Bobby Jindal

Jindal speaks at local forum

Jindal speaks at local forum
By Ben Lundin, Houma Courier
July 26, 2008

Gov. Bobby Jindal promised to lobby in Washington for federal money to protect Louisiana’s coastline as he fielded questions focusing on coastal erosion from more than 100 residents Friday at Nicholls State University.

Jindal told area residents he is trying to loosen a requirement in a $162 billion war-spending bill President Bush signed into law last month that forces Louisiana to pay $1.8 billion in three years for flood protection in the New Orleans region.

His goal is to have the payment deadline extended to several decades so Louisiana has the dollars it needs now.

"If we take every spare dollar we can find in the budget and put it toward levees, that doesn’t leave money for coastal restoration," Jindal said. "I’ll tell you this, we don’t need to do any more studies. … We need to start acting now."

Among other Washington battles, he added, his camp is speaking with U.S. officials to usher in money for a project to elevate La. 1, the lone highway leading to Port Fourchon, which processes about 18 percent of the nation’s oil supply.

Members of the LA 1 Coalition said the project will cost about $250 million, which they acknowledge must be paid for in part by federal dollars.

"To me, it’s wise to invest in the goose that’s laying the golden eggs," Jindal said.

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