Jackson Free Press

Governors from all 50 states will convene in Biloxi this weekend for the National Governors Association's Annual Meeting. The meeting, which brings together governors to share policy ideas, begins on July 17 with sessions devoted to infrastructure issues. Outgoing NGA Chair and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell will discuss a yearlong initiative aimed at repairing and improving state's infrastructure. The meeting will close on Monday, July 20, with a discussion of energy and the economy, and the induction of the incoming NGA Chair, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas.

In addition to hosting the meeting, Gov. Haley Barbour will also participate in a discussion on health care reform as part of the Health and Human Services Committee. Barbour's own positions on health care policy put him at odds with state Democrats and the Mississippi Hospital Association during this year's legislative session.

The NGA meeting comes at a time when Barbour has assumed a higher national profile. Mississippi's governor—who has said that the national Republican Party must look to the states to rebuild its political clout—took over chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association after South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's recent resignation. Last week, Barbour testified before the U.S. Senate, opposing a House cap-and-trade carbon emissions bill.