Boustany supported a December 2010 compromise bill that extended Bush-era tax cuts along with funding for programs such as unemployment insurance. A month earlier he had come out against a bill extending unemployment aid, saying he couldn't support it without finding a way to pay for it, such as cutting stimulus spending.

Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Boustany was active in seeking relief for the region, specifically his southwest Louisiana district that was harder hit by the latter. Initially praising the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Boustany's views eventually shifted. In 2006, he criticized the agency's decision to deny extensions for full federal coverage of debris removal costs southwest Louisiana parishes hard hit by both hurricanes. The agency did continue funding similar operations around New Orleans.

Health Care

Boustany's key issue in his 2004 campaign was health-care reform. Among the reforms he originally pitched were offering tax breaks for people with insurance, promoting health-savings accounts and encourage the development of federally-qualified health centers.

An opponent of the health-care reform plan that passed in 2010, Boustany was a key spokesperson for the Republican opposition, giving the party's response to President Obama's speech on the issue in September 2009. Boustany was among the co-sponsors of an alternative bill that would've authorized the creation of "end-of-life panels," which then-House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) defended because such panels in Boustany's bill weren't part of a big-government package.

As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Boustany criticized the bill as "a vast expansion of power," specifically calling out its IRS provisions that "dangerously expand, in an ominous way, the tentacles of the IRS and its reach into every American family." In 2011, Boustany called for an IRS investigation to potentially lift the AARP's tax-exempt status, charging that the seniors' organization had backed health-care reform to exploit future insurance plans. The organization said it was "most disturbed" by the accusation.

In 2005, Boustany was given a leadership role on a bill that would've allowed small businesses to band together and purchase health-insurance plans at lower costs.

Trade

Boustany has backed trade pacts up for approval with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, calling such deals "cost-free stimulus." "With one in five jobs in Louisiana dependent on trade, it is essential that we enact these agreements," he said in 2011.

"The impact these agreements will have on our farmers and agricultural producers in Louisiana will be significant. By increasing our access to foreign markets, farmers across our state will gain new market opportunities. Additionally, imports of raw materials from other countries will decline, making Louisiana manufacturers more competitive."

Energy and Environment

Even after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Boustany has been supportive of offshore oil and gas exploration. "We have to strike the right balance because the country depends to a great extent on oil and gas prosecution in the Gulf of Mexico," said Boustany after a moratorium on drilling was implemented. "We depend on this for our energy security as well as our economic security.''

Though the moratorium would later be lifted, Boustany criticized the Obama administration in March 2011, saying it was committing a "full-scale assault" on the region's economy by not moving quickly enough on issuing new drilling permits.

Boustany has been critical of Democratic efforts to pass a climate-change bill that would've included cap-and-trade provisions. Boustany said such policies would "devestate" the Gulf Coast economy.

Show less