Update from Senator John Cornyn

Statement

Last week the President finally unveiled a health care reform proposal to the American people. Unfortunately, the 11 page document merely repackages the House and Senate health care overhauls, both of which have been soundly rejected by Texans and the American people. The proposal would still cause dramatic premium increases on American families--and the President's proposal spends $75 billon more than the Senate bill to do it. President Obama and the Democratic leadership in Washington have continued to reject the calls of the American people for transparency and fiscal restraint. In addition to the half a trillion dollars in new federal taxes, the proposal's dramatic expansion of Medicaid will force state taxpayers to pay a substantial share of the required new state spending. According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the state of Texas alone will have to pay more than $24 billion over a 10 year period on these new Washington mandates, crowding out other Texas priorities like education and law enforcement.

Last Thursday the President held his much anticipated Health Care Summit, which could have been an excellent opportunity for all Americans to hear directly from Republicans and Democrats how they would reform our health care system. Unfortunately, given the secrecy of developing the President's latest version of health care reform, and the partisan attacks of the last few days, it seems the President was merely going through the motions of transparency and bipartisanship. Thursday's summit served more as a made-for-TV event than a serious policy discussion, and Democratic leaders in the Senate now are giving all indications that they are going to force through their bill using a tactical maneuver known as Reconciliation. This would be a gross misuse of the intent of this procedure, which was originally designed solely for budgetary measures and not large-scale legislation. I will fight tooth and nail to shelf this bill that Texans have already overwhelmingly rejected. The American people have made it clear that they want Washington to start over with a step-by-step, common-sense approach to lower health care costs. Please visit my YouTube page here, where you can view television interviews I did regarding the Summit and my vision for health care reform.

During the Congressional Recess week I was thrilled to be able to visit with Texans across the state, at briefings, events, and
meetings with constituents in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas. In Austin I met with Mayor Lee Leffingwell, small business owners, and entrepreneurs from the area to talk about how the city manages to attract and help sustain local businesses. Austin was recently ranked by Portfolio.com as the best city in the country to start a small business, citing the city's innovative development program which helps entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. In San Antonio I received a classified briefing at Lackland Air Force Base on how the 24th Air Force Cyber Command stationed there is playing a vital role in defending against cyber attacks that threaten our national security. Additionally, the recent establishment of the 24th Cyber Command at Lackland will bring in new jobs and economic development to the surrounding region.

While in Houston I joined members of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) in announcing the findings of critical new research on the severe impact that federal climate change, or cap-and-trade, legislation would have on the Texas economy. You can read it for yourself on TPPF's website here. I also was fortunate enough to join the Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts at Minute Maid Park to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.

Finally, in Dallas I participated in an economic roundtable discussion with Mayor Tom Leppert and various community and business leaders from around the DFW Metroplex. The goal of the roundtable was to highlight the relative health of the economy in Texas and the favorable business and economic conditions which have led to the relocation of Fortune 500 corporations to Texas, and specifically to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Coming home always provides me with an opportunity to visit with Texans and speak with community leaders so that I can better serve my state and those who elected me to represent them. I want to lastly remind you that today, Tuesday, March 2 is Texas Independence Day. God Bless Texas!

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