Louisiana congressional Republicans lined up last week to fire on President Barack Obama’s decision to reject an application for a permit to build and operate the Keystone XL pipeline. Republican supporters of the pipeline project to bring Canadian oil to Gulf Coast refineries contend that it would create 20,000 … Continue reading →

The full U.S. Congress will return from its holiday break Tuesday with Louisiana delegation members hoping that the stars align their way in the new year. The delegation dean, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., wants the Obama administration to become more open to domestic energy produced by the oil-and-gas industry. Landrieu has complained that … Continue reading →

Two Republican members of the Louisiana delegation last week blasted President Barack Obama on his bypassing Senate Republicans in making a recess appointment to the new Consumer Financial Protection Board. U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., and U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, protested the move because they said it bypassed the normal Senate confirmation process. Continue reading →

Fresh off a win against U.S. House Republicans on extending the payroll tax benefit, President Barack Obama has found a new tactic toward possible re-election this year: bashing an unpopular Congress. A recent CBS News poll showed Obama’s approval rate at 41 percent, as low as it has been. But Congress is receiving only … Continue reading →

The two Louisiana congressmen who could face off next year for a seat in Washington recently differed on legislation that would require ships to be stationed three miles from oil rigs. U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, had the provision successfully tucked into legislation that recently passed the U.S. House funding the U.S. Coast Guard … Continue reading →

Shreveport political analyst Elliott Stonecipher remembers sitting in a Barnes & Noble book store three years ago when he decided to give then LSU constitutional law professor John Baker a call. The two had worked together with the former Louisiana Ethics Board, but this time Stonecipher had what he thought was a simple question for … Continue reading →

The two Alabama U.S. senators last week paid up the second half of their bet with Louisiana’s senators on the LSU-Alabama game. U.S. Sens. Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, both R-Ala., delivered oysters, crab and shrimp to the offices of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and U.S. Sen. David … Continue reading →

T he Obama administration has boasted that despite last year’s drilling moratorium imposed after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, oil production in the Gulf of Mexico hit record numbers last year. Though true, the impact of the moratorium and the increased … Continue reading →

They are called “pro forma sessions.” They are congressional proceedings, which can last a matter of seconds, and are being held this summer to keep President Barack Obama from making “recess” appointments. The U.S. Constitution states that neither chamber in Congress can recess for more than three days without the two chambers agreeing to adjourn. The U.S. … Continue reading →

Louisiana voters send members of Congress to Washington to manage the federal budget, but how do the representatives do in managing their own office budgets? Members are given an average $1.4 million a year for their individual offices. Recent House reports contain figures on spending for the first three months of the year. A review of … Continue reading →

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, last week waded into what could have been dangerous waters when he held a telephone town meeting with constituents just two days after the controversial debt and deficit vote. Boustany said he had 15,000 constituents on the line, many of whom had concerns about spending, and criticism about Washington. Continue reading →

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., fired back last week at a proposal from two House Democrats to repeal a law giving coastal states, such as Louisiana, more royalties for oil and gas drilling off their shores. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., said they would introduce legislation to repeal the revenue-sharing measure of … Continue reading →

At the African-American Civil War Museum in Washington, D.C., the ghosts of Louisiana black soldiers adorn the walls. Louisiana was the first state to induct “colored” soldiers, with two regiments that evolved out of New Orleans. Thomas Overton Moore, then Louisiana’s governor, called 1,100 of the soldiers on May 6, 1861, into the Confederate ranks to help … Continue reading →

The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved an amendment by Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, that would prevent President Barack Obama recess appointees in a few agencies from getting paid. Landry has been in a battle with the administration about the recess appointments the president can make when Congress is adjourned. Landry convinced House leadership … Continue reading →

The national debt and deficit impasse can best be described by the American master of malapropisms and Hall of Fame Yankees catcher Yogi Berra: “It’s déjà vu all over again.’ The clash and dance by Republicans and Democrats is familiar, most recently acted out in April, when the parties and President Barack Obama couldn’t reach an agreement … Continue reading →

Louisiana’s congressional delegation is making a full-court press, joining shippers and traders on an issue that they said has reached a crisis level: Mississippi River dredging. Due to the recent floods, more silt has been deposited at the mouth of the river, making it shallower and less navigable for ships. Last month, an oil tanker ran aground … Continue reading →

The Securities Investor Protection Corp., called SIPC, said it will announce on or before Sept. 15 its decision on whether it will provide money to victims of the alleged investor bilking by Robert Allen Stanford. Stanford is accused of taking $7.2 billion from investors as part of a Ponzi scheme. About 1,800 Louisiana investors allegedly were bilked … Continue reading →

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, found himself on the other side of the dais last week in a hearing witness chair. Boustany went before a House subcommittee on water resources and environment to push his legislation that would loosen federal maritime funds for dredging. Boustany has obtained 100 co-sponsors for the Realize America’s Maritime Promise to … Continue reading →

When Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, of Metairie, criticizes President Barack Obama’s energy policy, Scalise likes to point out that gasoline prices were $1.79 per gallon when Obama was elected and are $3.58 today. The same could be said, however, about former President George W. Bush, who entered office with gas prices at $1.47 a … Continue reading →

Over the next couple of weeks, the U.S. Senate is expected to take another crack at drafting oil spill legislation. The U.S. House passed legislation in the last Congress, which expired without action in the Senate. Bogging down the process were issues that included proposed revenue sharing and establishing a new cap on the amount of money … Continue reading →

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., recently visited the border fence between Mexico and the United States, coming away convinced that more resources are necessary to boost enforcement against illegal immigration. Landrieu chairs the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, giving her a significant voice in the debate. Though she was impressed with the 20-foot high … Continue reading →

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, is a soft-spoken guy who now wields a mighty gavel. Boustany is on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, which handles government tax and revenues as it pertains to everything from trade to health care. More importantly, Boustany is chairman of the subcommittee on oversight that investigates waste, fraud and abuse … Continue reading →

U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., dropped his “hold” last week on the nominations of two Securities and Exchange Commission members after the agency recommended that investors with Robert Allen Stanford be able to recoup some of their losses through a fund created under federal law. Stanford allegedly bilked $7.2 billion from investors, including $1 billion in Louisiana, … Continue reading →

The political timing of U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, couldn’t have been better last week. Scalise set up an event to pump gas to constituents to highlight the high cost of fuel and the need for the Obama administration to push for more oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Scalise’s stunt came on the same … Continue reading →

One of the summer’s biggest political fights in Washington, D.C., — which has so far been flying under the radar — is a battle between store owners and bankers over the fees charged during the use of debit cards. As part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill last summer, the “swipe fees” on debit … Continue reading →