Lawmakers want medal delivery without Jindal

Veterans waiting for Louisiana medals honoring their military service shouldn’t have to wait for Gov. Bobby Jindal to deliver them personally, state lawmakers said Tuesday.
Members of a joint House and Senate committee urged the state Department of Veterans Affairs to step up its delivery of the medals and stop waiting for Jindal, who has traveled across the state in a series of events to hand out the medals.
‘‘We literally have World War II veterans who are dying before they get to this jubilee with the governor. They just want the medal,’’ said Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, who sponsored the bill that created the Veterans’ Honor Medal Program in 2008.
Lawmakers said they’ve received calls from veterans who have waited months for their medals and from American Legion halls that offered to distribute the medals but were told they had to wait for the governor to be there.
‘‘Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, we’re ready. We want the medals. We don’t need the governor present. He’s got a busy schedule,’’ said Rep. Jerry ‘‘Truck’’ Gisclair, D-Larose.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Lane Carson said having the governor deliver the medals with the local lawmakers gives a dignity to the veterans and honors their service.
Kyle Plotkin, a spokesman for Jindal, said the governor will continue to take the opportunity to personally meet and award the medals to veterans for as long as he is in office. ‘‘He deeply values the chance to thank these veterans personally for their service and their sacrifice,’’ he said.
Plotkin said Jindal has delivered more than 8,400 honor medals at nearly 50 events in every area of the state. He said when veterans are unable to attend an event because of physical limitations, the state Department of Veterans Affairs ‘‘has and will continue to deliver medals to those veterans to ensure they get them in a timely manner.’’
Carson wouldn’t commit when asked by lawmakers if he would be willing to mail medals to veterans or change the requirement that Jindal deliver the medals personally.
‘‘We’ll take those suggestions that you just made and look at them. We’ll come up with some alternatives,’’ Carson said.
Several committee members said they will consider passing legislation to address the issue if the department won’t make the changes itself.