BOSSIER CITY – Today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced that he will commit the first $50 million of Louisiana’s state budget surplus to the infrastructure and transportation improvements needed to support the Cyber Command Center at Barksdale Air Force Base. Jindal made the announcement during the groundbreaking of the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City earlier this morning.

Jindal said, “I will ask the Legislature to make this the first item funded in our special session to be held in March, which will deal with tax reform and state surplus dollars. We will not let legal language about the status of this project or artificial deadlines stand in the way of our state’s commitment.

“This $50 million commitment will not only position us to support the Cyber Command mission – it will also be beneficial to other future missions that I’m confident will be assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base. We don’t want Northwest Louisiana to just be the Cyber Command Center’s provisional home; we want the Department of the Air Force to name Barksdale Air Force Base the permanent home.”

During the Shreveport campaign debates last year, Jindal and the other candidates spoke about the importance of the Cyber Command Center.

Jindal also spoke about Cyber Innovation Center’s role in the economic vitality of Northwest Louisiana. He said, “The Cyber Innovation Center has the potential to have an extraordinary impact on the economy of Northwest Louisiana, as well as the entire state. It has the potential to bring hundreds if not thousands of high-paying jobs to our state. With a research park here, we will attract technology companies and defense contractors to support the Cyber Command.”

According to Governor Jindal, he met with President Bush in the Oval Office of the White House just a few months ago to personally urge him to designate Barksdale Air Force Base as the permanent location for the Cyber Command. Today, he  pledged his continuing commitment to the project, vowing to continue his work with Louisiana’s congressional delegation to encourage the Secretary of the Department of the Air Force to designate Barksdale Air Force Base as the permanent home for the Cyber Command.