Dr. Bill Cassidy is the United States Senator for Louisiana.
Bill grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attended Louisiana State University (LSU) for undergraduate and medical school. In 1990, Bill joined LSU Medical School teaching medical students and residents at Earl K. Long Hospital, a hospital for the uninsured.
We have a crisis on our southern border. I am working to stop the flow of illegal drugs and human trafficking into our country and demand the Biden administration to do the same.
We must also support the brave men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and uphold our immigration laws to ensure those who want to come to the United States do so through proper, legal channels.
The national debt is more than $28 trillion. Fiscal responsibility is not an option, but a necessity to ensure the long term financial health of the United States. We must get federal spending under control by cutting wasteful, duplicative programs and ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. We must also save Medicare and Social Security from bankruptcy so that they are there for Americans who will need them in the future. Taking these steps will help protect our children and grandchildren from mountains of debt they cannot afford.
As chairman of the Senate Energy Subcommittee, I know America’s national and economic security depends on a balanced, comprehensive energy policy. We need to unleash American energy, including cleaner-burning natural gas that has created thousands of good-paying jobs for Louisiana families.
Lowering greenhouse gases is important. Louisiana loses a football field of land every 100 minutes due to erosion and rising sea levels. But we need serious solutions, not bumper sticker slogans. Half-baked ideas like the Green New Deal would evaporate jobs and actually increase global emissions by incentivizing manufacturing to move to high-emitting countries like China.
Louisiana and our country can be an example to the world by showing how we can expand cleaner-burning natural gas to create jobs and lower emissions at the same time.
America’s national and economic security depends on a balanced, comprehensive energy policy. We need to embrace American energy, including cleaner-burning natural gas that has created thousands of good-paying jobs for Louisiana families while lowering emissions.
For over 25 years, I worked in Louisiana’s charity hospital system as a doctor treating the uninsured and underinsured. I learned that when the patient has the power, outcomes are better. Right now, laws intended to promote innovation and protect patient safety are being used to increase the cost of prescription drugs. I am working to increase price transparency and create more competition to lower health care costs and prescription drug prices.
Faith and religion have played a vital role in our nation’s history. Our Founders’ vision was for America to be a place where individuals could practice their religion and express their beliefs freely and openly. It is important that this right is recognized and respected.
This includes protecting the unborn. I am proud to have an “A” from the National Right to Life Committee. As a father of three children, I strongly believe in the right to life. I have and will continue to support pro-life legislation.
Our government has no greater duty than defending the people of the United States.
We must provide our brave women and men in uniform with the proper training, equipment, and funding. Our soldiers, our veterans, and their families have made tremendous sacrifices. It is our duty to provide them with the care and support they deserve.
The Second Amendment guarantees law-abiding citizens the right to keep and bear arms. I am proud to have an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA) because I have and will continue to fight for Louisianans rights that are protected by the Constitution.
Our service men and women put themselves in harm’s way to defend our lives and freedoms. We must commit to giving them the care and treatment they deserve when they return home.
We must honor this commitment by ensuring that the health care, benefits, and services promised to our veterans are fully funded and provide the quality of care they deserve. As a member of the Senate Veteran’s Affairs Committee, this is my priority.
If you are a veteran or military family in need of assistance obtaining these benefits, please call my office with any questions.
As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, one of my top priorities is ensuring that students have access to quality educations.
Parents and teachers, not federal bureaucrats, make the best education decisions for students. High standards yield high achievement, and parents should have a right to choose the best educational opportunities for their children. These options include homeschooling, private and parochial schools, charter schools, and public schools.
For more than 20 years, I have served uninsured and underinsured patients in the Louisiana’s public hospital system.
My patients tell me they want lower health care costs and access to high-quality care. This means Congress must repeal Obamacare and replace it with patient-centered solutions. Patients, not the government, should have the power to make their own healthcare decisions.
Our government has no greater duty than defending the people of the United States.
We must provide our brave women and men in uniform with the proper training, equipment, and funding. Our soldiers, our veterans, and their families, have made tremendous sacrifices. It is our duty to provide them with the care and support they deserve.
As the chairman of the bipartisan Senate Finance Committee working group on paid family leave, I am leading efforts to create a policy that gives parents the flexibility to pursue a career and raise a family. This policy must be fiscally sustainable and not bury taxpayers in even more red ink. We will find a bipartisan solution that empowers families and business owners to succeed.
As defined in Section 3635 of the First Step Act: “The term dyslexia means an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader, most commonly caused by a difficulty in the phonological processing (the appreciation of the individual sounds of spoken language), which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, and spell.”
Dyslexia is an issue that is very important to me, both as a parent of a dyslexic child and as a Senator. According to NIH sponsored research, nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population has dyslexia. Dyslexia is unexpected because these bright children struggle to learn to read and write. We must ensure that our federal education policies provide appropriate screening in kindergarten and first grade and an evidence-based education that will help our students with dyslexia succeed.
We must also recognize the role illiteracy plays in our prison incarceration and recidivism rates. Since dyslexia is the overwhelming reason people are illiterate, The First Step Act, which President Trump signed into law, included my provision to screen inmates for dyslexia so they can receive the assistance they need to learn to read, reenter society and break the cycle of incarceration.
To find out where to shelter, Hurricane Delta evacuees must contact their respective Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP). The list for each parish contact can be found at https://gohsep.la.gov/ABOUT/PARISHPA. Evacuees can text LASHELTER to 898-211 to receive the latest information on parish-by-parish shelters from the Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS). They can also call 211 for information on shelters, food, clothing, financial assistance and health resources.
Hurricane Delta evacuees will NOT be turned away from a mega shelter if they do not receive a referral from United Way (211) or their respective Parish OEP. However, it is advised that they obtain a referral. Evacuees may be directed to other mass shelters if there is no more room at the one they show up at.