Charles Boustany

Charles William Boustany, Jr. (born February 21, 1956), is the U.S. Representative for LA's 3rd congressional district, serving in Congress since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district, numbered as the 7th District from 2005 to 2013, is located in the southwestern portion of the state and includes Lafayette and Lake Charles.

Early life, education, and medical career
Boustany was born in Lafayette, the son of Madlyn M. (née Ackal) and Charles W. Boustany, Sr., M.D. (1930–2009); his paternal grandparents, Alfred Frem Boustany and the former Florida Saloom, were immigrants from Lebanon. His maternal grandparents were also Lebanese. The senior Boustany, a Democrat, served for sixteen years as coroner of Lafayette Parish. Congressman Boustany has nine siblings: James Boustany, Jon Boustany, Ron Boustany, Dr. Stella Boustany Noel, Terese Reggie, Kathryn Scurlock, Madlyn Juneau, Adele Weber, and Cheryn Eppley.

Boustany, Jr., attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. He earned his medical degree from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans.. He is a retired cardiovascular surgeon, who completed his residency in Rochester, New York before returning to Louisiana to take a job at Charity Hospital in New Orleans.

Elections

 * 2004

In 2004, incumbent Democrat U.S. Congressman Chris John of Louisiana's 7th congressional district decided to retire in order to run for the U.S. Senate. Boustany, another Republican (the late David Thibodaux of Lafayette) and two Democrats vied for the House seat. In the open primary election, Boustany ranked first with 39 percent. Democratic State Senator and former mayor of Lake Charles Willie Mount ranked second with 25 percent. Under Louisiana's nonpartisan blanket primary system, in the event no candidate wins a "50 percent plus one vote" total, a runoff is conducted between the two top candidates, regardless of party.

Vice President Dick Cheney campaigned on behalf of Boustany. In the December 4 run-off election, Boustany defeated Mount 55-45 percent. He became only the second Republican to represent the district, the first having been Jimmy Hayes, who switched from Democratic affiliation in 1995.


 * 2006

Boustany won re-election to a second term with 71 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Mike Stagg, despite the national tide that favored Democratic congressional nominees.


 * 2008

Boustany won re-election to a third term defeating State Senator Don Cravins, Jr., 62-34 percent.


 * 2010

Boustany won re-election to a fourth term unopposed.


 * 2012

After Louisiana lost a district in redistricting, Boustany filed to run for reelection in Louisiana's 3rd congressional district against freshman fellow Republican Jeff Landry of New Iberia. However, geographically and demographically, the new 3rd is more Boustany's district.

Endorsed by the interest group, Citizens United, Landry led Boustany in third-quarter 2011 fundraising, $251,000 to $218,000. According to Federal Election Commission, Boustany led in cash-on-hand lead, $1.1 million-$402,000. In addition to Boustany and Landry, a third Republican, state Representative Chris Leopold of Plaquemines Parish, announced through Facebook his candidacy for the seat, but he never filed.

The Boustany-Landry race attracted most of the political attention in Louisiana in 2012. Though most politicians shunned involvement in the heated race, but Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Michael G. Strain endorsed Boustany, who he described as particularly helpful to the agricultural sector while serving as a U.S. representative. Landry, meanwhile, carried the backing of most of the Republican parish executive committees in the district. Landry also was endorsed by Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum political action committee.

In the November 6 election, technically a nonpartisan blanket primary for Congress, Boustany led Landry by 45,596 votes. In a five-candidate field, Boustany received 139,123 votes (44.7 percent); Landry received 93,527 votes (30 percent). Democrat Ron Richard procured the critical 67,070 votes (21.5 percent). The remaining 7,908 votes (2.5 percent) and 3,765 ballots (1.2 percent) were cast, respectively, for Republican Bryan Barrilleaux and the Libertarian Jim Stark. Because no candidate received a majority, Boustany and Landry met in a runoff contest held on December 8.

Boustany won the runoff election against Landry with 58,820 votes (60.90 percent). He had large margins in seven of the ten parishes in the district, particularly in Acadia, Calcasieu, and Lafayette but lost the three parishes that Landry represents, St. Martin, Iberia, and St. Mary.

Tenure
Boustany's plan for reinvigorating the economy of his district is known as the Prescription for Prosperity.

Representative Boustany presented the Republican response to President Barack H. Obama's joint address to Congress on Wednesday September 9, 2009.

Boustany was the sponsor of H.R. 1173, the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011. The bill would repeal title VIII of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which established a voluntary long-term care insurance program, which would place a $2,000 fine on any citizen that declined to be part of the voluntary program. It passed the house 267-159 on February 1, 2012.

Committee assignments

 * Committee on Ways and Means
 * Subcommittee on Oversight (Chairman)
 * Subcommittee on Human Resources
 * Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures

Personal life
Boustany's wife, the former Bridget Edwards, is a daughter of the late Acadia Parish assistant district attorney Nolan Edwards (1930-1983) of Crowley and Eleanor Merrill of Longboat Key, Florida, who remarried after Nolan was shot to death in his law office by a disgruntled client. Bridget Boustany is hence a paternal niece of Democratic former Governor Edwin Washington Edwards.

The Boustanys have two children, Erik Boustany and Ashley Scott Boustany Dugal.