Richard Paul Prosperie Sr.
September 2, 2011
After months of rhetoric, regulators, industry gather
September 7, 2011
Congressman Jeff Landry continued to portray himself as an outsider on a quest for reason in the nation’s Capitol when he addressed Lafourche Parish business owners at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week at the Larose Civic Center.
“If you really want to cure any phobias of talking in front of people or getting in high-pressure meetings, just get elected to Congress and wait for the Speaker of the House to have a bill and the whole world is watching, and you tell him, ‘No, I ain’t voting for it.’ It ain’t fun,” Landry said.
The common thread throughout Landry’s address was poking fun at the oft-maligned bureaucratic process politicians must navigate in order to get something accomplished.
“Washington continues to reward failure and punish success,” he said over delays in getting a leaky roof atop the Civic Center repaired.
A native of New Iberia, Landry was one of 93 freshmen members of U.S. House of Representatives to be elected in 2010. Since taking office, the fast-talking Republican has gained national notoriety for his crusades against oil and gas regulators and President Obama.
Landry touched on the dichotomy inherent in today’s world, when the oil-and-gas exploration permitting process is at least in part controlled by politics.
Federal regulators at the Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management, Regulation and Enforcement have been slow to approve permit applications since the moratorium on deep-water drilling was lifted in October.
Industry operators insist political motives are stalling the permit approvals, but BOEMRE contends the industry has been slow to adjust to new safety rules installed after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill last year.
“The good news is every time we put (BOEMRE Director) Michael Bromwich in front of us, he issues us a couple of permits,” Landry said. “And every time we put (U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary) Ken Salzaar in front of us, they issue us a couple of permits.
“The bad news is I really, really, really do not know if we can get to pre-permitting levels until we get rid of this president, or until we get an administrator over BOEM who is more industry friendly. That’s just a fact.”
Landry was criticized in the leftist media for voting against raising the national debt ceiling. Democrats charged the representative with putting his own agenda ahead of the country’s, an assertion he labeled as unfair. He said he would only vote for the debt deal if a balanced-budget amendment was added to the Constitution.
“I hope the New York Times don’t come down here too often, but when people say, ‘You know, your congressman don’t compromise.’ You tell them, you say, ‘No, no, no, listen. My congressman don’t compromise my country for some short-term Washington deal,’” he said.
Lafourche Chamber of Commerce CEO Lin Kiger said Landry’s address offered a behind-the-scenes look at America’s political system.
“It was a great opportunity for our membership to have some one-on-one time,” Kiger said. “When we think about the congressmen representing us on Capital Hill, we don’t really fathom their day-to-day job.”
Landry said after the meeting he would continue to serve Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes until his term expires in 2012 and the 3rd Congressional District shifts westward.
“In fact, if I would be lucky enough to stay in Congress, I would continue to represent these people regardless of what district they would be in,” Landry said.
The Congressman would not definitively say whether he would seek re-election against incumbent Charles Boustany (R-Lafayette) in the revised district.
Jeff Landry addresses the Lafourche Chamber of Commerce last week at the Larose Civic Center. Landry spoke in contempt of the federal government, portraying himself as an outsider seeking reason on Capitol Hill. ERIC BESSON
