Kennedy receives awards for fighting for small businesses, jobs

WASHINGTON – The National Federation of Independent Business has given Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) the Guardian of Small Business Award, its most prestigious legislative title. The Small Business Investor Alliance has also named Kennedy a Champion of Small Business Investing. These awards recognize lawmakers who consistently advocate for small businesses through their legislative voting records.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and I’m thankful for the jobs they create and sustain. The National Federation of Independent Business and the Small Business Investor Alliance work hard for small and independent businesses, and I’m honored to receive these awards.”

Kennedy is a member of the Small Business Committee and has worked to protect small businesses from tax increases and unwarranted IRS audits.

During the 117th Congress, Kennedy also voted in support of the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act of 2021.

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under John Kennedy and tagged john kennedy.

Breaking: St. Mary Parish Officials Take Stand for Industry

Thank you, DA Duhe and Parish Council, for your support of oil and natural gas in South Louisiana.

Last night, the St. Mary Parish Council voted against a resolution to support the "Freeport MaMoRan Settlement," standing with Terrebonne, Lafourche and Vermilion parishes against misguided legal action against Louisiana's oil and natural gas industry. This settlement has failed at the legislature twice already.

This definitive decision by the St. Mary Parish Council, paired with comments from DA Duhe and Parish President Hanagriff, show that St. Mary Parish is committed to working with Louisiana’s oil and natural gas industry, not against it.

Parish Councilmembers, along with DA Duhe, voiced support for the industry and spoke to the ramifications of these lawsuits.

"These lawsuits have hurt Louisiana and they are going to hurt St. Mary Parish if we participate in this. The only ones that come out in this deal are the trial attorneys and they stand to make millions," said Councilman Scott Ramsey.

Parish President David Hanagriff said that he was on record for being against the legal action.

DA Duhe also expressed his opposition to the lawsuits.

“I said it from the very beginning that I would not file a lawsuit against these companies. My family has had oil and gas production on properties since the 1930’s. I realize how important an industry this is. I realize the benefit it has brought to our communities.”

DA Duhe further added, “I will continue to stay by this statement that I have not filed a lawsuit, I won’t file a lawsuit, here, now or in the future.”

Thank you to St. Mary Parish leaders for voicing opposition to lawsuits against the industry and for showing strong support for standing behind oil and gas today and in the future.

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under Louisiana, Oil and Gas and tagged oil and gas louisiana.

Kennedy, Grassley introduce commonsense reforms to combat violent crime

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in introducing the Combatting Violent and Dangerous Crime Act to fight the surge in crime by reforming the criminal code and clarifying existing law. The legislation aims to help law enforcement better prosecute individuals who commit violent crimes.

“Murder, carjacking, kidnapping and other violent crime are on the rise in major cities across our country. We cannot afford to let criminals off the hook when they choose crime and violence. This bill would help law enforcement get dangerous predators off our streets and away from innocent Americans,” said Kennedy.

“Crime is skyrocketing in communities across the country. Carjackings, homicides, attacks on law enforcement are all up. We have a duty to ensure that penalties for federal offenses serve as a deterrent and that any ambiguity from split court decisions is rectified so that perpetrators can be held accountable. This bill includes a number of small fixes that will go a long way in improving justice and preventing future crimes. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have bipartisan support to advance these modest, but meaningful, reforms. American communities are suffering under a scourge of lawlessness, so I hope we get some cooperation soon and I’ll keep reaching across the aisle to get it,” said Grassley.

Notable reforms in the bill include:

  • Bank robbery

    • Updates the definition of “attempted bank robbery” to clarify that the statute punishes ordinary “attempts” at bank robbery. This means that the offender intended to commit bank robbery and took a “substantial step” toward carrying out that intent.

    • Adds a new “conspiracy” offense to allow for the prosecution of criminals who conspired with others to commit bank robbery.

  • Deadly crimes

    • Removes the common law year-and-a-day limitation on indictments for federal crimes that result in the death of the victim since many victims survive their attacks thanks to modern medicine yet still succumb to their injuries more than one year later.

  • Vehicular homicide (carjacking)

    • Reduces the burden for prosecutors who can prove the offender took the vehicle by violence or intimidation by striking the “intent” requirement.

    • Creates a conspiracy to commit carjacking offense, which applies the same penalty as offenders who carry out the offense.

    • Increases the statutory maximum imprisonment term for carjacking from 15 to 20 years as well as the penalty for offenders who use dangerous weapons to carry out a carjacking.

  • Candy-flavored drugs

    • Enhances penalties for marketing candy-flavored controlled substances to minors.

  • Kidnapping

    • Clarifies that federal kidnapping charges can apply to non-violent abductions, including abductions by deception.

Text of the legislation is available here. 

Watch Kennedy’s remarks here.

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under John Kennedy and tagged Crime john kennedy.

Kennedy cosponsors bill to close loophole that allows China to exploit U.S. military expertise

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has cosponsored the No People’s Liberation Army in Logistical Operations and Other Pertinent Humanitarian Operations Leading to Endangered Security (NO PLA LOOPHOLES) Act to close a loophole in U.S. law that allows the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) access to vital U.S. military training and expertise.

“The Chinese military is more than happy to take advantage of American altruism to boost its combat abilities, and we can’t allow Beijing’s ruthless regime to do that. The NO PLA LOOPHOLES Act would help ensure Communist China can’t exploit American military strengths to advance its oppressive, genocidal agenda,” said Kennedy.  

The NO PLA LOOPHOLES Act would prevent China from using a legal loophole to improve the PLA’s combat abilities. Under current law, the U.S. military cannot engage in military-to-military exchanges with the PLA in any way that would give the PLA access to vital U.S. military training and expertise. The law, however, permits U.S.-Chinese military cooperation on search-and-rescue and humanitarian missions and exercises. The PLA has gained access to traditional U.S. military training under the guise of engaging in these humanitarian exercises. 

The bill would ban this form of cooperation.

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under John Kennedy and tagged China john kennedy.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) Helps Pass Once-In-A-Generation Tax Cuts For The American People

“This bill will help every single Louisiana family, and I am proud to be a part of this historic moment.” –said Sen. Kennedy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) voted today to pass a once-in-a-generation series of tax cuts.  By voting for the bill, Sen. Kennedy made sweeping reforms to America’s antiquated tax code while delivering on his campaign promise to lower taxes and help get the economy moving again. 

“This bill helps every single Louisiana family by putting more dollars into their paychecks instead of federal coffers.  New jobs get created when families spend those dollars.  It’s Economics 101,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “We doubled the standard deduction.  We more than doubled the child tax credit.  We lowered tax rates.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: This bill is about tax cuts, jobs, and more jobs.  We have delivered on both.  We’ve finally given families and businesses meaningful tax cuts.  We’re giving them the tools to dream and to build and to prosper. ”

Highlights from the legislation:

  • Increases Take-Home Pay: The typical family of four will receive a tax cut of $2,059.

  • Lowers Tax Brackets: The new tax brackets are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%.

  • Doubles the Standard Deduction: For an individual, the standard deduction goes from $6,350 to $12,700.  For a married couple, it goes from $12,000 to $24,000.

  • Doubles the Child Tax Credit: The child tax credit is doubled from the current $1,000 to $2,000, and more parents are allowed to claim the credit.

  • Repeals Obamacare’s Individual Mandate: Repealing this unpopular tax will help provide additional relief to low- and middle-income families.

    • 135,510 people in Louisiana paid the individual mandate tax penalty in 2014 rather than purchase insurance.

    • Builds Families: The Adoption Tax Credit is preserved, which ensures that the adoption process remains accessible and affordable.

    • Supports Teachers: The Educator Expense Deduction is retained, allowing teachers to claim a deduction for money they spend out of pocket on their classrooms.  This tax deduction helps teachers who selflessly spend their own money on school supplies.

    • Preserves Historic Tax Credit: By preserving the Historic Tax Credit (HTC), Louisiana’s historic properties and communities will continue to be revitalized and create new economic opportunities.

    • Provides A Two Year Boost In GOMESA Funding: Under current estimates, Louisiana will receive an additional $100 million in revenue under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act until 2020 and 2021.  This would allow our state to invest in priorities such as coastal restoration and hurricane protection.

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under John Kennedy, Taxes and tagged taxes john kennedy.

Kennedy, Republican senators introduce resolution calling on Biden to fight crime, secure border

Photo source: Senate

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined more than 15 other Republican senators in introducing a resolution highlighting rising crime rates in the U.S. and calling on President Biden to combat crime and secure the southern border.

“The Biden administration seems to think that when a criminal commits a crime, it’s not really the criminal’s fault. Under President Biden’s watch, crime rates have gone up, drugs are pouring across the border and criminals are murdering cops. The White House must do something to keep American communities safe,” said Kennedy.

The resolution points out that the murder rate in America rose by 30 percent from 2019-2020, the largest single-year increase in more than a century. In addition, there was a 59 percent increase in the number of police officers murdered last year. At least 16 American cities set record for the number of murders in 2021.

More than 2.5 million illegal immigrants have been caught trying to cross the U.S. southern border since January 2021, and overdose deaths have reached an all-time high as the flow of illegal drugs across the southern border is putting communities at risk across America.

Text of the resolution is available here.

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under Immigration, John Kennedy and tagged immigration john kennedy.

LOGA Responds to BOEM’s Reinstatement of Lease Sale 257 Bids

In compliance with the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bureau of Energy Management (BOEM) announced today that the 307 highest value bids from Lease Sale 257 held in November of 2021 would be reinstated, totaling $189,888,271. The bids had been invalidated by a federal judge earlier this year.

In response Louisiana Oil & Gas Association President Mike Moncla issued the following statement:

“This has been a long time coming. On behalf of the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association, I want to thank Attorney General Jeff Landry for his strong, capable leadership that helped make this lease sale possible.

While the oil and gas industry focuses on creating jobs and fostering economic investment in Louisiana, President Biden and the Democrats continue to promote harmful regulations that hurt American families.

The President fought as hard as he could to stop this sale from happening. But through the work of Jeff Landry, justice has prevailed.

This lease sale is an important victory, not only for the 250,000+ oil and gas workers in the state but for every American who is facing high energy costs as a result of our diminished oil and gas supply.

We look forward to working with Attorney General Landry as we continue our opposition to the Biden administration’s failed energy policies that have hindered our true potential as the energy powerhouse of the world.”

Posted on September 14, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under Oil and Gas, Louisiana and tagged LOGA oil and gas.

Hearing in Ways and Means Committee on Eliminating Louisiana Income Tax

Photo source: Louisiana House Page

The Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee met Tuesday to begin study of a proposal to eliminate the state’s individual and corporate income taxes. During the 2022 regular session, the legislature passed House Resolution 178, sponsored by Rep. Richard Nelson, R-Mandeville, to study the state’s tax structure and recommend whether state income taxes should be eliminated and how the state’s many tax exemptions and credits could be reformed.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Nelson told the committee the state’s complicated tax structure is a reason why it continues to lose population. Louisiana has not added a congressional seat since 1910 and instead loses an average of one district every 20 years, he noted.

“At the end of the day, we’re a banana republic that’s run out of bananas,” Nelson said.

Read more: Nelson pitches end of Louisiana income tax to lawmakers


Brought to you by Cajun Conservatism
Posted on September 14, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under Louisiana and tagged louisiana.

Exclusive—Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry: Hunter’s Laptop Sets Lady Justice Ablaze

There was once a philosopher who described communication as sharing “pictures of facts.” He outlined that the role of language is to help us form the correct image in the minds of others. Without the right image, how could we possibly communicate anything of value?

That is both the blessing and the curse of our modern world.

When communication channels are open, when there is a great diversity of ideas, when claims are supported by facts, and each individual can form the correct “picture” in their minds – that is when knowledge can become power.

And that is exactly why knowledge is being controlled.

Read more: Exclusive—Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry: Hunter’s Laptop Sets Lady Justice Ablaze

Posted on September 14, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under Jeff Landry and tagged jeff landry.

SCALISE: So Much for the Inflation Reduction Act

With a report this morning indicating that inflation is still red-hot and Americans are feeling the pinch, Minority Whip, Steve Scalise, had this to say regarding the Inflation Reduction Act.

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under Inflation, Steve Scalise and tagged steve scalise Inflation.

GABBARD: Biden Treats GOP Like They're Terrorists

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Christopher J. Gary and filed under Joe Biden, Tulsi Gabbard and tagged Tulsi Gabbard Joe Biden.