The Louisiana House Democratic Caucus will spend this session working hard to make sure Louisiana comes back stronger from the terrible challenges that hit our state in 2020. We hope our colleagues will join us instead of attempting to divide our state and drag us backwards.
Here are the House Dems’ policy priorities to come back stronger:
Give help to the middle class, not handouts to the wealthy and big corporations. Middle class Louisianans already pay more than their fair share of taxes, while the wealthy and big businesses get all the breaks. We will not support tax reform that further shifts the tax burden from those at the top to those in the middle. We will seek to close loopholes, lower regressive taxes, and end giveaways that benefit those who need them the least.
Avoid divisive legislation that tarnishes our reputation and sets back our comeback. We will not consider supporting any legislation that seeks to impose further restrictions on voting. Our state is strongest when we treat each other with respect and honesty. Our economy is strongest when potential visitors and companies that want to come here see us as the loving, welcoming people we are. Louisiana should be encouraging more engagement in the civic process, not considering divisive, cynical proposals that seek to suppress voting and threaten our economic comeback.
Protect our people from abuse. We believe all Louisianans should be respected and treated fairly in the workplace, the classroom, and everywhere else. We will support efforts to ensure that predators don’t escape accountability while survivors fall through the cracks, as has too often happened in the past.
End the fiscal cliffs—permanently. Thanks to the hard work of Governor Edwards and good-faith efforts from members of both parties in the legislature, Louisiana has recently ended a series of nearly disastrous fiscal cliffs. This opportunity for fiscal reform should be used to ensure that we end the days of the fiscal cliff and invest in education, not kick the can down the road—again.
Invest in education to grow our economy. We will work to increase investments in education, from pre-K to higher education. That includes pay raises for our educators and support staff. We can build a stronger economy by building a stronger workforce, and the workforce is built in the classroom.
Continue commonsense criminal justice reforms. We will build on recent efforts to pass bipartisan, commonsense reforms to Louisiana’s criminal justice system. The worst outdated criminal justice laws we have on the books make us weaker without preventing crime or helping victims.
Spend stimulus to help those who need help. We will advocate for the stimulus money allotted to our state by President Biden and Democrats in Congress to be used to help those who need it most: frontline workers, small businesses, and Louisianans recovering from catastrophic weather events.
We face historical crises, and we owe it to our people to rise to the occasion. If we work together and focus on helping each other rather than hating each other, Louisiana can come back stronger than we ever were before.
House Democratic Caucus Chair
Sam Jenkins