Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Charles Boustany was a practicing heart surgeon for twenty years before jumping into politics and running for the House. He is Louisianan through and through, having attended the University of Louisiana for undergraduate studies and obtaining his medical degree from Louisiana State.
Boustany is best known at JStreetPAC for co-authoring the Boustany-Ackerman letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in advance of the Annapolis conference. The letter called on the U.S. to help create the conditions for lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, an important and unfortunately lacking component of the current U.S. push for a two state solution.
His groundbreaking letter rallied serious bi-partisan support from 135 members of Congress for genuine US engagement in the Annapolis peace process, emphasizing that "the U.S. should take a hands-on approach to create the environment needed for peace and stability." The letter specified the urgent need for "clean government, public order, economic opportunity, and salaried employment" in the Palestinian territories "for creating the atmosphere of hope required for the success of diplomatic efforts." It called on the U.S. to "take the lead in organizing international assistance." Read the letter text here.
Rep. Boustany's courageous leadership and deep understanding of the issues challenging American foreign policy in the Middle East made it easy for us to endorse the Congressman. Besides his smart approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he also understands the necessity of a renewed US effort at tough diplomacy with Iran, and is supportive of a strong American re-engagement to help bring about the end of the Arab-Israeli conflicts more broadly.
Finally, as a Lebanese American - his paternal grandparents immigrated from Lebanon - and a Republican, JStreetPAC is happy to count Rep. Boustany's unique perspective and voice to our first round of candidate endorsements. He intends to be a leader on these issues in Congress and to play an important role as a bridge between the parties and among communities concerned with the Middle East. We are happy to work with him to build these bridges.
Learn more about and support other JStreetPAC endorsed candidates here.