[StBernard] E Update 11 19 10

[Westley Annis]

e-update
11.19.10 

This month we celebrated Veterans Day, which is an important annual reminder
of the tremendous sacrifices made by members of our Armed Forces and their
families in defense of our country. 

As your U.S. Senator, I feel a great responsibility to honor our veterans by
working in Washington to ensure that the freedoms handed down by the
founders of our country are safeguarded for future generations of Americans.


That's why I'm fighting each day in the U.S. Senate to strengthen our
economy, secure our borders and ensure that we're doing all we can to
protect Americans from those who would harm us.  Read below to find out how
I'm fighting for you on these and other critical issues. 

 David Vitter
Signature<http://www.vitter.senate.gov/images/vitter_signature.gif> 

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/. 

  

Photo Spotlight
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Images.Display&ImageGa
llery_id=1106b9e7-b331-5df1-bf3d-8754d014d30d>
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Images.Display&ImageGa
llery_id=1106b9e7-b331-5df1-bf3d-8754d014d30d>  

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of meeting with Sgt. Ryan Major
(left), a Louisiana native, and several other wounded soldiers who have made
tremendous sacrifices in Iraq and Afghanistan. These men and women are true
American heroes, and it's always an honor to be able to thank them in person
for their service to our country. 

  

HONORING OUR VETERANS 

We can never do enough to say thank you to the veterans who have fought to
defend our country, but I'm committed to doing everything I can to honor
their sacrifices.  As your senator, I've cosponsored several pieces of
legislation to assist veterans, including a bill to ensure full concurrent
receipt of retired and disability compensation for all disabled veterans and
a bill to reform the VA budgeting process to safeguard against future
shortfalls. This year, I also conducted several roundtable discussions with
veterans' groups across Louisiana, and I've been working
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressRelease
s&ContentRecord_id=f9f12913-eceb-7280-429f-03d004e4a7c8&Region_id=&Issue_id=

>  to expedite the process of establishing an expanded clinic in Lafayette

to serve veterans across Acadiana. 

INVESTIGATING THE ADMINISTRATION'S JOB-KILLING MORATORIUM 

The offshore drilling moratorium imposed by the Obama administration has had
devastating effects on the oil and gas industry, which is a critical part of
Louisiana's economy.  I was disappointed when an inspector general's report
that I requested in June was released this month and revealed that the
administration deliberately disregarded the Information Quality Act and
manipulated a key report to push their destructive moratorium that has
crushed job growth along the Gulf Coast.  Unfortunately, this was not
surprising, as administration officials have made it clear
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Multimedia.Video&Video
_id=1b4e9c06-e125-2615-a300-abbfc1f0486a&PageNum=1>  all along that their
decisions are based on politics rather than sound science and economics. 

SAYING NO TO AMNESTY 

People from around the world are drawn to America because of the opportunity
to work hard to provide a better life for their families, and those
immigrants who follow the legal process to become American citizens often
contribute great things to our society.  That's why I'm so opposed to
weakening our immigration laws and offering amnesty to people who break
those laws in coming to America.  Unfortunately, Senator Harry Reid has
announced his plans to force a vote in the coming weeks on the sweeping
amnesty proposal known as the DREAM Act, which would provide a powerful
incentive for more illegal immigration by allowing states to grant in-state
tuition to illegal alien students. In these difficult economic times, this
announcement is an insult to legal tax-paying citizens, and I will continue
to oppose all efforts to offer amnesty to illegal aliens.  You can watch
video of a speech I gave on the Senate floor in opposition to the DREAM Act
here
<http://vitter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Multimedia.Video&Video
_id=16967d58-eb18-9ea2-6795-d276e0eb101a&PageNum=1> . 

KEEPING TERRORISTS OUT OF AMERICAN COURTS 

The Obama administration's decision to pursue trials against terrorists in
American criminal courts is a dangerously misguided policy that endangers
our national security and weakens our stance in the War on Terror.  I
recently sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging him to
reconsider this approach in light of the trial of Ahmed Ghailani, who was
recently found not guilty on 284 out of 285 charges stemming from his role
in the deadly 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Terrorists such as Ghailani are not Americans, and they should not be
treated as such and afforded the same rights guaranteed to us by our
constitution.  As enemy combatants, they should be tried in military
tribunals - a specific legal proceeding that provides them with a similar
set of rights afforded to criminal defendants but treats them as what they
are: enemy soldiers who were captured on the field of battle.  This is a
common-sense approach that would maximize security while still upholding our
ideals by giving detainees their day in court.