[StBernard] E-Update From Senator David Vitter

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Fri May 11 23:23:12 EDT 2007


IN THIS ISSUE

PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN
MAKING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS MORE AFORDABLE
ACCOUNTABILITY AT THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
FIGHTING HIGH ENERGY COSTS

Over the last few weeks the U.S. Senate has debated the Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Bill. This bill would give needed funding to
our troops and our hurricane recovery efforts. However, the retreat and
withdrawal language in this bill, which only weakens the morale of our
soldiers in Iraq, lead to this bill's veto by the president. I hope that
when this bill comes back to the U.S. Senate we can come to an agreement to
get the bill passed quickly. That is what our soldiers and those recovering
from the hurricanes deserve.

Below you can read more about other issues I am working on like preventing
child abuse, reimporting prescription drugs, keeping accountability at the
Army Corps of Engineers, fighting high energy costs and other key issues for
Louisiana families.

David Vitter

P.S. - Please feel free to forward the newsletter to your friends, neighbors
and business associates, and encourage them to sign up for their own copy by
visiting my Web site at http://vitter.senate.gov/.




Protecting Our Children

April was National Child Abuse Prevention Month
<http://vitter.senate.gov/?module=PressRoom/VittersView&ID=aead0e62-3319-40b
5-beca-327bd7892982> . Nothing is more important to Wendy and me than
providing a safe and healthy environment for our children to grow up in, and
this month is a good time for all of us to reflect on ways we can prevent
child abuse and provide a better future for generations to come.

Last Congress, I passed into law a provision in the Department of Homeland
Security Appropriations Bill that helps state attorneys general and state
and local law enforcement track criminals after major disasters, such as
hurricanes Rita and Katrina. I also supported the Adam Walsh Child
Protection and Safety Act, which was created to protect our children from
sexual predators by establishing a national sex offender registry. And this
year, new legislation has been introduced that would require schools and
libraries to prohibit child access to chat rooms and pornography via the
Internet. As your U.S. Senator, I will continue to fight for important
legislation that helps keep our children safe.


Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable

The U.S. Senate is currently debating a bill to set policies for the Food
and Drug Administration, and I introduced amendments to this bill to help
lower the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans.

One of my amendments would allow reimportation of safe prescription
medicines. The U.S. Congress made huge strides last year when my amendment
<http://vitter.senate.gov/?module=PressRoom/VittersView&ID=3e6506d1-b57b-463
a-bcb7-f74a38a02ab0> was passed allowing people to reimport prescription
drugs from Canada. Now, I am trying to further chip away at the grip big
pharmaceutical companies have by allowing the reimportation of prescription
drugs through the internet and mail order.

I also introduced an amendment to give more funding to the Office of Generic
Drugs at the FDA to help eliminate the huge backlog of generic drug
applications that need to be approved. Generic drugs significantly lower
medical costs for Americans and bring many life-saving drugs within
affordable reach. I'll continue fighting for these and other measures to
make prescription drugs more affordable.




Accountability at the Corps of Engineers

Recently I wrote a letter
<http://www.vitter.senate.gov/forms/Col%20Bedey4-26-07.pdf>
<http://www.vitter.senate.gov/images/acrobat_pdf_icon.gif> to the Army Corps
of Engineers about floodwalls at the 17th Street Canal. A Corps official
claimed that further work would not be done to fortify those floodwalls, and
this was something that I did not take lightly. The floodwalls are an
important part of New Orleans' hurricane protection system, and the Corps
was out of line to say that improvements would not be made.

This issue once again highlights the need for major reforms at the Corps,
and I will continue to push the Corps to adopt these reforms.


Fighting High Energy Costs

As another summer approaches, many of us are already thinking about school
vacation, outdoor barbeques and vacation travels. But the rising cost of
our gasoline is going to be an issue this summer. Since coming to Congress
in 1999, I have been fighting to ensure that our energy prices
<http://vitter.senate.gov/?module=PressRoom/VittersView&ID=50f80357-522e-44a
3-8fcf-7c4ad7b4dbb6> remain reasonable.

In 2005, I helped draft an energy bill that provided more opportunity to
produce domestic energy resources. And last year, I helped pass a bill to
give Louisiana its fair share of offshore royalties from oil and gas
activity in the Gulf of Mexico. These revenues will help pay for important
coastal, flood and hurricane protections.

I know how important it is to Louisiana families to keep energy costs down.
Nobody should have to pay these outrageous prices for a gallon of gas, and I
will continue to fight for our energy security and independence.




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