Gov. Bobby Jindal continues to slash and defund desperately needed programs that citizens rely on for their right to the pursuit of happiness, such as library funding, mental health funding, and the Louisiana Early Steps program for infants and toddlers with developmental delays/disabilities and their families. Now Governor Jindal is refusing to implement the recently upheld Affordable Care Act passed two years ago by Congress. He refuses to take advantage of government funding intended to set up a federally mandated health care exchange in Louisiana, despite the fact that Louisiana ranks 49th in overall health nationwide. The statistics show that Jindal's continued agenda of slashing state funding of programs that help the poor and refusing federal funding are grossly affecting Louisiana's citizens in the most fundamental ways. In the past YEAR, the percentage of children in poverty increased from 19.5 percent to 30.5 percent of persons under age 18. In the past ten years, nearly half of which Jindal has been Governor, diabetes increased from 6.6 percent to 10.3 percent of the adult population. Now, 352,000 adults in Louisiana have diabetes, according to americashealthrankings.org (http://www.americashealthrankings.org/SiteFiles/Statesummary/LA.pdf). As Louisiana struggles against poverty and poor health, its Governor not only does nothing to help, he is doing seemingly everything he can to make things worse. Please sign this petition demanding that he implement the federally mandated health care exchange in his state and accept federal dollars for his own citizens' health and well-being. Gov. Jindal and other state legislators may be able to easily afford turning down federal monetary aid for their own healthcare, but many of Louisana's citizens cannot afford to do so. If he wants to balance the state's budget, he can at least take advantage of our own federal tax dollars intended to better our lives. Thank you for your support.

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/06/funding/louisiana-eliminates-state-library-funding/#_

http://newamericamedia.org/2012/02/new-orleans-rails-against-mental-health-care-cuts.php

http://www.wafb.com/story/18564493/parents-express-concern-over-cuts-to-early-steps-program