The Lonestar Weekly: June 1, 2011

Statement

The Budget Debate

As unemployment hovers at 9 percent and Americans remain concerned about the record level of spending and debt coming out of Washington, Senate Democrats decided to play politics with the nation's finances. While Republicans supported responsible plans to reduce federal spending and put the federal government on a diet, Senate Democrats failed to even offer their own plan. In fact, it has been more than 750 days since Senate Democrats have passed a budget, and they even opposed the President's budget when it came up for a vote last week. It is apparent that they have decided to demagogue the need for fiscal discipline and abdicate this responsibility in hopes of turning it into a campaign issue for the 2012 elections. By not offering a budget, Senate Democrats conveniently neglect the tough decisions that come along with addressing our entitlements, like Medicare. While their only concern is 2012, my colleagues and I are more concerned with 2024: when Medicare is scheduled to go broke, if not sooner.

In sharp contrast to Washington, the Texas legislature recently passed a resolution calling for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which my Republican colleagues and I have introduced in the U.S. Senate. In addition, the Austin Business Journal highlighted a recent report that Texas added 732,800 jobs over the last 10 years, noting that no other state even added more than 100,000 in the same time period. This is yet another example of how Washington can learn from Texas about the importance of implementing pro-growth policies that incentivize --not punish--job creators.

Health Care Reform

Despite lofty promises from Democrats, the more Americans learn about the President's $2.6 trillion health care law, the less they like it. Just this week a poll revealed that more than half of Americans continue to favor repeal, and to date 1,372 waivers -- encompassing more than 3 million individuals - have been awarded to different companies and unions from the onerous requirements included in the law. Even more disturbing, recent reports have cited unwillingness from the Obama Administration to release the identities of those who have been denied the waivers. One part of the law that is of particular concern to me is the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which is Washington-speak for an unelected board of bureaucrats in charge of making widespread, substantial changes to Medicare. I will continue to push my legislation to repeal this unaccountable board and restore transparency and accountability in the delivery of health care for Texas' seniors. The best thing we could do to stimulate job growth in this country would be to repeal this misguided bill and replace it with common sense reforms that increase access, lower costs, and unleash the burdens it places on private-sector job creators.

Judicial Nominations in Texas

This week I was pleased to introduce Marina Garcia Marmolejo of Austin to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ms. Marmolejo has been nominated to serve as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas in Laredo. With assistance from our bipartisan Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, Senator Hutchison and I recommended her nomination to President Obama for a federal judgeship. Based on her broad experience and commitment to public service, I believe she'll make an outstanding addition to the federal bench in Texas. Recently I also helped introduce the bipartisan Emergency Judicial Relief Act of 2011, which will provide additional permanent federal judges in Texas districts that border Mexico. Texas' law enforcement that fight drug cartels along our southern border need every resource and tool at their disposal. This bill will help relieve the massive backlog of cases in these districts that face a dramatic rise in drug- and human smuggling-related cases, and I look forward to working to get it signed into law.

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