Bobby Jindal (R)

Governor of Louisiana (since January 2007)

Why He Matters

Louisiana's steamy political swamp has produced an unlikely political figure: an Ivy League-educated policy wonk and reformer who became the nation's first Indian-American governor, Piyush "Bobby" Jindal.

The Louisiana governor is widely seen as a possible vice-presidential pick this November and a candidate for president in either 2016 or 2020. Reelected to a second term in 2011 with a remarkable 67 percent of the vote, Jindal remains one of the most popular — and conservative — governors in the country. If selected as the GOP nominee’s running mate, Jindal would make history as the first Indian-American on a national party ticket.

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Corrections?

News From Around The Web

Whether Bobby Jindal was on Mitt Romney's short list remains subject of conjecture via New Orleans Times-Picayune

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(Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)

Associated Press

LAPLACE, La. — Two sheriff’s deputies in Louisiana were shot to death and two others were injured in an early morning shootout west of New Orleans, authorities said Thursday.

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News From Around The Web

Louisiana Supreme Court chief justice dispute should be settled by state, Gov. Bobby Jindal says via New Orleans Times-Picayune

Gov. Bobby Jindal out of medal contention for now: Stephanie Grace via New Orleans Times-Picayune

Video: Jindal gets defensive over Ryan budget via NBCNews.com

PostPartisan

No, Paul Ryan is not ‘courageous’

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Nor is Mitt Romney’s choice of him for vice president.

News From Around The Web

Choice of Paul Ryan sets back Bobby Jindal's White House hopes via New Orleans Times-Picayune

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A roundup of early reaction to Mitt Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate.

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(JOHN GRESS / REUTERS)

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Our latest rankings of the five people most likely to wind up as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential pick.

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Minnesotans for Tim Pawlenty, or else Michele Bachmann, for vice president

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Minnesota has a great political history in presidential campaigning. So why not put a Minnesotan on the ticket this year?

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For Romney, history suggests VP pick will provide exceedingly modest bump, if any

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Running mate could shed light on how Romney makes decisions. What it won’t do, if scholarship is any guide, is bring him a critical state or tip the balance in a close election.

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Tim Pawlenty waits to see if his campaigning will lead to vice presidential nod

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Michael Leahy

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Obama camp picks at possible Romney VP choices

Associated Press

CINCINNATI — President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies aren’t waiting for Republican Mitt Romney to reveal his vice presidential choice. They’re already trying to scuff up those considered by political insiders to be most likely to join the GOP ticket.

Post Leadership

How Mitt Romney should pick his VP

(JIM WATSON / AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Jena McGregor

Many factors go into making the call about who should be vice president. But when the decision nears the finish line, one issue stands above them all.

At a Glance

Career History: U.S. Congress (2005 through 2007); Secretary, Lousiana Dept. of Health and Hospitals (1996 to 1998); Executive Director, National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, (1998 to 1999); President, University of Louisiana System (1999 to 2001); Assistant Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (2001 to 2003)
Birthday: June 10, 1971
Hometown: Baton Rouge, La.
Alma Mater: Brown University, B.A. 1991; Oxford University, M.Lit., 1994
Spouse: Supriya Jindal

Religion: Catholic
Office: Office of the Governor, P.O. Box 94004Baton Rouge, Louisana 70804-9004, 225-335-7015
Email
Web site

Path to Power

Jindal has assembled a remarkable resume in his still-young career compiled in his home state and Washington, D.C. He graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1993 and was selected as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a master's in public policy from New College in Oxford. In 1996, Louisiana GOP Gov. Mike Foster appointed Jindal - then just 24 years old - to head the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH).

The department was the state's largest with 12,000 employees and a $4 billion budget. There, Jindal stunningly turned a $400 million deficit into a multi-year surplus. His health-care policy prowess earned national attention and Jindal was appointed in 1998 as the executive director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare that was created by Congress. Upon the completion of the commission's work a year later, he returned to the Louisiana government to serve as the president of the state's university system.

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The Issues

Jindal's brand of conservatism is confident, knowledgeable and modern. He offers detailed policy proposals and action plans with refreshing sincerity. In just his first year in office, Gov. Jindal ushered ethics legislation, tax relief, and significant criminal, educational and health-care reforms through the Louisiana legislature.

Ethics and Government Reform

Jindal called a special session of the state legislature shortly after his gubernatorial win to address ethics reform, calling on lawmakers to adopt the "gold standard" in public ethics and disclosure law.

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Jindal made it clear ethics reform would be his signature issue in his inaugural address, when he declared: "We can build a Louisiana where our leaders and our people set the highest standards and hold every member of our government accountable. A Louisiana where incompetence is not a synonym for government. A Louisiana where corruption does not hold us back. ... We must win a war on corruption and incompetence in government. ... It must be the first thing we do."

Jindal argued the perception of rampant corruption in Louisiana kept the state from attracting businesses and growing economically. Jindal's reforms were passed and made the Louisiana tax, employment, and regulatory systems more business-friendly. At the centerpiece of his economic agenda was tax relief for business and business investments, as well as the largest individual tax cut in Louisiana history.

The changes moved Louisiana from the bottom fifth in the country to "on par with the nation's best financial disclosure laws" as measured by the independent Center for Public Integrity.

Health Care

Given his work on health-care policy and as a health- care system administrator, Jindal is equipped to offer sound solutions to the nation's broken health care system and poised to combat a universal care approach favored by Democrats.

The state passed Jindal's Louisiana Health Care Reform Act in 2007, and in November, 2008, the Jindal administration offered the "Louisiana Health First" plan to implement it.

One of the ideas contained in the legislation would improve care by offering patients a network of "medical homes" managed by their primary care physician to streamline care from doctors, specialists and hospitals. The bill also required medical records to be stored electronically (something the Obama administration has also advocated) and creates quality controls to measure performance outcomes. Before the program can be implemented, however, a federal waiver must be obtained since the plan operates outside existing Medicaid rules.

The Network

With a resume that includes stints as a congressman, a Bush administration assistant secretary, and as the head of Louisiana's state university and health-care systems, Jindal's network of contacts and supporters is deep, wide and national.

Louisiana Republican Governor Mike Foster gave Jindal his early break in 1996 with the appointment to run DHH. Gov. Foster said his choice was "a bit unorthodox due to his young age, but I am pleased to find such an exceptionally talented Secretary." In fact, Jindal's performance in his various roles has been so impressive that he's earned a wide variety of fans, including New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, a Democrat who endorsed Jindal in 2003 and Democratic Sen. John Breaux (La.), the dean of Louisiana politics who worked with Jindal on the Medicare commission.

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Additional Resources

Bruce Alpert and Manuel Roig-Franzia, "Jindal Takes on Medicare for U.S., LA 'Whiz Kid' Leaving DHH," Times Picayune, January 29, 1998.
Nat'l Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare Report
Jan Moller, "Jindal appoints his chief of staff" The Times Picayune, Oct. 23, 2007
Bobby Jindal Biography Page, National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare,
Press release "Governor Jindal One Year in Office Mark Today," Office of the Governor
Lousiana Health First Plan, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, accessed February 18, 2009.
Bobby Jindal Biography page
Peter Whoriskey, "Jindal Wins Louisiana Race, Becomes First Indian American Governor," Washington Post, Oct. 21, 2007
Melinda Deslatte, "Jindal Might Avoid Runoff for La.Gov," Associated Press, October 19, 2007
John Gizzi, "McCain Veepstakes: Bobby Jindal," Human Events, May 22,2008
CNN.com AmericaVotes 2004 accessed on February 15, 2009.
Jeremy Alford, "Stephen Waguespack, Deputy chief of staff, Jindal administration," Baton Rogue Business Report, Nov. 18, 2008
Sarah Laskow, "Louisiana Tightens Its Ethics Standards," The Center for Public Integrity, February 28, 2008
"Text of Gov. Bobby Jindal's inaugural speech," Associated Press, January 14, 2008,
"New Orleans mayor crosses party lines, endorses Jindal" Capitol Watch, Nov. 4, 2003
CNN.com AmericaVotes 2006 accessed February 15, 2009.
Louisiana GOP "John Breaux Supports Bobby Jindal" Posted to Capitol Hub, March 3, 2007

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