Fighting for jobs in Louisiana
I want an America and a Louisiana where every person can get a decent job. But you can’t be for jobs if you’re against business, and you can’t be for business if you’re writing rules that tie the hands of our job creators. In the 1950s, only one American worker in 20 needed a government permit. Today, it’s one in three.
In my view, if you want to start a landscaping business, all you should need is a lawnmower: not a lawnmower, a lawyer, a CPA, and a compliance officer. We’ve already begun the process of repealing regulations to streamline the government contracting and infrastructure authorization processes to make them more competitive.
As a member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, I am committed to promoting policies that will bring good paying jobs back to Louisiana, reduce red tape, and offer Louisiana’s hardworking small business owners some much needed tax relief.
Health care, not Obamacare
As I continue to travel around our state, I hear Louisianans talk about how devastating Obamacare has been for their families and small businesses. I remain committed to replacing Obamacare with a health care system that looks like it was designed on purpose. I want a country and a state in which a mother can take her sick child to a family doctor instead of an emergency room because her family has effective, affordable health insurance from the private sector.
Right now, the U.S. spends more money on health care each year than the entire government budgets of all but five countries. Americans should not be forced to buy insurance they don’t like at prices they can’t afford. Here’s what we need instead: more choice, more competition, less fraud, and a health care delivery system that puts patients and their doctors in charge instead of Washington politicians and bureaucrats.
Bringing flood insurance into the 21st century
This year, many of Louisiana’s 64 parishes are again recovering from some kind of natural disaster. Families and businesses across our state rely on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for insurance protection from future floods and hurricanes. But the NFIP is broken. A flood insurance program isn’t doing its job if it’s too expensive to afford, or if it allows bad actors to take from hardworking families struggling to get back on their feet.
We need simpler rules, affordable premiums, quicker decisions by government bureaucrats, accountability for contractors, government websites that a normal person can navigate, and government workers who answer the phone. When a disaster strikes, our families need a smiling face and a hand to help them pick up the pieces—not a Washington bureaucrat with a stack of paperwork.
I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation that would not only extend the NFIP, but would encourage lower premiums and invest into mitigation projects for families, helping Louisiana to be better prepared for the next storm.
Funding flood recovery, not government bureaucracy
Recovering from a natural disaster is about more than rebuilding structures: It’s about restoring our communities. Since coming to Congress, I have fought hard to ensure that federal disaster assistance, low-interest disaster loans, and NFIP payments are going to the Louisianians who need them—not just into the pockets of contractors and bureaucrats.
I will continue fighting to ensure that Louisiana has the time and resources needed to come back from hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters stronger and better prepared than ever.
Getting America’s fiscal house in order
I want us to live in a country and a state that respects taxpayer dollars. Washington spending is out of control, our budget process doesn’t work, and our nation is more than $25 trillion in debt.
I support a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and I will continue working aggressively to end waste, duplicative programs, and fraudulent or improper payments. Our country started out self-reliant, lightly-taxed, and debt-free: It’s time to get back to our roots.
Defending the unborn
All life is precious and a gift from God, whether that life is 82 years old, 82 seconds old, or unborn. In my time in the Senate, I have made protecting life a priority by cosponsoring several pieces of legislation that would prohibit taxpayer dollars from going to Planned Parenthood; protect born-alive survivors of attempted abortions; and defend conscience protections for health care providers, insurers, and business owners.
I remain focused on supporting families who adopt or foster children and funding pro-life crisis pregnancy centers. The greatest thing we can do as a society is cherish and defend God-given life. I’ll never stop standing for the most vulnerable among us. I will always defend the rights of the unborn.
Life-changing education
Education has the power to change lives. No parent should have to send his or her child to a failing school. Too many of our kids are trapped in schools where violence is more common than learning.
I’ve been a substitute teacher in Louisiana public schools for years, so I’ve seen firsthand that quality education is the key to Louisiana’s future. Improving our education system starts with getting the federal government out of our curriculum and classrooms and with giving teachers the resources and authority they need to do their jobs. We need to take taxpayer money and invest it in bettering schools—schools that work for young Louisianians.
