Mar
9
Written by:
Mark Lavergne
3/9/2011 12:34 PM
Today about three dozen Republican elected officials, including Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, heralded the resolutions recently filed in the House and Senate affirming the Texas’ sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and, in the words of the bill’s caption, “serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist from certain mandates, and providing that certain federal legislation be prohibited or repealed.” Rep. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) brought the resolution first in April 2009. It passed the House but not the Senate. He carries it again this year, with the same number -- HCR 50. Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) is carrying the companion resolution, SCR 14, in the Senate.
UPDATE: Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) criticized the resolution, calling it "divisive states' rights rhetoric" and saying it "stirs up reminders" of Jim Crow policies, slavery and other evils.
Here are some highlights from the presser.
Perry decried Washington’s continued efforts to assume and usurp the duties of the states. He repeated his attacks on the federal government for what he said was a wrongful interpretation of the Clean Air Act and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s taking over of certain air permitting processes in Texas, despite the effectiveness of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s regulations in that area.
He also criticized Washington’s attempts “to bribe us with our own money,” referring to certain policies with “strings attached” included in stimulus packages since Barack Obama has been president. One would have required Texas to make changes to its unemployment insurance policiesin order to receive $550 million from the federal government to shore up the state’s ailing unemployment insurance trust fund. Another was U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s recent law that resulted in Texas being ineligible to receive $830 million in education funds unless it commits to a certain level of education spending for future biennia. He also repeated his attacks on Obamacare, citing that from 2014-2024, the law is expected to cost Texas $27 billion.
Dewhurst followed Perry in criticizing Washington’s “micromanagement” education spending and air permitting. He said that Congress ought to do its job of defending the Texas border.
Perry also cited the loss of “squandered opportunity,” saying that increased centralized control in Washington has a chilling effect on the innovative spirit that Texas epitomizes. He said that absent Washington encroachment any of the 50 “laboratories” in the United States could be relied upon to find cheaper and better solutions than Washington could dream up to the problems facing the nation.
Creighton said that the resolution is not just a resolution, but a “mirror into our U.S. Constitution.” He said that the Washington way of taxing one’s way into prosperity is “not the Texas way.”
Patrick said that every Republican Senator has cosigned the bill. No Democratic Senators have yet signed on. Creighton told LSR that he expects to have bipartisan support by the time the bill passes.
Asked about the coming budget cuts, Perry said that he suspects when legislators go home in June, not everyone will be happy. But, he quipped, in the 13 sessions he has been there, there has never been one where everybody went home happy with the budget.
Creighton’s HCR 50 was left pending last week in the House Select Committee on State Sovereignty, which he chairs. Patrick’s SCR 14 was referred to Senate State Affairs on Feb. 14.
Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) issued a statement in response: "This divisive states' rights rhetoric is out of place and unbecoming of a legislative body. As my colleagues cheer on this 10th amendment resolution, they should be mindful that these types of resolutions asserting state sovereignty stir up reminders of the Jim Crow era.
"The sad reality is that Southern states used the states' rights arguments to justify slavery, school segregation, poll taxes and literacy tests. If this resolution had the force of law milestones like the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act could be voided in Texas.
"Our state's leaders need to take responsibility for their words and steer away from the hateful discourse that's caused a heated political environment. As they discuss the role of the federal government, I hope they consider federal legislation and how it has improved the lives of Texans."