Tx Capitol Report | A view from the Texas state capitol

Sen. John Cornyn says Obama plan falls short

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Tuesday that President Barack Obama's plan to send 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S./Mexico border does not go far enough.

“While I appreciate the President’s acknowledgment that his Administration has done too little to secure our border, his proposal still comes up short," Cornyn said in a statement. "Temporary fixes are no solution to long-term challenges."

Obama also plans to request $500 million for border protection and law enforcement activities, according to the Associated Press.

Cornyn, though, touted his proposed amendment to a supplemental appropriations bill as a better approach for the border.

“My amendment reflects the real needs of federal, state, and local law enforcement," he said. "With the right equipment, more personnel, and better infrastructure, these agencies can be much more effective in keeping our communities safe. I urge the President to support my amendment, which would demonstrate a real presidential commitment to border security.”

Below are some of the priorities Cornyn mentions in his amendment:

Border Security Equipment and Technology
· Provides $144 million for expanded unmanned aerial vehicle operations, including the purchase of six additional Predator B unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), ground control stations, and funding for UAV pilots and support staff
· Provides $49.4 million for 10 additional helicopters for border enforcement
· Provides $360 million for border surveillance and monitoring equipment, vehicles and mobile technology
 
State and Local Law Enforcement

· Provides $300 million for State and local law enforcement entities, operating within 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, to purchase equipment, hire personnel, including investigators and detectives, and cover salaries and expenses associated with border enforcement
 
Southwest Border Taskforces
· Provides $140 million in funding for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Programs in Southwest border states
· Provides $44.7 million in funding for National Guard Counterdrug Programs in Southwest border states to support drug interdiction and anti-drug activities
 
Border Enforcement Personnel
· Provides Federal agencies (DEA, ATF, ICE and CBP) with over $340 million to hire and support criminal investigators, special agents, intelligence analysts, and other personnel for drug enforcement and illicit firearms trafficking
 
Detention and Removal Activities
· Increases detention capacity an additional 3,300 beds annually over a two-year period at a cost of $151 million
· Provides $125 million to hire 500 additional detention and removal officers
· Provides $89 million to expand repatriation programs that return illegal aliens to their home countries
 
Ports of Entry
· Provides $200 million to hire 500 CBP officers to staff southwest border ports of entry and for infrastructure improvements at high-volume ports of entry

Poll: voters support gambling, oppose new taxes

    Nearly 60 percent of Texas voters polled in a recent Rasmussen Reports survey said they support legalizing casino gambling to reduce the state's looming budget deficit.

    The deficit could be upwards of $18 billion by the time lawmakers meet to write the budget next year.

    Some lawmakers, who include Jim Pitts the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, have suggested that gambling should be a consideration for drawing additional revenue to the state.

    Still, others, such as Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Gov. Rick Perry and former Houston mayor Bill White have not expressed support for the expansion of gambling in Texas.

    The Rasmussen telephone poll of 500 likely voters shows that 57 percent of likely voters in the state are in favor of legalizing casino gambling, while 33 percent opposed such a measure. Ten percent remained undecided in the poll.

    The same poll asked voters if they would support new taxes. About 68 percent said no, while 21 percent said they would pay additional taxes to reduce the deficit.

Gov. Rick Perry leads Democrat Bill White in latest poll

Gov. Rick Perry has a nine-point lead over his Democratic opponent Bill White in a University of Texas at Austin/Texas Tribune poll released today.

Perry had 44 percent support from 800 voters polled in the survey. White had 35 percent support in the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.

About 15 percent remained undecided and seven percent preferred "someone else."

Perry seems to have greater support with white voters, men and women. White has more support from African American and Hispanic voters.

About 42 percent of voters in the poll said they approved of the job Perry was doing as governor, while 39 percent disapproved.  Another 16 percent said they were neutral.

The approval ratings for President Barack Obama, however, are lower. About 58 percent of Texans in the poll disapprove of the president's job performance.

Pollster Jim Henson expects that the Perry campaign will attempt to capitalize on those numbers. Perry beat Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison handily with an anti-Washington campaign. Now, the Perry campaign could be looking to tie White to anti-Obama sentiments.

"You take all of this together and you're seeing the solidification of anti-Washington sentiment trumping anti-incumbency," Henson said in the poll. "You've already seen the Perry campaign trying to identify White with this — they're obviously looking at the same thing."

Bill White doesn't want you to forget he's from Texas

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White has released a new television commercial that continues to point to his Texas background.

White's new 60-second ad — titled "Texas Roots, Texas Values" – may be an effort to avoid a repeat of the primary election between Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

The Perry campaign cast Hutchison as a Washington D.C. insider during the primary election. White faces Perry in the November general election.

State Rep. Norma Chavez asks for inclusion of Tiguas and other tribes in history standards

State Rep. Norma Chavez has asked the State Board of Education to consider including Texas' Ysleta del Sur Pueblo/Tigua Indians, the Alabama-Coushatta and the Kickapoo tribes in proposed history standards.

She wants the board to make learning about the tribes a requirement for fourth grade students in a section that calls for children to understand "origins, similarities and differences of American Indian groups in Texas and North America before European exploration."

The section currently mentions the Lipan Apache and the Karankawa as examples of what may be taught.

Below is Chavez's letter to Chairwoman Gail Lowe. Norma Chavez Letter to SBOE

Financial aid, hospital beds spared from cuts

    Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus made a final decision today on which state agencies will have to implement 5 percent budget cuts and which will be spared.

    The state's prison system, financial aid programs and funding for beds in mental health hospitals received some type of exemption.

    Agencies required to cut their budgets were told to start immediately. The state expects to save $1.2 billion from the cuts.

    “Every penny we save now in the 2010-11 biennium is one penny closer to balancing the budget in the next legislative session,” Perry said in a statement.

    The state is expecting a budget deficit that could top $18 billion. Potential cuts for the savings were projected at about $1.7 billion before the exemptions.

    Below is the list of some of the exemptions cited in the release:

    •Texas Department of Public Safety Homeland and Border Security Funds to continue protecting Texans against all threats;

    • State Health Services to maintain state hospital beds;

    • Texas Department of Criminal Justice to ensure public safety;

    • Texas Workforce Commission to maintain job training and job creation programs;

    • Higher Education Coordinating Board to maintain increases in student financial aid.

Here is list of agency savings targets.
Here is a list of agency exemptions.
 

 

Gov. Rick Perry responds to critical letter from U.S. congressmen

Gov. Rick Perry has responded in a letter to a handful of Democratic congressmen who criticized him for not directing enough of the federal money the state receives to the border.

Below is Perry's letter and a letter from the congressmen to the governor. Perry letter to Congressmen Letter from Congressmen to Perry

New poll numbers for the Governor's race

    A new Rasmussen poll shows Gov. Rick Perry with a substantial lead over his Democratic opponent Bill White.

    White, who was within four points of Perry in a Rasmussen survey last month, has lost ground in the latest poll.

    The telephone poll of 500 likely voters shows White with 38 percent support to Perry's 51 percent. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

    Here are some tidbits from the poll:

    •Perry, who is seeking an unprecedented third term as governor, has been sharply critical of the   federal government in recent months and more specifically of the national health care bill passed by Democrats in Congress. Sixty-three percent (63%) of Texas voters favor repeal of the health care law while only 33% oppose repeal. Opposition to the health care law is even higher in Texas than it is nationally. The Texas figures include 53% who Strongly Favor Repeal and 24% who are Strongly Opposed.

    •Seventy-seven percent (77%) of those who Strongly Favor repeal support Perry. Eighty-four percent (84%) of the smaller group who Strongly Oppose repeal back White.

    •Fifty-five percent (55%) of voters in the state currently approve of the job Perry is doing as governor, roughly the level of support he’s maintained over the previous two months. Forty-two percent (42%) disapprove.

    •Seventeen percent (17%) have a Very Favorable opinion of Perry, while 24% view him Very Unfavorably.

    •White, the former mayor of Houston, is viewed Very Favorably by 15% and Very Unfavorably by 15%.

New proposals for social studies standards

Don McLeroy, a conservative Republican of the State Board of Education, is gearing up for next week's meeting  with a number of proposed amendments that include a continued push against the separation of church and state and get students to evaluate "efforts by global organizations to undermine U.S. sovereignty."

A list and explanation of each amendment from McLeroy is available below.

UPDATE: For a look at what the State Board of Education faces when it reconvenes for a final vote next week read today's story in the El Paso Times.

amendments -

U.S. Marshal confirmed by the Senate

Robert Almonte, of El Paso, was unanimously confirmed today by the U.S. Senate to serve as U.S. marshal for the Western District of Texas.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a statement that he was pleased his colleagues in the senate agreed that Almonte was the right pick for the job.

Almonte is the Executive Director of the Texas Narcotic Officers Association and the owner of Narcotics Training Specialists, a law enforcement training and consultant company. 

He is a past Deputy Chief of the Major Crimes Bureau for the El Paso Police Department.

“His years of experience in El Paso law enforcement, including a specialization in narcotics trafficking, are the kind of background and perspective we need in this important position," Cornyn said.

"Now more than ever, as drug-related violence escalates along our southern border, we need a U.S. Marshal in place with a keen understanding of the unique challenges our border poses and extensive experience investigating the key players and their tactics in today’s deadly drug war," Cornyn said. "Mr. Almonte is the right man for the job, and I look forward to working with him to ensure a safe and secure Texas border."

President Barack Obama nominated Almonte on March 25.    

Congressman Silvestre Reyes today also weighed in on the confirmation. He had recommended Almonte for the post.

"Chief Almonte brings nearly three decades of distinguished service in law enforcement to this critical post, and I am proud to have recommended him to the President," Reyes said.