WASHINGTON—If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Bobby Piyush Jindal will become one of the highest-ranking Indian American political appointees in the history of the United States. This is a prime opportunity for the Indian American community, as well as the Asian Pacific American community at large, to become more involved in politics at the national level, and IACPA commends President Bush’s intent to nominate Jindal for this position.

On March 7, 2001, President Bush announced his intent to nominate Jindal, who is 29, to be the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the Health and Human Services Department, which would take him away from his role as President of the University of Louisiana System, one of the nation’s largest university systems, that he assumed at the age of 27. The Louisiana System is comprised of eight four-year universities that grants more than half of the public higher education degrees in Louisiana, and enrolls nearly 80,000 students and employs 4,000 faculty and staff.

In this position as ASPE, which is the leading policy development office at HHS, Jindal will be responsible for developing major reform initiatives, including Medicare modernization and expanding coverage for the uninsured, according to a statement made by Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Jindal was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, graduating from high school at the age of 16. Graduating with a flawless 4.0 average from Brown University, he attained a bachelor’s degree at the age of 20, majoring in biology and public policy. At 23, he graduated from Oxford University with a master’s degree in politics as a Rhodes scholar, and one year later he was appointed to be Louisiana’s Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH), forgoing admissions to Harvard and Yale medical and law schools to lead DHH.

During his tenure at DHH, he helped Louisiana’s Medicaid program escape from bankruptcy by turning a $400 million deficit into a surplus. After two years at DHH, he left to serve in Washington, DC as the executive director of the National Bipartisan Medicare Commission, directing a 17-member staff at the age of 26.

“These accomplishments are more than noteworthy,” said Prem Shunmugavelu, the political associate at IACPA. “Jindal has the proven ability to succeed at whatever he does, and we are certain that when he is confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, he will serve our country with the utmost respect and responsibility.”