Quiet Bills, Big Impact

In the opening days of the current Congressional Session, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu introduced Senate Bill 29, "To clarify the tax treatment of certain payments made to homeowners by the Louisiana Recovery Authority and the Mississippi Development Authority".

This bill was introduced on January 4 and a companion bill (H.R. 641) was introduced in the House by Congressman Bobby Jindal. Yet it was February 9 before any mention of it was made in a press release, by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco.

These two bills will have a significant impact for Louisiana and Mississippi residents who have claimed a tax loss because of Hurricanes Katrina or Rita. Besides the fact that there has been almost no press mentions of these bills, it is also appalling that the fellow Senators and Representatives from Louisiana and Mississippi have yet to sign on and cosponsor these bills.

I strongly urge everyone in Louisiana or Mississippi to write their respective legislators and encourage them to co-sponsor these bills.

You can reach your representative by using the links below:

Representatives

• Bobby Jindal, 1st District


• William Jefferson, 2nd District


• Charlie Melancon, 3rd District


• Jim McCrery, 4th District


• Rodney Alexander, 5th District


• Richard Baker, 6th District


• Charles Boustany, 7th District

Senators

• Mary Landrieu


• David Vitter