Victoria Advocate - Sen. John Cornyn Visits Victoria

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Victoria Advocate - Sen. John Cornyn Visits Victoria

By: Allison Miles

Congress' plan to aid a hurting economy hasn't kicked in yet and will take a while, Sen. John Cornyn said, but the next step is to convene a grand jury and hold those responsible accountable.

"What makes people really mad and what makes me upset is the lack of accountability," Cornyn said, as the crowd murmured in agreement and exploded into applause.

Cornyn spoke to Victorians Wednesday at the Victoria College Museum of the Coastal Bend and later to Advocate personnel at an editorial board meeting.

The economic hazard has drained about $2 trillion from retirement and pension funds, he explained, and threatens the economy.

"It's created a real crisis that we've got to deal with, lest it bring down our entire economy into a very long and deep recession," he said, "if not worse."

Texas is holding out better than many other states for several reasons, he said, including that the state knows what policies work when it comes to economic growth. More than one-third of new jobs created in America's private sector last year were created in Texas, he said.

"We need to make Washington more like Texas," he said. "We don't need to make Texas more like Washington."

Cornyn said he supports Exelon Nuclear setting up shop in Victoria.

It will boost the local economy, he said, and bring energy to the state.

The senator called himself an "all of the above" kind of guy and said bringing all different types of power together would help Texas, a big, growing state, meet energy challenges.

Cornyn has always been a dear friend to Texas and Victoria, Victoria County Judge Don Pozzi said.

Pozzi said he was pleased with what the senator had to say Wednesday and satisfied with what the man has done in Washington.

Four steps would help improve the United States' immigration system, Cornyn said at the editorial board meeting.

Secure borders, he said, create an enforceable system eliminating document fraud and identity theft, determine when to reconcile the status of the 12 million or so people here illegally and evaluate the country's workforce needs.

We must find a way to allow that labor to enter temporarily, he said, and then go home. The same applies for those who attend our colleges and universities. It makes no sense to educate people, then insist they leave after graduation because their visas have expired.

" ... You're going to be able to compete with us from abroad because we were basically too short-sighted not to allow you to stay here," he said.

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