Washington Watch for April 28, 2008

• By GERARD SHIELDS
• Advocate Washington Correspondent
• Published: Apr 28, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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President Bush last week presented the Congressional Gold Medal to Lake Charles native, Dr. Michael DeBakey.

DeBakey is the chancellor emeritus of the Baylor College of Medicine and the director of the DeBakey Heart Center in Houston. Bush commended DeBakey for being a pioneer in heart transplants, bypass surgery and the artificial heart.

Standing in the Capitol Rotunda, Bush recounted DeBakey’s years of growing up in Lake Charles, where his parents would load up the family car with clothes and food every Sunday to take to the orphanage on the outskirts of town.

“He learned the power of compassion at an early age,” Bush said. “And Michael DeBakey has been giving to the world ever since.”

Bush prompted laughter when he recounted the story of how a young DeBakey became angry when librarians would not let him check out the great new book he discovered — the Encyclopedia Britannica.

“And when his father bought the set for him, Michael read every word of every article in every volume,” Bush said.

Bush also honored DeBakey, a World War II veteran, for helping to develop Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) units during the war.

“On behalf of all those you’ve healed and those you’ve inspired, we thank you,” Bush said.

Poll rates legal climate

Louisiana ranked second in the nation for having business people who believe frivolous lawsuits are a serious problem, according to the annual study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber surveyed 255 Louisiana business owners, 89 percent of whom thought that frivolous lawsuits hampered the states business climate. The New Orleans/Orleans Parish area was ranked among the 10 least fair and reasonable court systems in the country. The survey by Harris Interactive had a 7 percent margin of error.

Seven out of 10 respondents said they want the state to enact laws that would cut down on lawsuits considered frivolous.

“Louisianians have a unique opportunity to turn things around,” Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the chamber, said in a statement. “While the state is off to a good start in improving its business climate, even more can be done.”