[StBernard] eupdate 4 12 10

[Westley Annis]

e-update
4.12.10 

Congress was in recess for the past two weeks, giving me the opportunity to
travel around Louisiana and meet with local officials and concerned
citizens, including a veterans' group in Lafayette that's working to secure
better medical care for Acadiana veterans. 

I'm also continuing my efforts to keep our roads safer by reducing
distracted driving, and following the Obama administration's announcement of
new proposals regarding oil and gas drilling, I wrote a letter to Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar to express some deep concerns I have about how the
administration's plans could affect Louisiana. 

Read below to find out about how I'm fighting for you on these and other
critical issues, and be sure to check out the information about my upcoming
Academy Day events for students wishing to apply to a military service
academy.  

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/. 

  

DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW!
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressRelease
s&ContentRecord_id=a9aeaded-b5f7-8c3f-0327-de8ee0e2879b&Region_id=&Issue_id=

>  


Recently the Obama administration announced that it was expanding access to
many of our domestic oil reserves in hopes of boosting our economy and
reducing our dependence on foreign sources of oil.  I believe that any step
toward increased domestic production is a good thing, but the
administration's proposals don't go nearly far enough.  The president's
recent budget contains suffocating taxes on our oil and gas industry, and
the new drilling plan actually closes off many resource-rich areas even as
it opens some new areas for drilling.  I'm continuing to promote my No Cost
Stimulus plan
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=IssuesLegislation.NoCo
stStimulusAct> , which would truly unleash the tremendous economic potential
of our oil and gas reserves, and I recently sent a letter
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressRelease
s&ContentRecord_id=bb036021-ae72-399d-d81d-0dde07767be8>  to Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar asking him to address my serious concerns with the
newest proposals. 

ENSURING THE BEST CARE FOR OUR VETERANS
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressRelease
s&ContentRecord_id=a5c7bfc8-911e-9383-e487-9677914c8615&Region_id=&Issue_id=

>  


Over the last few weeks I've had several meetings with Acadiana-area
veterans, representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs and local
government officials to discuss the future of health care for veterans in
the area.  Currently, veterans in Acadiana are served by a VA clinic, but
they often must travel to hospitals several hours away to access many vital
services.  I'm working with local officials to determine the feasibility of
establishing a stand-alone, community-based hospital in Lafayette for
veterans in the area.  You can read what I and some of the local officials
I'm working with have to say about our efforts here
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressRelease
s&ContentRecord_id=e33c6940-dc33-07cc-771f-c93538eacf24> . 

KEEPING OUR ROADS SAFE
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.Articles&Con
tentRecord_id=aa3358f4-bc07-2119-528a-603e6f8b4470&Region_id=&Issue_id=>  

According to a recent study, at any given time up to 10 percent of drivers
on the road in Louisiana are talking on their phones, and many others are
text-messaging or otherwise using hand-held devices.  There are currently
several proposals in the state Legislature to address distracted driving,
and I have co-sponsored a bill in the U.S. Senate to create incentives for
states to restrict this dangerous behavior.  The proposal I'm co-sponsoring
would offer federal grants to states that prohibit texting and hand-held
phone use while driving.  You can read here
<http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-14/127044841712
1630.xml&coll=1>  about my efforts and some of the proposals under
consideration by the state Legislature. 

NOMINATING CANDIDATES FOR SERVICE ACADEMIES
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.Articles&Con
tentRecord_id=aa3358f4-bc07-2119-528a-603e6f8b4470&Region_id=&Issue_id=>  

Each year, I have the distinct honor of nominating a few of Louisiana's most
promising high school students for admission to one of our nation's service
academies.  The service academies offer world-class education and training
for the next generation of military leaders.  If you are interested or if a
young person you know would be a good candidate for this opportunity, I
encourage you to click here
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ConstituentServices.Ac
ademyNominations>  to find out more about my upcoming Academy Days on April
17 in Baton Rouge and April 24 in Shreveport, where prospective nominees can
learn more about the process of applying to a service academy.