| Revision as of 15:18, 3 May 2005 editHangingCurve (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers101,088 edits →House victory← Previous edit | Revision as of 15:21, 3 May 2005 edit undoHangingCurve (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers101,088 edits →Controversial policiesNext edit → | ||
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| == Controversial policies == | == Controversial policies == | ||
| Jindal supported the “Stelly Tax plan”, an idea that was supposed to reduce the tax burden on a majority of Louisiana taxpayers. Whether or not the “Stelly Plan” is giving the desired results is still hotly debated statewide. Early Republican challenger Steve Scalise challenged Jindal on his support of this tax plan before he dropped out of the Congressional race. | |||
| Bobby Jindal supports the policy of “no abortions, no exceptions”. | |||
| Bobby Jindal supports co-payments in ]. | |||
| He opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. He also supports co-payments in ]. | |||
| ==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
Revision as of 15:21, 3 May 2005
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a Louisiana politician. Jindal was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives on November 2, 2004, from Louisiana's First Congressional District (map), based in the suburbs of New Orleans.
Biography
Jindal, born to Indian immigrants, as a Hindu but converted to Catholicism while in high school. He graduated from Brown University with honors in biology and public policy. Afterwards, he received a master's degree in politics from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He will be the only Indian-American in the next Congress, and only the second ever, after Dalip Singh Saund, to serve in the U.S. Congress.
His previous public service includes time as the Louisiana Secretary of Department of Health & Hospitals, Executive Director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, and Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He was also the youngest ever president of the University of Louisiana System.
He was chosen by Scholastic Update magazine as "one of America's top 10 extraordinary young people for the next millennium."
2003 race for Governor
In the 2003 open primary for Governor of Louisiana Jindal came in first place with 33% of the vote. In the runoff election he faced then-Lt. Governor Kathleen Blanco in 2003, a conservative Democrat. Blanco won with 52% of the vote to Jindal's 48%. Some political analysts believe that his loss was partly due to the fact that white conservatives from northern Louisiana did not vote for Jindal because he is not white. Other political analysts believe that Jindal lost because of his refusal to answer questions about his record and policies he enacted during his public service. Still others note that a significant number of Louisiana conservatives remain more comfortable voting for a conservative Democrat than for a Republican.
Despite losing the election, the run for Governor made Jindal a well known figure on the state's political scene.
House victory
A few weeks after the gubernatorial runoff, Jindal decided to run for the 1st District. The incumbent, David Vitter, was running for the Senate seat being vacated by John Breaux. Jindal had lived in Baton Rouge for many years, but moved to Kenner to run for the congressional seat. He became the "official" Republican candidate in Louisiana's open primary for the district. As the 1st District is considered the most Republican district in Louisiana, this gave Jindal a substantial advantage. He won handily in November with 78% of the vote.
Controversial policies
Jindal supported the “Stelly Tax plan”, an idea that was supposed to reduce the tax burden on a majority of Louisiana taxpayers. Whether or not the “Stelly Plan” is giving the desired results is still hotly debated statewide. Early Republican challenger Steve Scalise challenged Jindal on his support of this tax plan before he dropped out of the Congressional race.
He opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. He also supports co-payments in Medicaid.
External Links
| Louisiana's current delegation to the United States Congress | |
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| Senators |
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| Representatives (ordered by district) |
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