Jan
18
Written by:
Mark Lavergne
1/18/2011 2:54 PM
Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst both lambasted the overreach of the Obama Administration and extolled the virtues of Texas' business-friendly regulatory and tax climate in their inauguration speeches.
Both said that the state must and will balance the budget without raising taxes, echoing the proposals released earlier today by the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute.
Highlights from Perry's speech:
*He touched on federal issues including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
*"Washington has America on a collision course with bankruptcy."
*He said the state must cut spending to keep its economic engine on track. Government will have to "prioritize" and "justify every penny."
*He praised state programs like the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, whose authority to issue bonds for cancer research was approved by voters in 2007.
*He said drug-related border violence has "arrived at our doorstep," and while it is a federal issue, state leaders can't stand idly by while citizens are threatened.
*He said the state must continue to invest in education.
*He said that he believes Texas will lead the way out of the country's present "turmoil." He said Texas is the best hope for entrepreneurs and small businesses. He called this Texas' time in history. "We must seize the day."
Highlights from Dewhurst's speech:
*He called on the federal government to triple the number of patrol agents to secure the border.
*He vowed to pass legislation to encourage job growth, and that Voter ID legislation will again pass the Senate this year. He also said the state would continue to build "world-class transportation" and improve access to healthcare, all while balancing the budget without raising taxes.
*He said Washington D.C. should listen to the people and look to the states. He called Obamacare the largest expansion of government in a generation.
*"Now is not the time to ask families to make do with less so government can spend more."
*He said people across the nation are voting with their feet, coming to Texas, which he calls a "fortress of economic freedom" and a "lone bastion of opportunity."
*"Centralized government that attempts too much achieves too little."