[StBernard] Happy New Year from Bobby!

[Westley Annis]

December 31, 2006	 
 	 
Dear Friends,

I hope you and your family had a Merry Christmas. I know that my wife and I
enjoyed spending the day with our children and continuing our Christmas
birthday cake tradition that I told you about last week.

As the new year arrives, it provides everyone with a time to reflect back on
the past year and the blessings that we experienced. The year 2006 will
always be a special time for my wife and I as we welcomed into the world our
youngest son Slade Ryan, who I had to unexpectedly deliver at home. We are
also blessed that our other two children are in great health and doing well.


>From a professional standpoint I was honored to be re-elected by the people

of the First Congressional District to once again serve as their
Congressman. I am also very proud that for the first time in 50 years we
were able to pass a bill through Congress that will bring billions of
dollars to our state in offshore energy royalties.

Traveling in Acadiana

I have spent the last few days traveling through Acadiana speaking with
numerous groups regarding the future of our state. We were able to visit
with people in Eunice, Mamou, Ville Platte, St. Martinville, Breaux Bridge,
Lafayette, Rayne, Kaplan and Crowley. As I have said before, the nation
continues to watch Louisiana to determine whether we are up to the task of
rebuilding our state and using the money that has been provided in a
fiscally responsible manner.

With billions of dollars set to come to Louisiana in offshore energy
revenues, it is now up to us to ensure that this money is used properly. We
cannot afford to let this money be used for political purposes or end up in
the hands of politically connected people. We must use it to rebuild our
battered coastline, improve our flood and hurricane protection, and build
better infrastructure.

I also told members of these groups about the unique opportunity that
Louisiana currently has in rebuilding our state. We have a choice. We can
simply rebuild or use this once in a lifetime opportunity to fix those
problems our state faced even before the storms last year.

You can read about my trip to Acadiana area in the Baton Rouge Advocate
here.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/5034456.html
<http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/5034456.html> 

Congress Reconvening

With the 110th Congress set to convene on January 4, 2007, there are many
important issues that I will be focusing on in order to better our future in
Louisiana. The first is working to ensure that our state receives revenue
from offshore leases in the late 1990s that are currently not being
collected. I included such a provision in my original offshore energy
royalty legislation that passed the House, but it was not included in the
compromise version signed by the President in December. This has the
potential to bring billions of additional dollars to our state.

Progress must also be made in passing the Water and Resources Development
Act (WRDA). This bill has been stalled in Congress for years now and
contains projects that will also bring billions of dollars to Louisiana. It
is time to get it done, and you can rest assured that I will do all that I
can to make it happen in this Congress.

Finally, something must be done to revamp insurance rules and regulations in
times of widespread disaster. Louisiana is in the middle of an insurance
crisis. We must act at both the state and national level. I was disappointed
to see that not enough action was taken on this important issue during the
recent special session of the state legislature. We must ensure that the
residents of our state have access to reasonably priced insurance, and are
not forced to live uninsured due to insurance companies exponentially
raising their rates.

Some states have established state reinsurance pools in case of a widespread
disaster like the hurricanes last year. These types of pools lower the risk
and exposure to insurers and thus provide lower premiums to customers. The
residents of Louisiana have already been through so much in the last year
and it is not right to ask them to triple or quadruple their insurance costs
when so many are still rebuilding their lives.

It is also unfair that we have paid our insurance premiums all these years
without making a claim, and now that Louisiana is in a time of great need
the insurance companies are either leaving or raising rates. Other states,
such as North Carolina or California, could face the same situation with the
next natural disaster, whether that is another hurricane or a devastating
earthquake. One possible solution at the federal level is the creation of a
national reinsurance pool, much like that the one created after 9/11.

These types of solutions at both the state and national level will help us
prepare for the aftermath of the next large disaster. I will work with my
colleagues to address this urgent national problem and work to provide
relief to those in Louisiana who are currently experiencing these problems.
I will continue to keep you updated in the coming months on the status of
this legislation.

Happy New Year

Finally, I want to wish you and your family a Happy New Year. I look forward
to spending it with my family and enjoying a tradition passed on to me from
my mother; eating black-eye peas and cabbage to begin the year. 

I am also very excited to be spending the holiday weekend duck hunting with
friends and sharing in a long-standing outdoor tradition of Louisiana. It is
always great to get to spend time outdoors, and experience why we truly are
the "Sportsman's Paradise."

I hope you have a great weekend and as always, please feel free to contact
my offices if we can be of any assistance to you!

Sincerely,
Bobby