Former Economic Development Director and Businessman Jeff Landry Releases Fifth TV Ad: “Field of Dreams”
LAFAYETTE, La. - Today, Jeff Landry released his fifth televised advertisement in his campaign for Governor of Louisiana. The ad highlights Jeff's background and accomplishments as a former economic development director, business owner, and someone who has employed hundreds of Louisiana citizens. Jeff beat out Texas and brought government and industry together to bring economic growth to Louisiana. See the full ad here.
“Where once there were no jobs, now there’s growth and opportunity.
A young man on a mission brought government and industry together and helped Louisiana beat Texas to win a Fortune 500 company.
That young man and future leader—Jeff Landry.
Jeff’s work set in motion an economic boom generating millions for safe streets and a better quality of life.”
Background:
In 1998, Jeff was selected as Executive Director of the St. Martin Parish Economic Development Authority (SMEDA). Landry successfully brought industry, the parish and state government and the community together to secure Baker Hughes, a Fortune 500 company, for the St. Martinville area. Today, because of Jeff's work, the St. Martinville Industrial Park has grown to over ninety different companies. Over the past 20 years this project, created under Landry’s leadership, has generated over $100 million in tax revenues for the area—funding schools, roads, police and infrastructure improvements.
In the late 90s, Baker Hughes operated multiple divisions across Louisiana and was moving towards shuttering them and relocating all operations to Texas as an efficiency measure. Jeff Landry and the SMEDA team took immediate action and were able to create a package that bested any offer Texas had on the table and bring home a massive economic development win for Louisiana. “Baker Hughes had just about decided on a location in Texas,” said Dale Huval, a current member of SMEDA. “But the tremendous effort put forth by Jeff Landry, Governor Mike Foster and numerous other state and local leaders, they turned the deal around. Today the St. Martinville Industrial Park is an economic engine for the region.”
News quotes regarding the project:
March groundbreaking for $25 million project. After two years of intense negotiations, construction plans for the Fortune 500 company’s St. Martin Parish consolidation have been released.
Teche News, February 28, 1998
Jeff worked many long hours and tiring days to accomplish the goals, and he did it with vision and dignity.”
Fred Mills, SMEDA President, Teche News, November 18, 1998
“I didn’t realize how big an operation this was going to be,”
Gov. Mike Foster, Teche News, April 22, 1998
-“That was one of the reasons we settled in the area. Everybody pulled so hard from the governmental side on down, we felt these guys were really working with us.”
Ed Howell, President of Baker Oil Tools, Teche News, July 1, 1998
The LAGOP Calls for Boycott of Urban League Debate
BATON ROUGE, LA— Today, the Republican Party of Louisiana called on all GOP gubernatorial candidates to boycott the proposed Urban League debate next week. The debate will be co-hosted by media outlets and is scheduled to be broadcast live.
“This debate format is a biased sham that is purposely designed to damage Republicans,” stated LAGOP Chairman Louis Gurvich. “No Republican candidate should fall for antics like this. To have the radical Urban League as an outside panelist and not balance its ultra liberal viewpoint with a conservative organization is wrong. The Urban League does not reflect the political views of the great majority of the citizens of this state.”
“GOP candidates must stop falling into traps set by the liberal media. The voters deserve balance and fairness, not a panel of questioners who actively helped to elect John Bel Edwards, who despised Donald Trump, and who opposed the values of this state,” continued Gurvich.
After the 2019 gubernatorial election, in a post election analysis story, The Advocate specifically credited the National Urban League and the Urban League of Louisiana with aiding in Jon Bel Edwards' victory. The story highlighted an Urban League voter turnout program called “Geaux Vote” as “an ostensibly nonpartisan effort that almost entirely benefited the Governor.” (“John Bel Edwards earned a remarkable win for reelection; here’s how he did it,” Baton Rouge Advocate, November 17, 2019).
LANDRY: The Opioid Crisis
AG Jeff Landry with Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero with a Drug Take Back Box.
On January 10, 1980, the New England Journal of Medicine published a letter claiming that prescription opioids rarely lead to addiction. It would go on to be “heavily” and “uncritically” cited to support the prescription practices that followed. Fast forward forty years, and we’ve got popular shows like Hulu’s Dopesick and Netflix’s Painkiller highlighting the damage this has done to communities across our Nation.
For too long, there were more opioid prescriptions than people in Louisiana; and it is estimated that 120 Americans die of an overdose every day — a rate that has tripled since 1999. For reference, Purdue Pharma’s “miracle drug” OxyContin was released in 1995.
Targeting blue collar workers susceptible to work-related injuries, the Big Pharma giant encouraged physicians to prescribe these time-released doses of oxycodone — a cousin of heroin twice as powerful as morphine — for pain ranging from arthritis and back injuries to fibromyalgia and headaches. Sales reps claimed that, despite preconceptions about opioids, “fewer than 1% of patients who took OxyContin became addicted.”
This was proven absolutely untrue as a surge of addiction soon fed a wave of armed robbery, violent crime, prostitution, and theft as job and child abandonment rates increased. At the same time, sales of OxyContin in the United States outpaced those of Viagra while more than 30,000 coupons for the addictive drug were used. And by 2011, the CDC had declared an opioid epidemic.
That, however, did not stop production of other pain relievers. Fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, soon became a household name — though most people are unaware that they are even consuming fentanyl, until it’s far too late. Today, opioids account for 69% of drug overdose deaths, a rate that has doubled since 2010. And most synthetic opioids are far stronger and more dangerous than the drugs used ten years ago. That is why this has become an international crisis over the past two decades, one that has certainly affected our State.
When I became Attorney General, I made the opioid epidemic a priority of my office. Knowing that roughly 60% of addicts start their addiction with someone else’s prescription, we set out to educate on the dangers of opioids and counterfeit drugs, then collaborated with law enforcement to provide drug take back boxes across our State. We also leveraged a legal settlement to provide our first responders with free vouchers for Naloxone. Then, we pushed Congress to repeal the shielding of manufacturers and distributors from accountability.
My Consumer Protection Division also reached a settlement with the consulting firm who advised Purdue Pharma on how to maximize their profits by targeting high-volume prescribers, encouraging doctors to increase prescriptions, and circumventing pharmacy restrictions. When states began to sue Purdue, the firm advised deleting documents to hide the truth; yet in collaboration with 47 other states, we held them accountable.
Furthermore, our office led negotiations alongside other attorneys general to reach an historic agreement with CVS and Walgreens for their role in this crisis, resulting in $10.7 billion in opioid relief funds to be paid over the next decade. Monies will be allocated to local governments and parishes and used to remediate this crisis, from prevention and harm reduction to treatment and recovery services.
Unfortunately, after Purdue reformulated OxyContin to reduce drug abuse — namely by preventing abusers from snorting and injecting the ground up pill — addicts turned to heroin. This created a new market for drug cartels in Mexico, who have since abused our border crisis to further feed crime, drug addiction, and overdose deaths in our communities.
This why my office has been relentless in fighting open border policies that benefit human traffickers and drug dealers. As Attorney General, I defended ICE, fought Sanctuary Cities, pushed for Title 42 to remain in place, and sued the Biden Administration in federal court to keep our asylum process fair rather than issue blank checks of citizenship to criminals. We also continue to call for the resignation of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who has made a bad situation far worse.
Sadly, none of that offers much comfort to those who have lost their loved ones to the opioid crisis. No law, policy, or lawsuit will ever bring their family members back from a fatal overdose. But what we can do is prevent someone else from succumbing to this horrible situation, and that is what I will continue to fight for as long as I remain in office. The great people of our State are not alone; and together, we will turn the tide.
Jeff Landry
Louisiana Attorney General
Steve Scalise Announces He Has Cancer
ICYMI: Kennedy in the Daily Advertiser: Washington’s broken border policies are costing Louisianians too much
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in the Daily Advertiser explaining how the Biden administration’s broken immigration policies are costing Louisiana taxpayers and leaving them less safe. He urges his colleagues in Congress to join him in working to secure the border and end failed “catch-and-release” policies.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“Many in Washington like to pretend President Biden’s border crisis is over, but the numbers don’t lie.
“In July alone, U.S. border agents arrested more than 130,000 migrants trying to bypass our legal immigration system and enter the country illegally. That’s more people than the entire population of Lafayette in just one month—and that’s only the migrants we stopped.
“Many more were not caught, and many who were caught were allowed in any way because they claimed to be refugees who feared political persecution in their own country.”
. . .
“Since taking office, President Biden has released 2 million migrants into the United States. We really don’t know these people, which creates concerns about crime and public safety. But someone must also foot the bill for the 2 million more people who must access our roads, schools, jails, fire departments, and other public services, too.
“According to one estimate, [Louisianians] pay an additional $4,613 per migrant—a total of $604 million per year—in state taxes because of illegal immigration. At a time when Louisiana families also must spend an additional $765 per month because of inflation, the $604 million taxpayers are investing in noncitizens who bypassed our legal immigration system could provide a lot of relief to Louisiana families.”
. . .
“Border agents confiscated more than 1,500 pounds of fentanyl in June alone, enough poison to kill the entire country. In Louisiana, we lost 2,352 people to drug overdoses last year. Nearly all of those probably involved fentanyl. In New Orleans, officials found fentanyl in 94 percent of overdose victims. In East Baton Rouge Parish, the drug was present in 88 percent of overdose victims. In St. Tammany Parish, 11 people die from fentanyl overdoses each month.
“Yet, when I tried to increase prison sentences for predators convicted of feeding fentanyl to our children, my Democratic colleagues in Washington blocked my bill.”
. . .
“Why would anyone abide by America’s legal immigration process when they can just walk into the country, skip their court dates, and—in many cases—begin taking advantage of American entitlement programs? I’ve tried to pass a bill that would close the ‘catch-and-release’ loophole, but, again, Democrats blocked it, rubbing salt in the wounds of the good people waiting to enter our country legally. German engineers and Nigerian doctors who are patiently waiting in line in our legal immigration system have dreams, too.
“America is the freest, most prosperous country in the world, but we cannot afford to ignore our lawless border and the suffering it has caused people. I’ll continue to press President Biden and my colleagues in Congress to recognize the mess they made with stupid border policies so we can work together to give the American people the secure border they deserve.”
Read the full op-ed here.
Kennedy speaks with Bayou Region Joint Chamber, visits Houma foodbank
“Families in Houma and around Louisiana are spending an extra $765 every single month to make ends meet because of the reckless, relentless spending that President Biden and Democrats in Congress are doing. . . . I’m thankful that good people like those at Terrebonne Churches United Foodbank are putting their hearts and elbow grease into caring for this community.”
HOUMA, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today spoke at the Bayou Region Joint Chamber of Commerce luncheon about his work to defend the energy industry from the Biden administration’s attacks, securing disaster recovery aid and other local issues. Kennedy also toured the Terrebonne Churches United Foodbank and spoke with officials and volunteers about responding to economic hardship.
“Louisianians in the Bayou have demonstrated their resilience time and again. Two years after Hurricane Ida, Louisiana’s southeast corner is still rebuilding, and I’m thankful to have had a hand in making sure federal resources supported that recovery,” said Kennedy after his visit with the Joint Chamber.
Kennedy has helped deliver more than $22 billion to Louisiana for disaster recovery across the state, with more than $5 billion of that aid focused on responding to Hurricane Ida, which hit southeast Louisiana incredibly hard. The Hurricane Ida resources have included funding to rebuild communities and homes, finance business loans and cover the cost of emergency response measures.
The senator also toured the Terrebonne Churches United Foodbank to hear from volunteers and officials about how the facility is meeting local needs as historic inflation takes a toll on the community.
“Families in Houma and around Louisiana are spending an extra $765 every single month to make ends meet because of the reckless, relentless spending that President Biden and Democrats in Congress are doing. Putting food on the table is harder than ever for too many people around here, and I’m thankful that good people like those at Terrebonne Churches United Foodbank are putting their hearts and elbow grease into caring for this community,” said Kennedy.
In an effort to stop this historic inflation, Kennedy has voted against numerous spending bills from the Biden administration, including the $1.2 trillion misnamed “infrastructure” package, $1.9 trillion in additional COVID spending, $240 billion in a pet project that funded Big Tech semi-conductors and two massive government funding bills that totaled $3.2 trillion. Kennedy also opposed the misleadingly titled “Inflation Reduction Act” that could prove to have a price tag of $1.2 trillion.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Thanks to Sen. Cassidy for Supporting the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act
Dear Editor,
I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to Senator Cassidy for his dedicated efforts to improve healthcare in our nation. The introduction of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) is a commendable step forward in addressing the issue of obesity in our country.
If the TROA becomes law, it could lead to positive changes in our healthcare policy. By passing this bill, Congress would update old rules that currently prevent Medicare from covering specific treatments for obesity. Additionally, it would make it easier for individuals to access therapy aimed at helping with obesity. This bill has the potential to contribute significantly to our fight against obesity, ultimately enhancing the quality of life for many Americans. Moreover, it has the capacity to improve the overall functioning of our healthcare system.
Senator Cassidy's support for the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act is huge for this effort. As a doctor and the top republican on the Senate HELP committee, he has a chance to bring this bill to the forefront of Congressional attention.
TROA has the potential to make a substantial difference in the lives of countless Americans who are grappling with obesity. By not only improving access to healthcare but also potentially preventing avoidable deaths and promoting better well-being, this legislation represents a positive step forward.
Thank you again to Senator Cassidy for his commitment to addressing this crucial issue. Should the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act come to fruition, it holds the promise of positively impacting families and individuals on a wide scale. Senator Cassidy's leadership in championing the revival of this law is poised to leave a lasting legacy of enhanced health and well-being for numerous Americans.
Thanks to Dr. Cassidy for his dedication to a healthier future!
Sincerely,
Shayne Benedetto
ICYMI: Kennedy in the American Press: Washington’s out-of-control spending is to blame for back-to-school inflation
“I believe my colleagues in Washington could learn a lot by watching families make tough decisions to afford this back-to-school season. Parents know what it means to live within a budget.”
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in the American Press detailing how inflation has stretched Louisiana families thin during back-to-school season. He argues that Washington’s spending habit is to blame for the sky-high prices parents are facing as they try to fill backpacks and lunchboxes this fall.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“Following two years of national economic mismanagement, the cost of notebooks, pencils, crayons, and other school supplies has increased by 24 percent. The average family expects to spend $597 per student to cover supplies—and that’s just the start of back-to-school spending.”
. . .
“In total, inflation is costing the average Louisiana family an extra $9,180 per year, and Washington’s out-of-control spending habit is to blame.
“At President Biden’s direction, the federal government has grown faster than America’s economy. From 2020 to 2023, federal spending jumped by nearly 33 percent. In just the past 12 months, federal spending increased nine percent—or roughly half a trillion dollars.
“Some of the spending at the start of the pandemic was necessary, but a lot of it was short-sighted and foolish. It has done more to hurt Louisianians than help them. We paid workers to stay home. We paid schools to stay closed. We even paid dead people $1.4 billion in stimulus checks!”
. . .
“All this spending floods our economy with cash, causing prices to float far above what many families can afford. As families tried to keep up with skyrocketing prices, consumer credit card debt hit a record high of $1 trillion. The average personal savings rate approached an all-time low. And nearly two in five families said they cannot afford to cover an unexpected $400 expense. Congress has also saddled our children with more debt than we’ve ever seen before.
“Bidenomics has kneecapped the American Dream, yet some Democrats in Washington are hoping to normalize this high inflation rate to continue their spending spree. This inflation isn’t normal, though, and I won’t let the coastal elites forget that.”
. . .
“I’m sorry that some in the federal government have left Louisianians with soaring debt and inflation. Some of our federal spending is as foolish as it is dangerous, and I’ll continue to work to find new ways to get our spending back under control.
“In the meantime, I believe my colleagues in Washington could learn a lot by watching families make tough decisions to afford this back-to-school season. Parents know what it means to live within a budget. They stretch each dollar to its fullest potential every day. Think how much stronger our country could be if Congress stuck to its budget, too.”
Read the full op-ed here.
LA FREEDOM CAUCUS REMINDS SEN. CASSIDY OF TRUMP SUPPORT AMONG LA VOTERS
BATON ROUGE—The Louisiana Freedom Caucus would like to remind Sen. Bill Cassidy, who on Sunday called for President Donald Trump to drop out of the race for President, that Donald Trump got more votes in Louisiana than any other politician ever. Twice. In the 2020 election, 26,868 more Louisianans voted for President Trump than voted for Sen. Cassidy.
Currently, polling averages in Louisiana ending August 14, 2023, compiled by FiveThirtyEight.com, show Donald Trump leading the race with 75% of the Republican primary vote, which is an average of +65% ahead of the next closest candidate.
“The Louisiana Freedom Caucus is here to ensure that the laws and policies of the State of Louisiana align with the political beliefs and desires of our people. It is clear, the people of Louisiana strongly support President Trump. Accordingly, we suggest that Sen. Cassidy may want to rethink his position,” said Alan Seabaugh, Chairman of the Louisiana Freedom Caucus.
Jeff Landry Receives Louisiana Sheriffs' Association Endorsement
Lafayette, La. — Today, Jeff Landry received the endorsement of the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association (LSA) in his race for Governor of Louisiana. The LSA is a bipartisan organization, composed of Louisiana’s 64 sheriffs and nearly 14,000 deputy sheriffs, established to represent Louisiana’s chief law enforcement officers across the state.
“Members of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association proudly stand with Jeff Landry because of his lifelong support of law enforcement. From his earliest years of experience as a sheriff’s deputy, to his consistent continued efforts to be tough on violent crime, sheriffs are honored to partner with him for a safer Louisiana,” said Sheriff Doug Hebert, President of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association.
“I am extremely humbled by the support of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association. The sheriffs and their employees are community heroes who put their lives on the line everyday to keep us safe. As a former police officer and sheriff’s deputy, I understand the difficulties faced by those in law enforcement and I will always stand by and support them. As Governor, I look forward to working closely with our sheriffs to make Louisiana a safer state in which to live, work, and raise a family,” said Jeff Landry.
An Appeal for Freedom of Thought
Our Big Tech Censorship Case at the Fifth Circuit
It may be hard to believe that there are people in their thirties and forties who can recall a time before the Internet. Yet in this small window of time, we have witnessed a complete evolution of communication online, especially when it comes to individuals with a certain level of experience or passionate curiosity transformed into action. That’s why, at the same time Yahoo!, eBay, Google, and PayPal were being created, we also saw the rise of the online freelancer, the blogger, the digital business owner, the social media community founder, and the thought leader. The glue holding this together has always been the freedom of ideas and their expression.
Amazon outwitted Sears by creating a catalogue of products online; but it wasn’t books, supplements, or random life hack gadgets that made it a monolith of the digital sphere. It was the fact that Amazon’s algorithm favored highly niche interests, connecting shoppers with specific books, ideas, and tools they could never purchase at their local shop. That’s why brick and mortar businesses have struggled to compete: they lack infinite shelf-space and rely on mainstream hits. Not so with the Internet; the digital sphere favors the obscure and hard-to-find. However, it is precisely that ability to veer towards personal niche rather than mainstream opinion that has made the Internet a marketplace of thought.
Even more appealing was the fact that you no longer needed to wait for the evening news to learn about major events. Chances are, someone was tweeting or live streaming in real time, having the advantage of already being on the scene. You no longer had to depend on pundits force feeding you analysis on current events within a limited scope — you had access to a sea of experts presenting their research online. And you no longer had to wait for someone to tell you how to think or what was important — you could figure it out for yourself. Simply by being curious, you could use the cellphone in your pocket to expand your knowledge, worldview, and perspective far better than any school, with an education personally tailored for and by you.
That is what the Biden Administration has deliberately tried to take away from you, claiming your mental capacity as their “cognitive infrastructure.” Through pervasive censorship efforts, they have attempted to destroy your freedoms of thought, learning, and speech enabled by the Internet. Biden’s bureaucrats have coerced, encouraged and even threatened social media companies to create more restrictive policies, enforce them more aggressively, silence entire topics, and deplatform certain speakers — all in the name of control. And the major social media companies reluctantly complied.
The example given at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals by my Special Assistant Attorney General John Sauer was this: Imagine if the White House press secretary stood at the podium and demanded that all major booksellers remove and burn books that criticized the Administration, or the federal government would destroy their business. And what if, at the same time, those booksellers were getting relentless emails from the FBI and White House staff with encrypted lists of books to be burned and constant pressure to get it done? That is exactly what happened here; but the bonfires were digital and unrestricted, scorching everything from parody to scientific findings that refuted a government narrative.
This is why our case against the federal government is so very important, not just to the people of Louisiana or Missouri but to all Americans. Could you imagine if Thomas Paine or Thomas Jefferson had been censored? What about Paul Revere? (You can research and debunk that thanks to the Internet.) What is an American if not someone who believes freedom of speech and thought is their birthright? Aren’t Americans meant to be individualists?
That is what’s at stake should the bureaucrats win this case, because it will determine what freedom of speech looks like in the digital age, who among us should have it — and why. Will we have a golden age of ideas and individualism envisioned by the early days of the Internet, or will we be dragged back into the narrow minded past because the bureaucratic elite couldn’t tolerate freedom of thought or the competition of ideas?
The panel of judges at the Fifth Circuit will now decide this. However, the Constitution is clear, our evidence is damning, and we fully expect to win this battle in the end — because these are the challenges that define a Nation, not by how we struggle but in how we overcome.
Jeff Landry
Louisiana Attorney General
LOUISIANA FAMILY FORUM: LFF Releases 2023 Legislative Scorecard
Louisiana Family Forum (LFF) has released its 2023 Legislative Scorecard, surveying votes cast during the 2023 Regular Session of the Legislature as well as the Veto Override Session.
This year, LFF evaluated support or opposition for: religious and personal liberty, the protection of children against sexual politics, experimental and harmful “gender-care,” election integrity, school choice and busting the expenditure cap.
Eighteen (18) representatives earned the Outstanding Family Advocate Award by scoring 100 percent on LFF’s Scorecard. These legislators will receive LFF’s esteemed Patrick Henry Award at the LFF 2023 Legislative Annual Gala planned for Thursday, September 28th, at Healing Place Church Arena in Baton Rouge. Additionally, 67 lawmakers will be honored with the Family Advocate Award for scoring 80-99 percent on LFF’s Scorecard.
Ten lawmakers earned the prestigious Life and Liberty Award for authorship of key new laws:
Senator Heather Cloud - SB7 - Protection of Children in Public Libraries
Senator Beth Mizell - SB63 - Religious Freedom Amend. and SB41 CPC tax credit
Senator Caleb Kleinpeter SB 94 - Regulation of Kratom
Representative Raymond Crews - HB457 - Certificate of Non-Viable Birth Act
Representative Rick Edmonds - HB443 - Adoption Credit, HB462 School Transparency
Representative Valarie Hodges - HB68 - Allows History & Literature of Bible in schools
Representative Dodie Horton - HB8 - "In God We Trust" in every classroom
Representative Blake Miguez - HB311 - Prohibition of private funds for Elections
Representative Chuck Owen - HB291 - No Patient Left Alone Act
Representative Laurie Schlegel - HB61 and HB77 - Protecting Children on the Internet
LFF’s highest award, the 2023 Gladiator of the Year, goes to Representative Gabe Firment for HB648, The Stop Harming Children Act. Rep. Firment’s perseverance led to a historic override of the Governor’s veto and allowed Louisiana to protect minors from medical experimentation in the form of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and irreversible surgeries.
LFF Awards Gala is the highlight of our year as we host pastors, partners, and friends from across Louisiana to honor public servants who just wrote the most recent chapter of Louisiana public policy. This year will be especially memorable as LFF celebrates its Silver Anniversary. So secure your sponsorship today for the LFF Awards Gala.
The full 2023 LFF Legislative Scorecard is available online.
Landry Launches Fourth TV Ad on Education
“My mother was a school teacher. She believed in teaching kids how to think, not what to think.
Today, too many classrooms are filled with woke politics instead of teaching.
We are going to fix that.
My plan gets us back to the basics: reading, writing, and math.
Parents not politicians deserve control.
Teachers should be respected.
These are our schools, our children, and they deserve the absolute best.”
Kennedy in The Advocate: Washington’s soft-on-crime policies hurt Louisiana’s small businesses
“If we let rampant crime suffocate these businesses, the economies and charisma of Louisiana neighborhoods will wither, too.”
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in The Advocate describing how the soft-on-crime policies and anti-cop rhetoric coming out of Washington have harmed Louisiana’s small businesses. He argues that liberal policymakers, including President Joe Biden, must do more to address rising crime by securing the border and respecting law enforcement.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“Starting a business is one of the riskiest decisions one can make. Entrepreneurs embrace that risk because they love what they do, the people they work with, and the customers they serve.
“But today, many Louisiana business owners face risks far beyond their comfort levels. Violent crime has made it untenable for many business owners to keep their doors open. The threat to their employees and customers is just too great.”
. . .
“Louisiana isn’t alone. Crime-related business closures have increased nationwide. This crime wave is ravaging local economies, and Washington’s anti-cop rhetoric and soft-on-crime policies are to blame.
“For years, the loon wing of the Democratic Party has worked to tear down the entire law enforcement community. Rather than working for commonsense reforms, these activists called cops ‘pigs’ and urged lawmakers to defund local police departments.
“Where these activists failed to defund most police departments, they succeeded in demoralizing all of them. Today, police officer shortages plague communities everywhere. The New Orleans Police Department is on pace to have the fewest officers in 75 years. Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and the Louisiana State Police are facing massive officer shortages, too.”
. . .
“Many in Washington also embraced soft-on-crime policies that shortened federal prison sentences. I opposed these criminal reforms, including the First Step Act, because I believed it would lead to more families and businesses becoming victims of preventable crimes. Unfortunately, my fears were correct. Eleven percent of convicts released under the First Step Act reoffended—so far.
“At the border, cartels exploit our broken catch-and-release policies to flood Louisiana communities with poisonous fentanyl. Yet when I tried to increase prison sentences for fentanyl dealers earlier this year, Senate Democrats blocked my bill, apparently because they hate the idea of keeping poison dealers in prison.
“This cocktail of bone-deep, down-to-the-marrow stupid policies has fueled crime nationwide. Now, those who promoted these foolish ideas want Americans to think they’re imagining crime, rather than experiencing it.”
. . .
“If we let rampant crime suffocate these businesses, the economies and charisma of Louisiana neighborhoods will wither, too.
“Crime and the destruction that follows it are not inevitable. With fair policies, well-trained and supported police officers, and leaders dedicated to enforcing the law, we can reduce crime and make Louisiana a safe place to invest. I’ll continue to push lawmakers and officials to embrace policies that protect businesses, our people, and their livelihoods.”
Read the full op-ed here.
GOVERNMENT CRONYISM EXPOSED IN LOUISIANA COASTAL DRILLING LAWSUIT
In a staggering revelation, Louisiana Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Thomas Harris admitted under oath that he delegated sweeping governmental power over coastal drilling litigation to a personal injury attorney, all to the financial benefit of political cronies.
The Pelican Institute discovered the news via a public records request of the DNR, which turned over Harris’ April 2023 deposition in the case of Parish of Cameron v. Auster Oil and Gas, Inc., et al. That case is one of 43 lawsuits that were filed against oil and gas companies alleging that their drilling activity in Louisiana nearly a century ago damaged the coast. In the deposition, Harris testified that rather than investigating the allegations made against the oil and gas companies before the state joined the lawsuits, DNR left it to the law firms representing the parishes—who stand to benefit financially from a settlement or trial verdict—to search for regulatory violations instead. Harris’ testimony means that he effectively appointed a private personal injury attorney as the de facto head of a state agency.
Blake Miguez Hosts 3rd Annual “Marksmen for Miguez Fun Shoot & Family Day"
Supporters of Blake Miguez gathered today at Sentry Defense shooting range in Youngsville to enjoy exercising their 2nd Amendment rights and supporting Blake in his race for State Senator in District 22.
GROW LOUISIANA COALITION: The Future of Louisiana Depends on a Long-Term Offshore Lease Plan
The Gulf of Mexico is a cornerstone of America's fuel supply and crucial to energy independence. For decades, the Gulf has provided a reliable and abundant source of oil and natural gas. And does it with lower carbon emissions intensity than much of the world.
However, burdensome regulations and bureaucratic delays threaten the future of the Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas production. The federal government must develop a long-term plan to offer new offshore oil and gas lease opportunities for responsible energy production.
"The federal government must develop a long-term program that continues to offer new offshore lease opportunities, not only for Louisiana but for the entire nation."
-- Paul Danos, CEO and owner of Danos LLC and current chair of the National Ocean Industries Association
LANDRY: Our State Police Crime Lab
When we talk about crime in Louisiana, it is easy to forget the silent workforce that bridges the gap between a crime scene and the court room – often enabling justice to be served through the collection, analysis, and interpretation of evidence. Yet during my recent visit to the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab, I was reminded of the hard and emotionally challenging work that these professionals perform on a daily basis despite a lack of funding, an enormous backlog of cases, and a broken criminal justice system.
Public servants at the Crime Lab understand the opioid crisis ravaging Louisiana from a completely different perspective than most. Analysts there have witnessed a significant shift in the types of drugs and quantities that end up in the Lab since the Governor’s Criminal Justice Reform, which labeled drug dealing a nonviolent offense and lowered the mandatory sentencing associated with it.
In 2020, only 7% of blood samples brought to this Crime Lab had traces of fentanyl. By 2022, it was found in 23% of them. Today, it is estimated that 1 in 5 people arrested for a DWI have fentanyl in their system; yet our children are often deceived by counterfeits containing this deadly drug, and without a tolerance built up, many overdose from a single pill. Similarly, relapse for addicts is now a death sentence rather than part of recovery.
Even THC diverted from Colorado can be found in the Lab, with a single edible capable of holding 600mg. Sadly, children often confuse these for normal snacks, resulting in a spike of accidental exposures to massive quantities of THC. But drugs are only the tip of the iceberg for this Crime Lab, which is on the front line of our crime epidemic, containing evidence from roughly 3,400 cases related to violent crime and sexual assault.
While there are seven crime labs operating across the State, all doing equally important work, this Lab tests roughly 6,000 pieces of evidence each year and has not been able to keep up with demand – especially since New Orleans has yet to re-establish its own crime lab post-Katrina. Roughly 30% of the total volume in Baton Rouge is related to cases from the Big Easy, which has experienced an enormous spike in violent crime and sexual assaults since COVID. As a result, the Crime Lab is constantly expanding and overflowing with evidence.
Working in teams, analysts can process 15 to 20 cases at a time, with each case typically having 20-35 samples. An analyst can also expect to individually work two to five cases. Yet, due to backlog, a DNA case can take three to four months (as opposed to 30 days) to complete. Unfortunately, some cases could be waiting for years; and everyone knows this is unsustainable if we are to truly address Louisiana’s crime problem.
That is why this Crime Lab is actively seeking to make their work faster and more efficient without compromising accuracy. One technological advancement playing a role in this is Rapid DNA. Currently, the only FBI/NDIS authorized Rapid DNA program is in two booking stations with two more coming online soon. Between the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Office and the Livingston Parish Sheriff Office, over 600 arrestees have been enrolled in this program with a Rapid DNA profile created within 90 minutes. The next advancement would be Crime Scene Rapid, which the FBI is hoping to authorize by January 2025.
As for sexual assault, ACT 193 – introduced by Senator Beth Mizell and supported by both the Louisiana State Police and the Louisiana Sexual Assault Oversight Commission – will enable victims to track their kits, along with all law enforcement, hospitals, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, DAs, crime labs, and coroners. Through these efforts, we hope to provide greater transparency to victims and further accountability across the board.
In the meantime, scientists based in the Crime Lab are constantly continuing their education on new technology, with trainings ranging from one month to over a year. In fact, it takes about two years of training before a recent grad is able to work a case by themselves and new technology can cost half a million dollars. The Lab itself is also moving to paperless operations for even greater efficiency. But by investing in the latest technology and the education of our workforce, we can make a difference in our State — and that is exactly what must happen moving forward.
Jeff Landry
Louisiana Attorney General
Jeff Landry Qualifies to Run for Governor of Louisiana
BATON ROUGE, La. — Today, Jeff Landry qualified to run for Governor of Louisiana. Jeff Landry is the official endorsed candidate by the Louisiana Republican Party. He also has the support of President Donald Trump, Senator Bill Cassidy, Congressman Mike Johnson, Congressman Clay Higgins, former Congressman Ralph Abraham, businessman Eddie Rispone, businessman Boysie Bollinger, as well as numerous Republican Parish Executive Committees, sheriffs, and District Attorneys across Louisiana.
“For far too long, Louisiana has been at the bottom of every good list and the top of every bad list. This election is our opportunity to change our State and put Louisiana on a path to success. As a former police officer and sheriff’s deputy, no one is better suited to address our State’s crime problem. As a business owner and former economic development director, I know what our local businesses need to succeed. As the son of a school teacher, I understand that the most important voice in a child’s education is the parents. Louisianans know what is at stake in this election, and that is why we are running to be Louisiana’s next Governor. Because together, we can make Louisiana a state as good as her people,” said Jeff Landry.
