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NEW ORLEANS -- Barely half a year into his first term, Louisiana's new
governor may be getting the most national attention that office has seen since
the days of Huey P. Long.
Gov. Bobby Jindal is profiled in another major publication -- the August issue
of "Details" magazine.
Its headline touts him as "John McCain's 37-year-old Secret Weapon."
The lengthy article covers familiar ground for most Louisianans, probing
Jindal's political and personal past and painting him as the new face of state
politics and the Republican Party.
The piece runs alongside edgy articles targeting young, upscale men.
Jindal has touted such attention as an opportunity to showcase the opportunity
that exists right now in the state of Louisiana. He has made numerous national
television appearances as well, ranging from traditional political programs on
CNN and MSNBC to "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on NBC.
07.16.08
Governor Jindal Highlights HB 958, Providing Health Insurance for LA Children
with Autism Today, Governor Bobby Jindal was joined by Representative Franklin
Foil and Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Deputy Secretary Sybil
Richard at the Families Helping Families Center of Greater Baton Rouge to
highlight the importance of House Bill 958, which works to provide health
insurance for children with autism. The bill helps ensure Louisiana families who
are affected by autism receive the earliest diagnosis and treatments possible by
requiring most private insurers to provide coverage for early detection and
treatment of the spectrum disorder.
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is a Republican politician and the
current governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana. 1 Before his election as
governor, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives from
Louisiana's 1st congressional district, to which he was elected in 2004 to
succeed current U.S. Senator David Vitter. Jindal was re-elected to Congress in
the 2006 election with 88 percent of the vote. Jindal was the second
Indian-American to serve in Congress.
On October 20, 2007, Jindal was elected governor of Louisiana, winning a
four-way race with 54% of the vote. At age 36, Jindal became the youngest
current governor in the United States. He also became the first non-white to
serve as governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction, the first elected Indian
American governor in U.S. history, as well as the second Asian American governor
to serve in the continental United States after Gary Locke of Washington.
258 Vetoes of More Than $16 Million in HB 1, Most Vetoes in LA History Today,
Governor Bobby Jindal announced that he has line item vetoed 258 items in the
state's operating budget for FY 2008-2009 (HB 1), accounting for more than
$16.14 million in non-governmental and governmental projects. Governor Jindal's
258 vetoes in HB1 are more than double the vetoes for all the state's previous
12 budgets combined.
Piyush Jindal (pronounced /ˈdʒɪndəl/) was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to
recently arrived Punjabi Indian immigrants Amar and Raj Jindal, who were
attending graduate school. His father left India and his ancestral family
village of Khanpura in 1970. 2 His mother, Raj Jindal, is an information
technology director for the Louisiana Department of Labor. 3 According to
family lore, Jindal adopted the name "Bobby" from the character Bobby Brady
after watching The Brady Bunch television series at age four. He has been known
by that name ever since—as a civil servant, politician, student, and
writer—though legally his name remains Piyush Jindal. 4
Jindal was a Hindu, but converted to Catholicism in high school. 5 He has
also offered his religious testimony before Baptist and Pentecostal
congregations. 6 He attended public school at Baton Rouge Magnet High
School and graduated when he was 16. In 1992, he graduated from Brown University
in Providence, Rhode Island, with honors in biology and public policy.
Afterwards, he received a master's degree in political science from New College,
Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar.
After Oxford, he joined McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm, where he advised
Fortune 500 companies. Most notable was his work for Indian tycoon Lakshmi
Mittal of Arcelor Mittal. citation needed
Bobby and Supriya Jolly Jindal meet with President George W. Bush
Bobby and Supriya Jolly Jindal meet with President George W. Bush
In 1997 Jindal married Supriya Jolly (born 1972). The couple has three children:
Selia Elizabeth, Shaan Robert, and Slade Ryan. On August 15, 2006, Bobby Jindal
assisted in delivering his third child when his wife awoke from sleep in labor.
7
July 9th, 2008 | Posted by admin
Dear Friends,
Governor Jindal addresses the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday.
Spreading the Word About Our Reforms
I spoke to the Baton Rouge Press Club yesterday about the future of our state
and the successes of our first regular legislative session. We have completely
revamped our state’s workforce development program and Department of Labor, now
known as the Louisiana Workforce Commission, which will bring increased economic
opportunity for both employers and employees alike. The restructuring of our
state’s labor department will, as reported by the Houma Courier, “ prepare
it to confront the state’s staggering need for skilled workers,” and better link
potential workers with programs and technical colleges prepared to teach them
the skills they need.
I love when our children go to college, but we must realize that not all of our
students will attend a university. Instead we need to encourage these students
to continue their education by allowing them early participation in community
and technical college programs. By revamping our workforce training programs, we
can provide a path to opportunity for these students through dual enrollment
programs beginning when they are still in high school. This will not only allow
students to receive valuable training at a younger age, it will also showcase
the many options available to them with the proper training.
This revamping of our workforce development system was the single most important
package our administration pushed for in this past session, and I was pleased to
sign this important legislation into law last week. Our state will now move at
the speed of business, and not the speed of government, while providing
employers a “Day One Guarantee” that workers will be trained and ready to work,
or our community and technical colleges will retrain them for free.
While we have much work to do, we have accomplished a lot in a short period of
time, such as cutting taxes, increasing our teachers’ ability to maintain
discipline in the classroom, and strengthening Louisiana’s laws to protect our
children from sex offenders. We have also made sure that the strong ethics
changes we made earlier this year have not been weakened. As the Houma Courier
stated, “Gov. Bobby Jindal struck a blow for good, responsible government” when
“Jindal killed a bill… that would have put Ethics Board investigators at a
disadvantage.” The bill, which would have prevented anonymous complaints, “would
have taken away a great resource from the Ethics Board,” the paper concluded.
We have also instilled a number of fiscal reforms that make sure we are
investing taxpayer money wisely. An orial in the Shreveport Times said one
such reform - strengthening requirements for non-governmental organizations to
receive state funds, “set a good precedent” because “taxpayers should not
be counted on for recurring, operational expenses of local nonprofits unless
nonprofits are contracted to provide services the state cannot.”
I look forward to continuing to improve our state, and building a better
Louisiana. Day by day we are cutting the chains that have held our state down
for so long, and we will continue working hard every single day to make sure
that our state realizes its potential. Louisiana is the greatest place in the
world to raise a family, and we must continue with our reforms to give the rest
of the nation and the world a reason to believe that.
Moving Forward with Levee Funding
I recently met with Louisiana’s Congressional delegation, as well as other
Congressional leaders, in Washington to discuss the future of rebuilding funds
for Louisiana following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The federal government has
attempted to force our state to repay its cost-share of levee funds almost
immediately, instead of the thirty years that has been provided in the past.
This would cause the state to pay more than $1 billion – more than a third of
our yearly discretionary budget – by 2010. We are not asking that our state’s
cost share be waived. We are just asking to operate under fair guidelines and
for the federal government to give Louisiana the same amount of time to pay the
cost share as has been provided in the past. As stated in the Baton Rouge
Advocate, “it does not make sense to hit Louisiana with a three-year bill for
cost-share money that usually is spread out for far longer periods.”
These current funds are simply to bring our levees to their supposed pre-Katrina
levels, and are not even to provide protection against a Category 5 storm. I
certainly appreciate all of the help and funding that has come to our state
since Katrina and Rita, but it is unreasonable to expect our state to pay such a
steep price. I will continue to work with members of Congress – we are willing
to pay our fair share.
Improving Our Mental Health System
I was joined in New Orleans yesterday by Department of Health and Hospitals
Secretary Alan Levine and local officials to discuss the significant
improvements to both the delivery of mental health services and providing safety
for communities from those that may be a danger to others or themselves.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita served to exacerbate the problems of a system that
was already broken, and we will continue working hard to improve mental health
services in Louisiana.
Our package of bills in the recently completed regular session consisted of five
pieces of legislation, and more than $89 million in funds committed to support
mental health care services. One example of legislation that was passed was
Nicola’s law, named after slain New Orleans Police Officer Nicola Cotton, which
gives judges the ability to order mandatory outpatient treatment for mentally
ill patients who may be a danger to society when not provided with supervision.
We have also signed into law legislation that will create mental health crisis
centers, which will swiftly and accurately detail a patient’s specific mental
health needs.
We also passed a law that will allow us to use technology to provide better
services for mental health patients. Our new legislation will allow doctors to
carry out exams on patients who may be deemed dangerous to themselves or society
via telemedicine, drastically decreasing wait times and getting health services
to those in need much quicker.
We will continue working to improve our entire mental health system and
infrastructure in order to best provide for the needs of all Louisianians. Our
mental health system has been ignored and allowed to decay for too long, and it
is past time that we ensure that mental health patients have access to the help
they need.
Holding Town Hall Meetings
I will be holding a series of Town Hall meetings across the state this August.
More details will be given as dates and places are determined, and I look
forward to meeting with residents across the state to hear your thoughts and
concerns. It is a great honor to serve as Governor, and one that I do not take
lightly.
10 Things You Didn't Know About Bobby Jindal
Jindal is a potential running mate for McCain
By Jill Konieczko
Posted May 22, 2008
Sen. John McCain disclosed that he is in the "embryonic stages" of selecting a
running mate, whom he hopes to introduce at the Republican National Convention.
While he refused to disclose any names, McCain told reporters that the list is
about 20 deep, and "it's every name imaginable." This is one of a series of
profiles on the candidates we imagine might be on his list and some things you
might not know about the maybe veeps. See the full list here.
Bobby Jindal is the governor of Louisiana and a former congressman and is
thought to be a possible running mate for McCain.
1. The son of immigrants from India's Punjab state, Jindal made history when he
became the first U.S. governor with roots in India.
2. Born Piyush Jindal in Baton Rouge in 1971, he gave himself the nickname
Bobby—after the youngest son on The Brady Bunch—when he was 4.
3. Raised a Hindu, Jindal converted to Catholicism as a teenager. As a young
convert, he wrote of the emotional and intellectual struggles of his spiritual
journey in several articles that were published in the New Oxford Review, a
Catholic magazine.
4. Jindal graduated from Baton Rouge High School in 1987. He attended Brown
University, graduating with honors in biology and public policy. He turned down
admissions to medical and law schools at Harvard and Yale to attend Oxford
University as a Rhodes scholar.
5. While attending Oxford, Jindal contemplated joining the priesthood. He
ultimately decided that it was not for him.
6. In 2006, Jindal and his wife, Supriya, delivered their third child at home.
Barely able to call 911 before the delivery, Jindal received a nurse's coaching
by phone. Just as he was completing the umbilical cord procedure with a
shoestring, paramedics arrived. The Jindals have a daughter and two sons.
7. Before he turned 30, Jindal headed Louisiana's Department of Health and
Hospitals and became president of the University of Louisiana System. He served
in the Department of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush
and was executive director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future
of Medicare in the late '90s. Prior to public service, Jindal worked for the
consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
8. In 2003, Gov. Mike Foster, who was finishing his second consecutive term and
therefore could not run again, encouraged Jindal to run for governor. Defeated
by Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, Jindal's first bid for governor was
unsuccessful.
9. In 2004, he sought the congressional seat from Louisiana's First District. He
won with a whopping 78 percent of the vote and was re-elected in 2006 with
almost 90 percent.
10. In 2007, Jindal ran for governor again and won. The victory was largely
attributed to old-fashioned politicking, which included Jindal "giving
testimony" in Pentecostal and Baptist churches in rural and remote sections of
Louisiana.
In 1995 Republican U.S. Representative Jim McCrery (for whom Jindal had once
worked as a summer intern) introduced Jindal to Republican Governor Mike Foster
8 In 1996 Foster appointed Jindal to be secretary of the Louisiana
Department of Health and Hospitals, an agency which then represented about 40
percent of the state budget. During his tenure as secretary, Louisiana's
Medicaid program went from bankruptcy with a $400 million deficit into three
years of surpluses totaling $220 million. Jindal was criticized during the 2007
campaign by the Louisiana AFL-CIO for having closed some local clinics to
balance the budget. 9 In 1998 Jindal was appointed executive director of
the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, a 17-member panel
charged with devising plans to reform Medicare.
In 1999, at the request of the Louisiana Governor's Office and the Louisiana
State Legislature, Jindal volunteered his time to study how Louisiana might use
its $4.4 billion tobacco settlement. In that same year Jindal was appointed to
become the youngest-ever president of the University of Louisiana System. In
March 2001 he was nominated by President George W. Bush to be Assistant
Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation. 10 He
was later unanimously confirmed by a bipartisan vote of the United States Senate
and began serving on July 9, 2001. In that position, he served as the principal
policy advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 11 He
resigned from that post on February 21, 2003, to return to Louisiana and run for
governor. 12
2003 campaign for Governor
Jindal came to national prominence during the 2003 election for Louisiana
governor.
In what Louisianans call an "open primary" (but which is technically a jungle
primary), Jindal finished first with 33 percent of the vote. He received
endorsements from the largest paper in Louisiana, the New Orleans
Times-Picayune; the newly-elected Democratic mayor of New Orleans, C. Ray Nagin;
and the outgoing Republican governor, Mike Foster. In the second balloting,
Jindal faced the outgoing lieutenant governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of
Lafayette, a Democrat. Despite winning in Blanco's hometown, he lost many
normally conservative parishes in north Louisiana, and Blanco prevailed with 52
percent of the popular vote.
Political analysts have speculated on myriad explanations for his loss. Some
have blamed Jindal for his refusal to answer questions about his record brought
up in several advertisements, 13 which the Jindal Campaign called
"negative attack ads"; others note that a significant number of conservative
Louisianans remain more comfortable voting for a Democrat, especially a
conservative one, than for a Republican. Still others have mentioned the race
factor, arguing that some voters were uncomfortable voting for a non-white
person or that, in having to choose between color and gender as discriminators,
enough white male voters preferred a white female over a dark male to tip the
balance to Blanco.
Despite his losing the election in 2003, the run for governor made Jindal a
well-known figure on the state's political scene.
Congressman of the first district
See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana, 2006
A few weeks after the 2003 gubernatorial runoff, Jindal decided to run for
Louisiana's 1st congressional district. The incumbent, David Vitter, was running
for the Senate seat being vacated by John Breaux. Jindal moved to Kenner, to run
for the congressional seat. The Louisiana Republican Party endorsed him in the
primary despite the fact that Mike Rogers, also a Republican, was running for
the same seat. The 1st District has been in Republican hands since a 1977
special election and is widely considered to be the most conservative district
in Louisiana citation needed . Although Democrats have a plurality in voter
registration citation needed , the district tends to vote for socially
conservative candidates. Jindal also had an advantage because his campaign was
able to raise over $1 million dollars very early in the campaign, making it
harder for other candidates to effectively raise funds to oppose him. He won
with 78 percent of the vote.
He was elected freshman class president and was appointed to the House Committee
on Homeland Security, the House Committee on Resources, and the House Committee
on Education and the Workforce. He was made vice-chairman of the House
Subcommittee on the Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attacks.
On May 3, 2008 a special election was held to determine Jindal's replacement.
Steve Scalise, a state legislator, was elected with 75 percent of the vote over
University of New Orleans professor Dr. Gilda Reed. 14
Governor of Louisiana
See also: Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2007
On January 22, 2007, Jindal announced his candidacy for governor. 15
Polling data showed him with an early lead in the race, and he remained the
favorite throughout the campaign. He defeated eleven opponents in the jungle
primary held on October 20, including two prominent Democrats, State Senator
Walter Boasso of Chalmette and Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Foster
Campbell of Bossier City, and an independent, New Orleans businessman John
Georges.
Jindal finished with 699,672 votes (54 percent). Boasso ran second with 226,364
votes (17 percent). Georges finished with 186,800 (14 percent), and Campbell,
who is also a former state senator, ran fourth with 161,425 (12 percent). The
remaining candidates collectively polled three percent of the vote. Jindal
polled pluralities or majorities in 60 of the state's 64 parishes (equivalent to
counties in other states). He lost narrowly to Georges in Orleans Parish, to
Boasso in St. Bernard Parish (which Boasso represented the in Legislature), and
in the two neighboring north Louisiana parishes of Red River and Bienville
located south of Shreveport, both of which are historically Democratic and
supported Campbell. In the 2003 contest with Blanco, Jindal had lost most of the
northern parishes. 16
Jindal assumed the position of governor when he took the oath of office on
January 14, 2008. At 36, he became the youngest sitting governor in the United
States. He is also Louisiana's first non-white governor since P. B. S. Pinchback
served for 35 days during Reconstruction. 17
In a salute to the 2007 LSU Tigers football national championship team during
his January 14, 2008 inauguration speech, Jindal stated in part "...They revere
our athletes. Go Tigers...." 18
Recall Petition
On June 27th, 2008, Louisiana's Secretary of State confirmed that a recall
petition had been filed against Governor Jindal. Ryan and Kourtney Fournier
filed the petition in response to Jindal's refusal to veto a bill that would
more than double the current state legislative pay. The petitioners have 180
days to collect the signatures of over 900,000 registered voters to force a
recall election on the ballot. If accomplished, a simple majority would be
needed to remove the Governor. During his campaign for Governor, Jindal had
pledged to prevent legislative pay raises that would take effect during the
current term. 19 20 Jindal responded by saying that he
is opposed to the pay increase but that he had pledged to let the legislature
govern themselves. 21
On June 30th, 2008, Governor Jindal reversed his earlier position by vetoing the
pay raise legislation, stating that he made a mistake by staying out of the pay
raise issue. In response, the petitioners dropped their recall effort. 22
Speculation over vice presidential nomination
Jindal at a John McCain campaign event in Kenner, Louisiana, June 2008
Jindal at a John McCain campaign event in Kenner, Louisiana, June 2008
On February 8, 2008, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh mentioned on his
syndicated show that Jindal could be a possible choice for the Republican vice
presidential nomination in 2008. He said that Jindal might be perceived as an
asset to McCain's campaign because he has support in the conservative base of
the Republican Party and his youth offsets Sen. McCain's age. If McCain were to
win the presidency, he would be the oldest president ever inaugurated to a first
term. 23 Heightening the speculation, McCain invited Jindal, Governor
Charlie Crist of Florida, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and McCain's former
rivals Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee to meet with at McCain's home in Arizona on
Friday, May 23, 2008, according to a Republican familiar with the decision;
Romney, Huckabee, and Pawlenty, all of whom were already well acquainted with
McCain, declined because of prior commitments. 24 The meeting, however,
may actually have served a different purpose, such as consideration of Jindal
for the opportunity to speak at the 2008 Republican National Convention, in a
similar fashion to Barack Obama at the 2004 Democratic National Convention,
cementing a place for him in the party and opening the gate for a future run for
the presidency. 25 On May 28, 2008, a Google Hot Trends report 26
for internet searches originating in the United States indicated a higher
ranking and interest in Gov. Bobby Jindal. The report compared the search term 'Jindal'
Vs. other leading GOP VP contenders including Gov. Huckabee as well as Gov.
Kathleen Sebelius, a favorite for the Democratic VP post.
Positions on selected social and political issues
Bobby Jindal has a 100% pro-life voting record according to the National Right
to Life Committee. 27 He opposes abortion without exception. 28 29
However, he does not condemn medical procedures meant to save the life of a
pregnant woman that would indirectly cause the termination of the pregnancy. 30
31 Jindal also supports the use of emergency contraception in the case of
rape. 32 He opposes embryonic stem cell research 33 and voted
against increasing federal funding to expand embryonic stem cell lines. 34
As a private citizen, Jindal voted for the "Stelly Tax plan", 35 a
referendum named for former state Representative Vic Stelly of Lake Charles,
which swapped some sales taxes for higher income taxes. Whether or not the "Stelly
Plan" is giving the desired results is still hotly debated statewide. Early
Republican challenger Steve Scalise challenged Jindal on his vote for this tax
plan before Scalise dropped out of the congressional race in 2004. As
Governor,Jindal initially opposed reforms to the Stelly plan that would result
in over $300 million in tax cuts. He latter agreed to the tax cut after the
legisilature appeared headed to eliminating the entire personal income tax which
Jindal also opposed. 36 Talk show host Moon Griffon subsequently
refused to air radio ads paid for by the organization Believe in Louisiana cr
ing Jindal for Stelly reforms saying "Now, they are taking cr for the
biggest income tax cut in the history of Louisiana and I felt like it was a lie.
To be real blunt, very misleading and it was an outright lie because he had
fought hard against it," . 37
Jindal voted yes on making the PATRIOT Act permanent, voted in favor of the 2006
Military Commissions Act, supported a constitutional amendment banning flag
burning, 38 and the Real ID Act of 2005. 39 Jindal has an A rating
from Gun Owners of America.
He is a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee. 40 In 2006,
Jindal voted with the Republican Caucus 97 percent of the time during the 109th
Congress. 41
Jindal also supports co-payments in Medicaid. 42
In 2006, Jindal sponsored the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act (H.R. 4761), a
bill to eliminate the moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling over the U.S.
outer continental shelf, which prompted the watchdog group Republicans for
Environmental Protection to issue him an environmental harm demerit. 43
Jindal's 2006 rating from that organization was -4, among the lowest in
Congress. The nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters also censured Jindal for
securing passage of H.R. 4761 in the House of Representatives; the group rated
his environmental performance that year at seven percent, citing
anti-environment votes on 11 out of 12 critical issues. Jindal's lifetime score
from the League of Conservation Voters is seven percent. 44 Despite claims
that Jindal's bill was successful, 45 H.R. 4761 was replaced by S 3711
(known as the Domenici-Landrieu Fair Share Plan). The original Senate version
was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President Bush. 46
Jindal supports the teaching of intelligent design in public schools. 47
Writings
A list of Jindal’s published writings up to 2001 can be found in the hearing
report for his 2001 U.S. Senate confirmation. 48 They include newspaper
columns, law review articles, and an article co-authored for the Journal of the
American Medical Association.
Additionally, Jindal’s pre-2001 writings include several articles in the New
Oxford Review, one of which dealt with the subject of exorcism. In that 1994
article, Jindal described witnessing a friend seemingly being possessed by a
demon. However, at the end of the article he questioned whether he actually
witnessed spiritual warfare | |
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