Louisiana

11/16/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to help protect homeowners from scams by companies and individuals claiming to have solutions for tainted Chinese drywall. In a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Sen. Landrieu and five other Senators raised concerns about deceptive practices that prey on consumers with defective drywall and asked the Commission to fully investigate and prosecute companies engaging in these activities.

The letter was signed by Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), David Vitter (R-La.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jim Webb (D-Va.).    » read more »

Nov 13, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine today applauded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to delay a proposed plan banning the interstate sale of untreated raw Gulf oysters in warm months. Both the Governor and Secretary had previously expressed their concerns with the proposal directly to the FDA, which has now agreed to commission a study on both the economic impact of any decision for the oyster industry and how to decrease the incidence of vibrio vulnificus infection.

Governor Jindal sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg on Tuesday, outlining the effects of its proposed regulations on the state’s oyster industry.    » read more »

FDA to Study Consequences of Proposal

November 13, 2009 -- WASHINGTON— U.S. Congressman Charlie Melancon (LA-03) announced today that the Food and Drug Administration has halted movement on a proposed ban of the sale of fresh Gulf oysters during warm weather months, pending the results of a feasibility study.

After Congressman Melancon and U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu organized a meeting earlier this week with Gulf Coast members of Congress and senior officials at the FDA, the agency decided to study the possible effects of the ban before moving forward.    » read more »

Senator Landrieu gets commitment from FDA Commissioner Dr. Hamburg in phone call today.

11/13/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to halt a proposed plan to ban Gulf Coast oysters that are not subject to post-harvest processing. Sen. Landrieu received the news in a phone call with FDA Commissioner Dr. Peggy Hamburg earlier today.

Sen. Landrieu has been a staunch opponent of the FDA regulation, and has organized several calls and meetings urging top FDA officials to reconsider their proposed action.    » read more »

Nov 09, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal applauded the grand opening of Northrop Grumman’s new 20,000-square-foot facility in Slidell, La. The new facility combined Northrop Grumman’s Slidell office and Stennis Space Center operations, representing a $4 million capital investment.

This project retained 35 jobs from the Slidell office, created 40 new high-tech jobs at an average annual salary of $47,000 plus benefits and will generate approximately 31 indirect jobs. In addition, this project is expected to generate nearly $1.7 million in new state tax revenues and nearly $1.2 million in new local tax revenues from 2009 to 2018.    » read more »

Highlights Severe Impact on Oyster Industry

Nov 10, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE - Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal issued the following letter to the Food and Drug Administration urging officials to reconsider new shellfish policy changes, highlighting the severe impact the new policy would have on the oyster industry.

The Honorable Margaret Hamburg, M.D.
Commissioner

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002

Dear Commissioner Hamburg:    » read more »

Nov 09, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE - Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal held a press conference, following a meeting of the State’s Unified Command Group, which assembled to prepare state response efforts for the threat of Tropical Storm Ida.    » read more »

10/19/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today released the following statement regarding the Ocean Policy Task Force's public meeting this evening in New Orleans. Sen. Landrieu has been a staunch supporter of creating a clear federal policy that eliminates the chronic delays of implementing coastal protection projects, increases multi-agency coordination and partnership with the State, and establishes a long-term program to secure Louisiana's vibrant coast.

Sen. Landrieu said:    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Charlie Melancon (LA-03) took part in President Barack Obama’s first visit to Louisiana during his administration. Following the visit, Congressman Melancon made the following statement:

“President Obama’s visit to Louisiana put a national spotlight on the progress we've made and reminded Americans that our recovery is not complete,” said Rep. Melancon. “We are grimly watching our coastal wetlands disappear and desperately-needed hurricane protection projects are still stalled by red tape and lack of funding.

“But today, we were able to get our President, our Governor, our legislators and our neighbors all in one room to talk about how we finish the job. Now it’s time to deliver for Louisiana.”    » read more »

Oct 14, 2009 -- ADDIS – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal awarded five grants totaling $9,792,570 to West Baton Rouge Parish that will go towards hurricane recovery efforts, hazard mitigation and infrastructure improvements. Governor Jindal awarded the funds to local officials in a ceremonial check presentation during an address to the West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce as part of his “Louisiana Working Tour.”

The five grants awarded include a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) totaling $8,197,025, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding totaling $1,424,831, two Community Water Enrichment Fund (CWEF) grants totaling $135,714 and one Local Government Assistance Program (LGAP) grants totaling $35,000.    » read more »

Funding will support sugarcane, oyster, and alligator research

October 7, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that includes $7,319,000 in investments Congressman Charlie Melancon (LA-03) secured for agriculture projects that will benefit the Third Congressional District. The funding was included in the fiscal year 2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill (H.R. 2997). The conference report will now go to the Senate for passage, and then to the President to be signed in to law.    » read more »

Grants will help create jobs and strengthen communities throughout Louisiana.

09/28/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., and U.S. Representative Charlie Melancon, D-La-03, today announced that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $9.9 million in grants to communities throughout Louisiana, and an additional $7.47 million to the State of Louisiana.    » read more »

Initiative to increase public awareness to help prevent spread of H1N1 and seasonal flu

Sep 30, 2009 --
LAFAYETTE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal joined Department of Health and Hospitals’ (DHH) Secretary Alan Levine to get their seasonal flu shots and launch the “Fight the Flu” campaign in Lafayette at the Teche Drug Store. Aimed at keeping Louisianians healthy during flu season, the campaign will promote immunizations and hygiene in order to prevent the spread of the seasonal flu and the H1N1 virus.    » read more »

Will Visit New Orleans Later This Year

August 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Barack Obama remembered the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, described what his administration has done to boost the Gulf Coast recovery effort, and said that he will visit New Orleans before the end of the year. As the Gulf Coast recovers, we must learn the lessons of Katrina, so that our nation will be more protected and resilient in the face of disaster – whether it’s from a hurricane, earthquake, wildfire, pandemic, or terrorist attack.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Saturday, August 29, 2009    » read more »

Aug 31, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal issued the following Executive Order creating the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force whose mission is addressing factors adversely affecting Louisiana’s shrimping industry, and forming strategies for boosting the economic vitality of the Louisiana shrimp industry.

Executive Order creating the LOUISIANA SHRIMP TASK FORCE:

WHEREAS, the Louisiana shrimp industry has a long, significant cultural importance to the State of Louisiana, and is of great economic impact because of the many jobs the industry provides;

WHEREAS, currently, global markets are experiencing an economic slowdown that, among other things, has led to extremely low prices that have affected all Louisiana shrimpers and the shrimp industry;    » read more »