Lauren Jewett

I support a moratorium and pause on new AI data centers until we fully understand their impact on Louisiana and American communities. Before we ever approve massive facilities or projects like these, we need to know how much water and electricity they will consume, what they will do to utility rates, what the noise and environmental impacts will be, and how many long-term good local jobs they will actually create. This is important for any region, but especially for the coastal or rural and agricultural areas of Louisiana. Additionally, I do not believe public officials should be signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) when it comes to these projects because the public deserves transparency. As a candidate, I have also signed the AI pact which commits to five pillars: 1) end data center giveaways like tax breaks and backroom deals, 2) mandatory safety reviews such as safety and risk evaluations before AI companies are proposed and greenlit, 3) creating an AI dividend where the financial gains of AI advancement are shared with everyday workers, 4) corporate accountability to hold AI firms liable for financial and material impacts, and 5) no public or government bailouts for AI companies that take on reckless market risks. Rapid AI advancement should not proceed without accountability, safety protocols, and corporation oversight. I would also advocate for guardrails so that AI technology is not used as a tool for over-surveillance of communities, or for discipline and displacement of workers. It is important that at a minimum, we have federal regulations of AI for areas like child safety and national security and thoughtful policies in place for how AI is used in schools, workplaces, and public institutions. We also need to make sure that we pass laws that address how AI is used to create deepfakes, political misinformation, and images or videos that cause sexual abuse and harassment. As a long-time teacher, I am concerned about AI supplanting original creativity and ideas. It is important that we invest in programs that promote digital literacy skills and STEM education and teach how AI can be a tool to support and assist, but not something that replaces critical thinking, problem solving, and human judgment. We should also support the evidence-based perspective of scientists and researchers on how AI can be used in a way to doesn’t harm our environment and human livelihoods.

The 1st District is one of Louisiana’s two coastal districts, so coastal resilience and restoration are central to my platform. My long-term plan around coastal erosion starts with a basic principle that people need to be part of the decision-making process when governments make structural changes to where and how they live. The retreat-versus-restore debates often get settled far away from and without the people whose homes and livelihoods are on the line ever having a real seat at the table. We have to address that tension between retreat and restore honestly, directly, and community by community because what’s right for one parish is not always right for another, and no plan will hold if it is imposed rather than co-created with the people who will actually live under it. Whether it’s Isle de Jean Charles in Terrebonne Parish or Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish or Delacroix in St. Bernard Parish, the coastal communities of the 1st District deserve a voice in guiding coastal restoration processes. At the federal level, this requires the government to act proactively instead of reactively in the face of changing climate patterns. We need to invest in stronger infrastructure now and have real mitigation and support plans in place before disaster hits instead of scrambling it together afterwards. That starts with undoing the cuts to federal weather services including NOAA, to federal levee inspection programs, and to federal grant programs for the environment and habitats because you cannot protect a coast if you are not accurately monitoring and you cannot warn people about storms with a gutted forecasting system. Coastal restoration and hurricane protection in Louisiana depend on federal dollars and federal science working the way they were intended. We also need to work alongside environmental experts who are leading projects like sediment diversions, marsh creation, and native plantings to naturally rebuild parts of the coast. I would fight to make sure these programs are funded and staffed as if our lives, our children’s lives, and our grandchildren’s lives depended on it because they do. Overall, we need proactive investment, restored federal capacity, and communities in the driver’s seat of their own future.

We must have clean water for drinking, fishing, boating, farming, and other needs in Louisiana. The saltwater intrusion in 2023 posed a threat to our drinking water. The drought caused the Mississippi River to drop so low that the saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico pushed towards areas in District 1, affecting residents in coastal towns and parishes like Plaquemines. We also deal with boil water advisories frequently in Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District. This disrupts day to day activities such as schools and businesses staying opening. We need an overhaul of our water systems rather than constant repatching. In Congress, I would fight for federal infrastructure dollars to invest in resilient water, sewer, and drainage systems so communities aren’t left with boil-water advisories and flooded streets every time a storm comes through. I would protect our water supply from saltwater intrusion by supporting coastal restoration projects, pushing for early warning and rapid response systems for affected parishes, and securing permanent and continuous federal funding for the Mississippi River sill system. With community input and approval, I also advocate for protecting and modernizing port and waterway infrastructure funding critical to Louisiana’s maritime and shipping economy.

I believe in science and support research and facts, and I think elected officials and representatives have a role and responsibility to build public trust in science. Good elected officials recognize that they are not the expert in every topic or issue and they have the humility to understand when they need to seek solutions from the community and professional experts when developing effective policies and legislation. When elected officials make decisions where science and research funding is cut or when they promote a culture where scientific evidence is ignored and overlooked, this can damage trust that we have as a community in science. Our federal agencies and educational institutions that engage in research need consistent funding and the ability to continue to do the important work they do, rather than dealing with political attacks and interference. We also need elected officials to work with scientists to help make scientific concepts and abstract ideas understandable for people. As a teacher, I’ve learned that if a message isn’t accessible, you haven’t communicated it. I would work with scientists to put research into plain language, help build a lexicon of concepts for the public on issues that impact them, and share this information where people actually are (places like schools, community meetings, libraries, and local media, not just journals and press conferences).

Community-based institutions like K-12 schools, community colleges, and non-profit organizations in the congressional district and state are vitally important to strengthening science and research. Building interest in science and research begins in our classrooms at the primary and secondary level and through hands-on learning opportunities and field programs because these are the spaces that allow young individuals to ask questions and develop passion and curiosity. I believe it is important that addressing needs for jobs in the energy, climate, health, and technology sectors comes from building a foundation within our educational spaces. After 17 years in Louisiana classrooms, I’ve seen what happens when students get hands-on, inquiry-driven science. It can allow them to further engage and believe they belong in those fields. I have also seen how often students with disabilities, English language learners, and students in under-resourced schools are left out of that opportunity. Policy-wise, I support federal funding for STEM programs and science pipelines that work for all kids with a universal design for learning approach. We also need funding that helps pay for things like science materials, labs, and strong science teacher training and professional learning. I also would advocate for funding and support for partnerships between local colleges or universities and employers in science-related fields.

I support finding alternative sources of clean energy including wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal to help with affordability and sustainability. For decades, we have relied on fossil fuel industries and not actively shifting more into renewable sources of energy that will help provide a path to sustainability. We should make investments in offshore wind and other diversified energy development in the Gulf, so that Louisiana’s coastal funding is not permanently tied to a single, finite industry. I believe we need to commit to a variety of safe options for renewable and resistant energy sources with job retraining and skill programs as well as support those working in local commercial fishing and seafood industries by making investments in energy efficient technology to help them do their jobs well and safely.