.
The following email was sent out by AG Jeff Landry concerning the issue of sanctuary cities, specifically New Orleans, and the need to end this practice. The text of the email is below:
My Fellow Republicans,
We must end sanctuary cities... now!
As your Attorney General, I am committed to ensuring the rule of law is followed by everyone. It is a matter of justice and public safety.
Reports of illegals breaking the law and getting away with it are becoming a regular occurrence. We ask that our elected officials stand with us to uphold the rule of law and protect our communities.
Tens of thousands of illegals live in Louisiana and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
What's worse is that liberals have enacted sanctuary policies that encourage illegal aliens.
According to the Immigration Task Force led by State Representative Valarie Hodges:
- 5,339 illegals receive SNAP benefits (also known as Food Stamps)
- Illegals are a $3.2 million burden on our state's prisons
- Louisiana foots $16 million for Medicaid welfare coverage of illegals - an amount surely to rise with Medicaid welfare expansion
In February, New Orleans issued policy guidance to its police officers requiring them not to inquire about the immigration status of suspects they encounter and to not cooperate with federal authorities - making New Orleans a sanctuary city.
Allowing illegals to commit crime then roam free in our communities is an immense threat to the safety of our people.
Where do you stand? Join me in saying NO to sanctuary cities.
Sanctuary policies and the elected officials who support them are actively undermining the rule of law.
Sign the petition today and say NO to sanctuary cities.
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.), along with U.S. Representatives Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Pete Olson (R-Texas), issued the following statements regarding the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) decision to investigate the use of federal funding allocated to Planned Parenthood and other federally funded organizations that perform or promote abortions in response to the Members’ request last month.
“For years Planned Parenthood and their pro-abortion allies have deceived the public on how they spend their taxpayer dollars,” said Senator David Vitter. “We absolutely need to shed light on how these types of organizations are spending federal funds, and I suspect the forthcoming GAO report will confirm our fears of Planned Parenthood’s inexcusable misuse of taxpayer dollars for abortion.”
“I thank the GAO for acting responsibly and committing to carry out our request for an independent review of the taxpayer funding provided to Planned Parenthood and related organizations,” said Congressman Diane Black. “As a nurse for more than 40 years, I know that abortion is not healthcare and I am incensed that, year after year, my constituents see their money sent to Washington and distributed to organizations that promote or perform abortions all under the guise of ‘healthcare’ services. This is a sham and it is an affront to the conscience rights of every American taxpayer. By shining a light on the federal funding allocated to these organizations we can mobilize the support needed to defund the big abortion industry and reroute those dollars to organizations that uphold life while protecting women’s health.”
“I applaud the GAO’s decision to fulfill our request to provide more taxpayer transparency on organizations that promote or perform abortions. While I remain committed to defunding Planned Parenthood and protecting the unborn, at a minimum, Americans deserve to know where their tax dollars are going. I look forward to seeing the results of this report and increasing awareness and support to end taxpayer support for these organizations,” said Congressman Pete Olson.
In March 2016, Vitter, Black, and Olson led a group of more than 120 Members of Congress requesting the GAO to investigate how taxpayer funding is specifically used by Planned Parenthood and other federally funded organizations that perform or promote abortion. Click here to read more.
Vitter has been a consistent advocate for the sanctity of human life in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, earning a 100% pro-life voting record from the National Right to Life Committee.
Vitter has legislation to protect small businesses from new overreaching rule
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.) issued the following statement upon the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) issuing its final well-control rule on offshore oil and gas drilling. As Chairman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Vitter has introduced an amendment to the Energy Policy Modernization Act that would protect small businesses from the economic severity of DOI’s well control rule.
“As we approach the sixth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that took the lives of 11 men in the Gulf of Mexico and devastated our coasts, my top priority continues to be ensuring this kind of human tragedy and subsequent economic losses never happens again. Maintaining high safety standards always takes precedence, but that is not the question here,” said Vitter. “What the Obama Administration’s ongoing anti-energy and anti-jobs crusade fails to acknowledge is that Louisiana’s energy industry supports families, small businesses, and our ongoing coastal restoration efforts. The Department of Interior’s well-control rule is bad news for Louisiana, and certainly has the potential to kick our oil and gas industry while it’s down.”
In September 2015, Vitter testified before the House Natural Resources Committee on the impacts of federal policies on energy production and economic growth in the Gulf of Mexico. Click here to read more.
Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, President Obama imposed a drilling moratorium in the Gulf, which substantially damaged Louisiana’s energy industry and economy. During that time, Vitter successfully blocked the nomination of Interior Department nominee Dan Ashe until the Department issued fifteen deepwater exploration well permits and responded to his previous requests for answers on the permitting process. Vitter also successfully blocked a nearly $20,000 pay raise for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar until Interior resumed issuing new permits at the same rate as before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Vitter was an original co-sponsor of the RESTORE Act, which dedicates at least 80 percent of the Clean Water Act (CWA) penalties paid by BP and other responsible parties to the Gulf States to restore coastal ecosystems and economies damaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Vitter shepherded the legislation through the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, where it passed unanimously in November 2011 and through the Senate in March 2012. As a leading Republican conferee on the Highway Bill and the only member from the Louisiana delegation involved in the negotiations, Vitter continued to make the enactment of the RESTORE Act a top priority by insisting that the language be included in the final version of the bill.
Louisiana dedicates 100 percent of the revenue from offshore oil and gas development to coastal restoration, which is Louisiana’s highest environmental priority. In 2006 Vitter helped pass the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), which established revenue sharing of 37.5 percent that Gulf States - Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama - could collect from offshore oil and gas production. Vitter is continuing the fight to expand the number of states receiving OCS revenue sharing and, starting in 2027, raise the amount of money each state could get per year from $500 million to $1 billion
(Washington, DC) – Dr. Charles Boustany (R-Lafayette), Chairman of the Ways & Means Tax Policy Subcommittee, spoke at a “Tax Day Eve” event in the United States Capitol where he called for urgent action on reforming the tax code.
Boustany said: “Let me start by saying I don’t know of a single American in my travels throughout my state that likes what’s happening with the tax code. In fact, they’re angry and they’re very frustrated.
“If you’re a family or a small business, you’re bewildered by the complexity and the cost of compliance with this tax code. It’s a drain. It’s a drain on our economic growth; it’s a drain on job creation…
“The fact of the matter is this. We’ve been working on [reform] for a very long time in the Ways & Means Committee. We are in the weeds on it. But the time now is to move forward with action, and with deeds, not just simply words.
“We know what needs to be done. We know what steps need to be taken to simplify the tax code, reduce the level of complexity, make it fair. Because nobody thinks it’s fair today.
“The bottom line now is to act, and that’s what we’re working to do now.”
Congressman John Fleming of Louisiana has recently blown the whistle on an attempt to ram through a bailout for Puerto Rico.
The following piece highlights that attempt:
In a bizarre turn, members of the House Natural Resources Committee were read the Puerto Rico bailout bill and according to Rep. John Fleming were then instructed to allow it to pass committee by a voice vote with no amendments and no dissent. Fleming was told to walk away from the vote if he had any objections, an account verified by two other offices.
Louisiana should be proud of the representation of Fleming in DC.
APRIL 12, 2016
Photo source: Daily Mail
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Tammy Grace Barnett of Robeline, Louisiana, for being the first female recruit to enlist with the United States Army infantry.
I am tremendously proud of Tammy, a Louisianian who has stepped forward and answered the call to serve our nation. Prior to enlisting with the Army, Tammy has been serving her community in Louisiana as a law enforcement officer. On April 7, she gave up her Louisiana law enforcement badge and courageously took the Oath of Enlistment to become the first female recruit to enlist in the United States Army infantry division. Ms. Barnett truly reflects the spirit of Louisiana by living a life of service. We are forever indebted to these brave men and women. To commemorate this fact, I include an article, written by Troy Washington of KSLA News, into the Congressional Record in its entirety here:
ROBELINE, LA - A Robeline native is making armed forces history as the first woman to enlist in the infantry in the United States Army.
Women in combat has been a topic of controversy for years, but now progress is being made.
Tammy Barnett was a police officer but traded in her badge to make history.
She's looking forward to seeing action on the front lines and making gains for women in the military.
Thursday, Barnett proudly raised her hand to take the Oath of Enlistment.
Dressed in tennis shoes, jeans and a t-shirt, 25-year-old Tammy Barnett stepped into the history books.
Barnett has been meeting with a recruiter since November and this week, at the military processing unit in Shreveport, she took a leap that's never been made before, she joined the infantry in the U.S. Army.
"They told me that I would be the first female in history to go infantry in the military," said Barnett.
Recently, the defense department lifted gender-based restrictions on military service. The historic change cleared the way for women like Barnett who want to serve on the front lines.
On April 4, the processing center received word that women would be allowed to sign up for combat jobs. Now, Barnett is hoping that others will follow her lead.
"I hope that I give them the courage, because I'm a small female, if I can do it, they can do it too, this could give them the courage to step out of their comfort zone," explained Barnett.
Barnett isn't fond of the limelight, but she has no problem stepping forward when it comes to service.
"I was going to go military police, but infantry is similar, and they are more on the front lines, like law enforcement here and I said that's what I want to do," said Barnett.
With her mind made up, Barnett isn't looking back, only forward to a future full of possibilities and breaking barriers for women in the military.
Barnett will head to Fort Benning, Georgia to start training. In the meantime, she says she's going to celebrate her history-making moment by going fishing this weekend.ve the front lines for my country.”
Federal judge grants final approval for 2010 BP oil spill settlement; Louisiana to receive more than $6.8 billion for restoration efforts
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) issued the following statement regarding a federal judge granting final approval for $20.8 billion British Petroleum (BP) settlement agreement for civil claims as a result of 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This is an increase to the $18.7 billion, which was originally announced in July. Louisiana is expected to receive more than $6.8 billion. Funds are to be paid out over the next 16 years. Vitter was an original co-sponsor of the RESTORE Act, which dedicates at least 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties paid by BP and other responsible parties to Louisiana and other Gulf States to restore coastal ecosystems and economies damaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
“Louisiana has been working nonstop to overcome the devastating losses along our coastline, in our coastal communities, and in our economy,” said Vitter. “Eleven men tragically lost their lives in the devastating explosion and oil spill, and in the five years since, Louisiana has done what we do best – recover, rebuild, and progress. While it has been an uphill battle to ensure that Louisiana was fairly compensated, we did achieve substantive wins, including passing the RESTORE Act, and the final approval of the $20 billion BP settlement provides Louisiana the long-awaited avenue to advance the rebuilding and revitalizing process.”
The BP settlement agreement includes:
• $5.5 billion federal Clean Water Act penalty, plus interest;
• $8.1 billion in natural resource damages, including restoring coastal habitats; and
• $600 million in claims for reimbursement of federal and state natural resources damage assessments costs and other unreimbursed federal expenses.
Today’s settlement will include $5.5 billion in the Clean Water Act civil penalties, as well as additional billions to cover environmental damages. As a leading Republican conferee on the Highway Bill in 2012 and the only member from the Louisiana delegation involved in the negotiations, Vitter ensured that the final version of the bill included language requiring the enactment of the RESTORE Act.
In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and resulting moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico, Vitter pushed the Administration and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) to ensure that those in the Louisiana seafood industry who were directly impacted were not ignored. In the initial claims process, very few fishermen, seafood processors, and distributors whose jobs were directly tied to the offshore spill zone were paid. As a result of Vitter’s action, businesses and individuals in retail sales and service jobs, such as restaurants, bars or hotels, were able to get their claims processed quickly.
Photo source: US House
Oil & gas and manufacturing jobs could be the first to leave Louisiana and the U.S. altogether if we don’t reform our corporate tax rates. We already have a 35 percent corporate tax rate in the U.S. – the highest in the developed world – and in order to keep companies here, we need to implement common sense corporate tax reform.
Andy Puzder writes a good column about the problems and why we need to reform corporate tax.
Louisiana’s own Congressman Charles Boustany is well positioned to take the lead on this issue as a senior member of the U.S. House tax writing committee.
Photo source: lifelinestrategies.com
The text of the letter is below and the signed letter with several members of Louisiana's DC delegation can be found here.
Dear Chairman Calvert and Ranking Member McCollum:
We write to urge you to include language in the upcoming Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017 which would prohibit the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) from using appropriated funds to implement the proposed rule "Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf - Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control," or any substantially similar rule or guidance.
Since the horrific accident on the Deepwater Horizon rig in 2010, the federal government and the industry have made a continuous effort to improve safety offshore - enhancing regulations and standards on safety and environmental management systems as well as offshore equipment and operations, including well design and well control, to protect workers and the environment.
While BSEE contends that this rule has been proposed in order to improve safety in the offshore energy industry, experts and engineers agree that this proposed rule could instead result in decreased safety and increased risks in drilling operations because of the highly prescriptive, one-size-fits-all nature of the rule.
Although the rule is currently under review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget, we believe it is imperative Congress act now to prevent further implementation of this devastating rule and prohibit BSEE from using appropriated funds for this or any substantially similar rule. Accordingly, we ask that you include language similar to the following in the respective Appropriations Acts:
“SEC. __. None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be expended by the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) to implement or enforce any regulations issued after March 1, 2016, that address any subject of the proposed rule entitled “Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf – Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control” (80 Fed. Reg. 21504 (April 17, 2015)) (referred to in this section as the “Well Control Rule”) unless and until the Secretary—
(a) writes a revised version of the Well Control Rule that incorporates the information learned from additional technical workshops with industry experts;
(b) provides notice and an opportunity for public comment, for at least 180 days, on the revised version of the Well Control Rule; and
(c) issues a revised final version of the Well Control Rule”
We ask that you to consider the effects that this rule would have on important sectors of our economy, and we urge you to include prohibiting language in the upcoming Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017.
We thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this request. We appreciate your attention to this important matter.
Less than two months after taking office, Attorney General Jeff Landry is wasting no time declaring that there is a new sheriff in town.
Landry ran on a reform agenda, which led to a resounding defeat of the former two-term incumbent attorney general. Now he is moving quickly to make good on his campaign promise to end the corruption that had taken root in the state’s Department of Justice under his predecessor.
Cronyism and backroom deals in the Attorney General’s Office have been a concern of Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch for a long time. In 2013, LLAW partnered with the political blog TheHayride.com and WWL TV to launch a series of investigations that exposed former AG James “Buddy” Caldwell’s practice of awarding highly lucrative no-bid legal contracts to his top campaign contributors. Under the scheme, which became known as the “Buddy System,” politically connected law firms made more than $54 million off of state legal contracts awarded by Caldwell.
In February 2016, Attorney General Landry put an end to many of those “good old boy” deals, cancelling dozens of legal contracts that benefited two of Caldwell’s top campaign contributors and nearly 50 contracts with the private law firms of district attorneys around the state.
Landry also announced a new policy that prohibits attorneys on his staff from doing private legal work on the side, a step that will help avoid even the perception of impropriety.
Clearly these concrete reforms took tremendous guts and political fortitude to make, and we join many people across Louisiana who are applauding Attorney General Landry for making them. The apparent pay-for-play system that flourished under his predecessor left a stain on the integrity of the Attorney General’s Office and unquestionably contributed to our state’s reputation as a “judicial hellhole.”
Without a doubt, these changes will help to improve that negative perception, and they go a long way toward correcting some of the sins of the past.
It is also encouraging that Attorney General Landry acknowledges there is more work to be done. After announcing a slew of new good government policies last month, Landry said, “Reform at the Department of Justice does not end today. We will continue to find ways to make the office an honest, ethical, and hardworking agency that the citizens of our State can rely upon and be proud of.”
Indeed, we couldn’t agree more. As the state’s chief law enforcement officer, the attorney general has a sworn duty to protect and serve the people of Louisiana. The people he hires to help carry out that duty should be selected based on their experience and expertise—not their personal and political connections.
Given AG Landry’s commitment to ending the “Buddy System,” we fully expect that will be the case.
Melissa Landry (no relation) is executive director of Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch (LLAW), the state’s leading grassroots legal watchdog organization. To learn more visit, www.LLAW.org <http://www.LLAW.org>
