Lonestar Weekly: August 22

Statement

Last week I went to Lampasas where I held a roundtable with farmers and ranchers concerning the impact the current drought is having on their businesses and livelihoods. While there, I pledged to work with them to ensure all emergency federal resources are readily available; our agriculture industry should not be left to fight one of the most severe droughts we've ever seen alone.

I also gave a legislative update to elected officials, business leaders, and constituents in Marble Falls. Here I discussed what I believe are the two greatest challenges we face ahead: spending and debt. While conservatives stood together during the recent spending debate to resist the President's calls for more spending and new taxes, I stressed that the cuts we passed were just a drop in the bucket and that we have much more work to do to solve our nation's fiscal crisis. I also joined the Texas Association of Business in Austin to unveil the "Texas Center for Federal Policy," a new initiative aimed at promoting Texas-style solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing the nation like job growth, debt, and entitlements. Throughout the remainder of the month I'll be holding events and meetings in Midland, El Paso, Abilene, Houston, Fort Worth, and Dallas, among other cities.

"Fast and Furious' Gun-Walking Operation

Earlier this month, I requested a briefing from Attorney General Eric Holder following disturbing press reports of alleged Texas-based "gun-walking" programs similar to the "Fast and Furious" operation currently being investigated by congressional lawmakers. Sadly, this ill-advised program has had tragic consequences, with weapons that ATF knowingly put in the hands of drug cartels showing up at the scene of multiple violent crimes. Moreover, we recently learned that key officials who oversaw this operation have been moved to new positions within the Justice Department in Washington. Until Attorney General Holder and Justice Department officials come clean, it is inconceivable to reward those who spearheaded this disastrous operation with cushy desks in Washington.

I believe it is important that Attorney General Holder immediately disclose the details of any Texas-based ATF "gun-walking" program. Texans deserve a full accounting of any gun-running operations that were secretly conducted by federal authorities in their own backyards. I'm going to keep working with U.S. Representative Darrell Issa and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, the members charged with conducting the investigation, until we get to the bottom of this.

Senate Republican Jobs Plan

Last week the White House announced that President Obama will present a specific jobs plan in September, and that a major component of the plan will include new stimulus spending. It has been more than two years since President Obama's first massive stimulus plan was signed into law, yet businesses are still reluctant to hire, families are hurting from job loss, and our country is losing its competitive edge. America continues to suffer through high unemployment and a weak recovery. The government should not try to create jobs by growing the size of the Washington bureaucracy: spending our way to prosperity has not worked.

It's time for a new approach, and in May I joined my Republican colleagues in the Senate in introducing our own jobs plan. Our proposal would promote private sector growth through fiscal discipline. These pro-growth policies will foster job creation and turn the economy around.

Source