Following a multitude of economic wins over the past year, which have, as written by the Alexandria Town Talk, "injected Louisiana into the dreams of everyone who toils in the competitive world of economic development," we welcomed the announcement of ConAgra Foods Lame Weston's new facility to Delhi last week. This is yet another example, following the creation of new jobs by the V-Vehicle Company, the Shaw Group, and others, of how our state continues to outperform the national economy.

The new $210 million state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly sweet potato processing facility marks another huge victory for our state. As the　Monroe　News-Star wrote, "It will become the largest private-sector employer in Richland Parish, one of the top 10 in the region and one of the state's top companies." LSU has estimated that ConAgra's new facility will bring more than $2 billion in new economic output through 2005.

For decades now, we have seen the commodities produced in our state, from crops to chemicals, shipped to other states for processing and then returned to our state at a higher price. Now, we are creating jobs for our people and keeping resources in state – showing that we are more than capable of competing around the world.

The aggressive steps we have taken to ramp up our state's workforce development programs, cut burdensome business taxes, and highlight the unique qualities that make Louisiana the greatest place in the world. We will continue to bring innovative and world-class facilities to our state, as evidenced by Lamb Weston's President's quote in the　News-Star that, "This is not an average facility. We're looking at it as a benchmark for where we will go in our industry."　Read More »

I traveled to Barksdale Air Force Base last week to mark the activation of the new Global Strike Command at the base. The command will unify the Air Force's nuclear disarmament and global strike missions, and symbolizes the military's commitment to Northwest Louisiana for years to come.

We took great steps to improve and invest in the area around the base, including $107 million for transportation, facilities, and other infrastructure projects to support increased activity at Barksdale. And as a return on this investment, as　KSLA reported,　"Global Strike…gives Northwest Louisiana a shot in its economic arm with nearly 1,000 direct jobs."

Barksdale is an important component of our state's economy, and we will continue working to bring even more opportunities to the base. Louisiana has had a strong connection with our armed forces for decades, be it at Fort Polk, Federal City in New Orleans, or Barksdale, and this partnership will continue to years to come.　Read More »

Over the past few months, Democrats in Washington, led the President, have attempted to reform our health care system in a way that will just not work. To create a government subsidized health plan would only ensure that, as I wrote on Politico.com, "Businesses will, in effect, be forced to send employees into the Democrats' government-run health care."

This completely goes against the President's claims that if you like your health care plan currently, you will not be forced to switch. It also raises eyebrows here in Louisiana, as we have seen over the years how well federal government run programs have worked following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And also, the Congressional Budget Office has shown that the proposal will not reduce government spending on health care, and will in fact substantially increase our nation's deficit even in the face of the Democrat's proposed tax increases.

It is no secret that our nation's health care system needs significant reform, but the current plan being pushed by Washington Democrats is not the way to do so. For a fiscally sound, common sense approach to reforming our health care system, I encourage you to read my bi-partisan plan in the Wall Street Journal. Read More »

Last week we handed out more than 660 Louisiana Veterans Honor Medals at ceremonies in Opelousas, Leesville, Henderson, and Jennings. Our veterans deserve he utmost honor and respect, and it gives me great honor to present our veterans with these medals. As the Jennings Daily News reported, "Louisiana is only the second state to create such an honor for its veterans."

At the ceremonies we were able to honor veterans dating back to World War II, and, as I said in the Lafayette Daily Advertiser, "we must always be thankful for the sacrifices they have made on behalf of us and our country."

We were also able to visit Bossier City, Natchitoches, Quitman, and Slaughter as part of the Louisiana Working Tour last week. The tour continues to provide a great avenue for spreading the word about our states three main priorities, which, as reported in the Shreveport Times, are "jobs, jobs, jobs." Read More »

Sincerely,

Governor Bobby Jindal　In This Issue

 Bringing New Jobs and a World-Class Facility to Louisiana　

 Activating Global Strike Command

 Taking the Right Steps to Reforming our Health Care System　

 Honoring our Veterans

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