PERRY, Iowa — He once was a full-time congressman, but Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says the law should change so members of Congress only work part-time in Washington.
In an interview on Monday night with The Daily Caller, the popular Republican said he fully backs the part-time Congress proposal that Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry is pushing.
“It’s what the founding fathers intended. It’s the way the Congress has operated before. It’s the way many of our state legislatures offer,” Jindal said.
The Louisiana governor is one of Perry’s most high-profile endorsers. He stood on stage with Perry at the Hotel Pattee for a rally with supporters on the eve of the caucuses, which take place on Tuesday night.
Jindal gave a full-throated defense of the idea, saying the way Congress is now has created a “separate political class.”
“They’re looking for ways to expand their power, expand their authority, in ways the Founding Fathers never intended, in violation of the meaning and spirit of the Constitution,” he said.
Asked to respond to criticism that a part-time Congress would only make full-time lobbyists more powerful, he said, “I think it’s questionable whether lobbyists could be more powerful than they are today.”
“The reality is I think you need not only a part-time Congress, you need stronger disclosure and ethics rules. I think that would have to be part of the reform.”
“It works at the state level,” he said.
Jindal clearly enjoyed himself at the Perry event, staying behind to sign autographs and take photos with supporters. Asked if he could see running for national office himself in the future, he quickly said, “I’m focused on my job back home, I’m focused on helping Rick Perry get elected.”