Louisiana Fiscal Hawk Named To WaPo’s ’40 Rising Political Stars Under 40′

One of the leaders of the Louisiana legislature’s prominent unorganized conservative “Fiscal Hawk” group, Rep. Cameron Henry (R-Metairie), was named to the Washington Post’s “40 Rising Political Stars Under 40.”

Henry, chosen by reporter Aaron Blake from the Washington Post, is just 39 years old and has become somewhat of a leader for the Louisiana conservative movement. Henry is best known for this work with the Fiscal Hawks and their take-down of state budgets proposed by Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Previously, Henry led the opposition against Jindal’s proposed budget in the 2013 legislative session, objecting to the fact that the Governor wanted to use one-time money to pay for re-occurring expenses in state government. At the time, Henry and the Fiscal Hawks said Jindal’s budget was unsustainable because it relied on one-time money.

Henry and the Fiscal Hawks fought during the last legislative session on the budget process itself. Henry’s role as a staunch critic of the Jindal administration’s handling of the state budget may have been why he was removed years ago from his chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee by House Speaker Chuck Kleckley (R-Lake Charles).

At the time, Henry told NOLA.com/Times Picayune that the Jindal and Kleckley was trying to make sure chairman committee positions went to lawmakers who trusted the administration not question it, saying “We didn’t get elected to trust people. We got elected to ask questions.”

His work with the Fiscal Hawks has earned him a role as a bi-partisan lawmaker, often times crossing the aisle in order to join coalitions with House Democrats, like he did when the two groups made an alternative plan to the proposed Jindal 2014 budget, which would have eliminated some tax breaks in order to keep House Democrats on-board.

Also, Henry has been a prominent figure in the fight against the higher academic standards hitting the state known as Common Core. As a member of the House Education Committee, Henry led the charge to try and repeal the Common Core State Standards in the state and the Common Core-aligned assessment.

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