[StBernard] Let Us Go Back To Work

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friends -

Yesterday I stood with thousands of Louisianians at the Rally for Economic
Survival to send a clear message to Washington, D.C. on the drilling
moratorium: our people don't want a BP check or an unemployment check, our
people want an end to this arbitrary moratorium so they can get back to
work.

 
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c165%7c9390&digest
=qBH12De%2ba6H6CbDEdLTgVQ&sysid=1> At the rally, I saw hard working men and
women whose Louisiana Way of Life is threatened by an ill-conceived
suspension of deepwater drilling. I saw Lori Davis whose family-run company
has already abandoned expansion plans and may be forced to relocate jobs
overseas in order to survive.  I saw Cory Kief whose shallow water drilling
company is unable to plan for the future because of the mass confusion
created by the federal government's drilling regulators.  And I saw Dwayne
Rebstock whose new Multi Service Dock Facility has lost business because of
the moratorium and is already being forced to downsize. These are just a few
stories, but they represent the tens of thousands of Louisianians whose
livelihoods are stake. 

Perhaps it was truck driver Allen Comeaux who summed up the vast scope of
this administrations moratorium when he told the Associated Press
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c166%7c9390&digest
=lpZ3ZrRmYvZBUQZsENqn8Q&sysid=1>  that "it's not just the people out on the
rigs, it's the people driving trucks, delivering services, selling food"
that are impacted by the moratorium. That's exactly right.  The impact of
this moratorium is far and wide. It will be a great blow to many, but it
will hurt us all.  

It is absolutely vital that our message be received in Washington, D.C. so
the rig managers, drillers, roughnecks, and roustabouts that fuel our nation
can get back to work to sustain our people, our families, our schools, our
communities and our Louisiana Way of Life.  As I said
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c167%7c9390&digest
=HvsllB1KsY3SKvYHn3srNg&sysid=1>  Wednesday, we want the folks in
Washington, D.C. to hear us loud and clear - our people want to get back to
work and they should not have to fight a second disaster created by the
federal government while we're still fighting the first disaster of the BP
oil spill. 

The reality is that the moratorium doesn't reduce America's energy needs,
but instead sends more American jobs and American dollars overseas.  As I
said
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c168%7c9390&digest
=GlzkBOZ6r8IsbAhmcBb%2fWg&sysid=1>  yesterday, somebody is going to have to
explain to me how exporting jobs and importing foreign oil is good for
America's economy - good for our security - good for the state of Louisiana;
because I'm here to tell you that's it not.  This moratorium is bad for our
security and it's bad for our economy.

It is my privilege and honor to get up every day and serve as governor of
the greatest state in the greatest country in the history of the world.
I've never been more proud of the people of Louisiana who took in strangers
during Gustav and Ike; and never more proud of Louisiana's fisherman,
coastal workers, and coastal residents who have banded together to win the
war against the oil spill.  As I told
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c169%7c9390&digest
=ZefmkqB2w36nhjUHWyIXWw&sysid=1>  the thousands of folks gathered at the
Cajun Dome yesterday, we are going to get back on that water, we're going to
go fishing again, we're going to make energy for the rest of this country,
and we're going to feed and fuel this country.  We've been doing it for
generations and we will do it for generations to come.  It's important for
America that we get back to work and we will fight anyone in Washington who
stands in our way.

Finally, we recently announced that Globalstar - a high-tech company - is
relocating its corporate headquarters from Silicon Valley in California to
Louisiana. Globalstar is committed to relocating or creating more than 150
new jobs by the end of 2011, increasing to more than 200 new jobs by 2013 -
and they have also agreed to increase their total Louisiana employment by
more than 500 at the end of 2019. Our economic development officials
estimate that these new direct jobs will result in the creation of roughly
800 jobs - for a total of 1,300 new direct and indirect jobs in Louisiana.
As I told the New Orleans Times-Picayune
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c160%7c9390&digest
=m8WyaCuzyGLHzN7ZCMzogQ&sysid=1> , this economic development win shows
confidence in our state, our culture, our people, and our future.

Sincerely,

Governor Bobby Jindal