Sinton: High School Principal & School Board Show Their Racism In Not Allowing A Mexica American Student To Participate In Commencement Ceremonies?

May 29, 2004

Sinton Independent School District Superintendent Mike Roberts, Sinton High School Principal Kellie Kolb and the Sinton ISD school board members have done a disservice to the community of Sinton by not allowing student Eli Garcia to participate in his commencement ceremonies.  I can understand if school officials had evidence to support their claim that Eli Garcia was involved in an illegal activity on school grounds, but no such fact is documented as stated by Sinton Police Chief Eugene Deleon and San Patricio County Commissioner Nina Trevino.  Mr. Roberts claims to have proof of this incident, but when confronted by the Department of Justice, the media, and at the request of the family, Mr. Roberts refused to produce any evidence to justify their actions.  Since late April, Soledad Aguirre, mother of Eli Garcia, has diligently been attempting to resolve this matter as quickly as possible so that her son may celebrate his educational achievement with the rest of his graduating class, but the only resolution she received was the “runaround” by Mr. Roberts and Mr. Kolb.  Mr. Roberts and his administration give a new meaning to word “coward” by the recent actions of activating answering machines and not returning phone calls; of not communicating with concerned citizens and activists like professionals and denying parents the right of representation.  As a matter of fact, eyewitnesses observed school board member Mr. Gary Fagan locking the gates of the campus, which is public property, in order to deny access to the free press.  It is obvious that some individuals of this administration have no backbone to do the right thing.  It is common knowledge within the Sinton ISD administration, students and staff of the inappropriate behavior of Principal Kellie Kolb with a female staff member, which can be overlooked without consequences, yet certain students are held to a higher standard.   Instead of helping and encouraging a student, Mr. Roberts has decided to embarrass, insult, and disgrace the family of Eli Garcia and the Mexican-American community to show off his position of power.  Therefore, I encourage the citizens of Sinton Texas to exercise their right as equal, free Americans to vote the hatred and lack of compassion out of the Sinton ISD school board when that opportunity arises.     

Santiago R. Hernandez

CONSULATE GENERAL OF SPAIN

1800 Bering Dr., Suite 660

Houston, Texas 77057

Tel.713-783-6200

The Consulate General of Spain wishes to thank all of you for the support and solidarity in this time of sorrow for our country and would like to remind you that the Book of Condolences shall be opened until Monday the 15^th at 2:00 p.m.

Following the closure of the Book, there will be a three minute silent concentration in front of the office to honour the victims of the Madrid terrorist bombings.

A Mass in memory of the victims will be held at 6:00 p.m. at St. Michael?s Catholic Church, 1801 Sage Rd. Houston, TX 77057.

Houston, Texas, March 14, 2004

 

CONSULADO GENERAL DE ESPA?A

1800 Bering Dr., Suite 660

Houston, Texas 77057

Tel.713-783-6200

El Consulado General de Espa?a desea agradecer al p?blico sus muestras de condolencia y solidaridad en estos momentos tan dolorosos para nuestro pa?s y les recuerda que el Libro de P?sames estar? abierto hasta las 2:00 p.m. el lunes 15 de marzo de 2004.

 

Despu?s de cerrarse el Libro, se llevar? a cabo una manifestaci?n silenciosa a las puertas del Consulado para honrar a las v?ctimas del acto terrorista en Madrid.

A las 6 de la tarde, habr? una Misa Solemne en la Iglesia Cat?lica de San. Michael, 1801 Sage Rd. Houston, TX 77057.

Houston, Texas, a 14 de marzo de 2004

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02/25/03

Column:

Latino Politics in South Texas

by: Michael D. Garcia, P.E.

 

I have been participating in a year long Latino leadership program in Austin, Texas.  The program is called Hispanic Austin Leadership and is sponsored by the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  To date in this program we have covered several very interesting Latino topics including demographics, education, economics; but the most fascinating to me has been the history of Latino politics in Texas and for me, most especially South Texas.  I am originally from Taft.  I grew-up in Taft and graduated from Taft High School.  Because of my introduction into politics by my father at a very young age I am very familiar with the political arena in Texas and South Texas. 

          There are three major points that I will be discussing this article that specifically pertain to Latino politics in Texas and the examples that I will use will hit home for many of you.  The three issues are Leadership (lack of), Ethics (again lack of) and participation (yet again a lack of).  As Latinos we have all had to deal with various issues ranging from as subtle as cultural issues to direct and blatant discrimination.  Some of us have experienced varying levels of these issues and a lucky few have not directly experienced these issues at all.  In this article, I will give my views on the critical issues, as I see them, in current Latino politics.

          First and foremost I will address Leadership, because this is the central point of this article.  There has been a pronounced and marked lack of leadership for the Latino community at all levels of politics for many years.  This is evident in the fact that there is not one national Latino leader that stands out as a beacon for the community.  Think about it, how many national Latino leaders can you think of (and I mean a true leader)?  Most Latino leaders have fallen very short of the leadership mark.  Think about the trials and tribulations surrounding Mr. Henry Cisneros and Mr. Dan Morales, just to name a few.  I do know however, that these issues are similar at the local political levels.  There are several individuals who are trying very hard to be the leaders that our community desperately needs.  The hard part is to decipher between true positive leadership and negative leadership. For example, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Chancellor Adolph Hitler prior to and during the Second World War.  Remember that Hitler was popularly elected in Germany in 1933.  A leader has to have several traits and skills in order to succeed.  Some of the most significant traits include the ability to be a consensus builder (very difficult trait), has to be accountable for all action and inactions, has to have integrity among the people and a leader has to be ethical.  Again, there are numerous important traits for good leadership and I have only pointed out four.  The point is that positive leadership puts the community first and not self-ambition.

          The issue of ethics is of course a touchy subject, but one that needs to be addressed.  The ethical issues surrounding Latino politics are also very numerous and impossible to cover completely.  But, I will address the significant ones as I see them.  Backroom deals, kick backs, selling out, bribes, all common phrases and allegations that surround politics and of course Latino politics does not escape this.  The issue is the ability of our leaders to focus on the needs and wants of the community that is being represented.  All of us know that many many politicians are only in the political profession for self-enrichment.  These are the shady characters to avoid and expose.  As a community, Latinos do not need and cannot afford leadership that does not put the community first.  The Latino community is already at a disadvantage and cannot afford further setbacks.  As the saying goes ?power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.?  Therefore, it takes a person of very strong ethical beliefs and a strong moral will to be a positive leader for the community.  Everyone must remember that self-preservation and self-enrichment are very strong natural tendencies for all humans.  I have seen this in Latino politics and in Corporate America.  The ethical issues also resonate back to the community.  There are obligations that communities have to each other and to the leaders that represent them.  My point is that the Latino community can no longer tear each other down.  We must come together and work together as a community in order to build our neighborhoods, our schools and our businesses.  Look at how successful the Cuban-American, Jewish-American and Asian-American communities are.  These communities work together to build each other?s businesses and neighborhoods.  Ask yourself when is the last time I did something to help my neighbor or my community?  We have to help ourselves first in order to succeed as a community.  I challenge all of the young professionals to go back to your high school or junior high school and ask the educators how you can help.  Mentoring students, being a role model, sharing you skills and knowledge, networking; these are all examples of the things that professional can offer the students in high school and junior high school.  Successful Latinos must turn the corner and begin thinking about giving back and stop thinking so much about career or monetary success.  We must overcome the traditional think of self-enrichment in order to foster a better life for the Latino community in this country. 

Finally, participation, the great unknown to the vast majority in the Latino community.  As a community we must get involved in the political process at every level.  This means educating oneself on the political process, the candidates and the issues; registering to vote and then voting.  As a community, Latinos have significantly improved voter turnout rates in the last ten years but there is still a lot of work to be done.  According to the William C. Velasquez Institute in the year 2000, there was a population of approximately 2.9 million Texas Latino citizens of voter age.  Of that 2.9 million, only 1.9 million (or 50%) were actually registered voters.  So right off the bat, the Latino Community in Texas lost 50% of its voting power for the 2000 election.  Of the 1.9 million registered Latino voters in Texas only 51% actually turned out to vote during the same 2000 elections.  So the 32% population strength of Latinos in Texas for 2000, was only 15% of the of the votes casts in Texas because we did not register to vote and did not get out to vote.  Get involved is essential to the political success of the Latino community.  I want to end this article by stating that Latinos will never agree on each and every issue (consensus).  In this country, there is room for many different ideas and we must respect each other and agree to disagree sometimes.  My closing statement is that we must educate ourselves, get involved in the system, give back to our communities and get out to vote on Election Day.

 

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Gov. Perry looks back on a year of accomplishments

       by The Texas Republican Party

        December 26, 2003

Texas legislators headed to the capitol in January faced with a $10 billion revenue shortfall, a turbulent homeowners insurance market, skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance rates driving doctors out of business, and grim economic predictions of a continuing recession.

By year's end, the Texas legislature had accomplished what no other major state could: a balanced budget that did not raise taxes, and a spending plan that for the first time since World War II spends less general revenue dollars than the previous year. "We viewed tough economic times as a unique opportunity to build government anew, to reshape priorities and to refocus its mission," Perry said in September in a speech to the Heritage Foundation.

Governor Perry cited as major achievements of 2003 the new economic development tools such as the Texas Enterprise Fund that are already paying dividends to Texans in the form of new jobs and new opportunities and education advancements like the Texas High School Project that have laid the groundwork for true education reform next year.

Additionally, national opinion leaders sat up and took notice of the legislative efforts led by Governor Perry with the Wall Street Journal opining on Texas lawsuit reforms, "Texas not only provides an example for other states but also for Republicans in Congress," the newspaper continued. "The lesson is how the right leadership on an issue can change the political climate. Republicans in Washington, and especially in the filibustering Senate, need to display the same will as their state counterparts."

In October, the Wall Street Journal said Arnold Schwarzenegger could look to Perry and the Texas experience for models in successful governance. The editorial cited Perry's cost-saving efforts to pared a billion dollars of the state's health care agency by consolidating its bureaucracy and similar "surgery on the state's sprawling education bureaucracy."

Steve Forbes, economist and publisher of Forbes magazine, saluted Perry's leadership on tort reform and budget matters in a September column, calling Perry a "no-nonsense, get-it-done governor." "Thankfully for Texans and the U.S. economy, this governor means business," Forbes wrote.

2003 also closed with economic news that Texas is experiencing economic growth, and the outlook for 2004 looks promising. Governor Perry has attended job announcements all across Texas that will lead to more than 11,000 new jobs because of employer expansions and relocations.

"More economic growth means more jobs and more money for education and health care priorities in the years to come. As 2003 comes to a close Texas is in much better shape then it was when the year began," added Perry. "We set priorities and goals and we worked hard to achieve them. We did what we set out to do."

2003 ACHIEVMENTS

JOB GROWTH
Building a Texas of Unlimited Prosperity and Opportunity

Job Creation: Since January 2003, Governor Perry has been involved in job creation negotiations that have resulted in more than 11,500 new jobs and $5.5 billion in capitol investment in the Texas economy.

Company	Industry	Texas Location	Direct Jobs	Investment
TELVISTA	telephone support center	Odessa	695	$3,000,000
MAXIM INTEGRATED PRODUCTS	Semi-conductor	San Antonio	300	$100,000,000
COUNTRYWIDE	Regional Headquarters	Fort Worth	2,000	$7,500,000
TASUS	Automotive	Georgetown	160	$6,000,000
HARLEY DAVIDSON FINANCIAL DIVISION	Financial Services	Plano	225	$3,000,000
VOUGHT AIRCRAFT	Aerospace	Dallas	255	$300,000,000
UTMB	Nat'l Bio-Containment Lab	Galveston	200	$160,000,000
CERTAINTEED	Mfg. fiberglass	Sherman	200	$140,000,000
BOEING	Aerospace	Bexar County	250	$5,000,000
ECODEV, LLC	Computer Products	Paris	50	$3,500,000
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS	Semi-conductor	Dallas	1,000	$3,000,000,000
TRANSFORMER DECOMMISSIONING, LLC	Recycling	Wills Point	20	$1,000,000
FIRESTONE BLDG. PRODUCTS	Building Products	Corsicana	49	$14,000,000
QUEST DIAGNOSTIC	Medical	Houston	500	$10,000,000
MERKAFON TELEPERFORMANCE	Computer/Data Process	Edinburg	500	$1,500,000
SEMATECH	High-Tech Consortium	Austin	350	$650,000,000
CONAGRA	Fiber and Fiber	Lukin	180	$72,000,000
HEREFORD BY PRODUCTS	Pet/Food Products	Hereford	25	$1,000,000
INDYMAC BANK	Financial Institution	Irving	75	$3,000,000
HEWLETT PACKARD	Computer Services	Houston	475	$10,000,000
BATTERY RECLAMATION	Recycling	Pecos	22	$2,500,000
TOYOTA	Mfg/Metal/Machinery	San Antonio	2,000	$800,000,000
CVS CORPORATION	Distribution center	Ennis	210	$120,000,000
MOTOROLA	Distribution center	Fort Worth	800	$25,000,000
FRACTIONAIR	Maint./FBO of Aircraft	McKinney	50	$13,600,000
MORGAN BLDG. AND SPAS	Mfg/Metal/Machinery	Navasota	163	$1,500,000
ROYAL OAK	Diesel Engine	San Antonio	100	$56,000,000
CAREMARK PRESCRIPTION SERVICES	Pharmaceutical Serv.	San Antonio	398	$4,250,000
BASLER ELECTRIC		Taylor	51	$3,000,000
JABIL/CENTRAL STATE REALITY	Electronics	McAllen	223	$1,000,000
GE SMART	Electronics	Austin	5	$100,000
TOTAL			11,481	$5,520,950,000

Texas Enterprise Fund: Gov. Perry successfully urged the legislature to create a $295 million job creation initiative, the Texas Enterprise Fund. It is based on Gov. Perry's belief that the best way to ensure continued prosperity in Texas is to create jobs that provide paychecks to Texas families. Job creation is, and always will be, a cornerstone to Governor Perry's Administration.

Lawsuit Reform: Texas voters - recognizing their access to quality health care was at stake - approved a constitutional limit on jury awards. National leaders sat up and took notice, and the Wall Street Journal called Texas' efforts "10-Gallon Tort Reform." Texas' tort reform removes the incentive for personal injury trial lawyers to file frivolous lawsuits and run doctors out of business, while protecting the ability of Texans wrongfully harmed by an act of malpractice to recover the full amount of their medical bills and lost wages and, in some cases, punitive damages.

Respected economist Ray Perryman estimates that Texas comprehensive lawsuit reforms will lead to the creation of more than 240,000 permanent jobs and add $36 billion to the Texas economy.

Transportation: With passage of House Bill 3588, Texas moved closer to becoming the national leader in providing progressive transportation solutions that will break gridlock, reduce pollution, remove hazardous vehicles from our city centers, create jobs and improve our overall quality of life. The law creates new financing tools - all without tax increases - to fund transportation projects."

Included in the comprehensive mobility legislation was the dedication of an additional $1 billion for Texas trauma centers over the next five years.

Base Realignment and Closure: Gov. Perry worked with members of the legislature in the creation of the Texas Military Planning Commission and moved the commission into the Governor's Office. With 18 major military installations that produce a combined economic impact of more than $49 billion, Texas realizes the importance of every military base and the creation of TMPC signals a level of commitment to that we are working with every Texas military base for future success. Over the next three months, the TMPC and representatives of the Governor's Office will be visiting all 18 major military installations to gain information about the military bases and the defense communities and to explain to local officials steps the state has taken to help with the BRAC process.

CONSUMER PROTECTION
Protecting Taxpayers, Managing Markets, Fostering Growth

Homeowners Insurance Reform: After two years of turbulence, Texas implemented the most sweeping insurance reforms in a generation that will lower skyrocketing homeowner rates, end deceptive credit scoring practices and enforce tougher regulations on the industry. The reforms promise to provide more than $500 million dollars in reduced rates and refunds to Texas homeowners and will bring long overdue stability to the Texas homeowners market.

Senate Bill 14 closes loopholes that had allowed many homeowner and auto insurance companies to bypass rate regulation, strengthens regulatory oversight and increases consumer options for coverage. House Bill 329 protects consumers from unlicensed mold remediators and prevents repaired mold claims from being a factor in insurance underwriting. Senate Bill 127 requires the licensing of public adjusters and gives the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) the authority to require more prompt response to water damage claims.

For the first time in two years, capacity in the Texas homeowners insurance market is rising proving that a well managed, stable, free market system will benefit consumers.

BUDGET
Instilling Responsibility and Discipline in Government Spending

Since 1990, the Texas population has grown by 27 percent and inflation has increased 37 percent. Yet during that same time period, the state's budget increased 125 percent and state spending on Medicaid jumped 400 percent. In 2001, the Legislature increased spending on health and human services programs alone by $4 billion. Clearly, government spending was out of line with state growth.

Unlike states that have raised taxes, raided pension funds and cashed in tobacco bonds, Texas didn't mortgage its future on a mountain of public debt.

We solved a $10 billion shortfall without placing a heavier tax burden on the hardworking men and women of Texas. That means Texans all across the state have more money in their pockets to spend. Instead we required government agencies to set priorities for real needs and to focus on cutting administrative costs.

The state increased funding for priorities like education, health care and transportation, but we recognized we could not keep spending what we have always spent with a budget gap that represented 16 percent of total general revenue.

We built our budget from scratch, separating wants from needs and directing agencies to focus on core functions and meeting essential service needs. Agencies produced spending reductions for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2003, and the state leadership worked with agency leaders to make spending more efficient. We consolidated 12 health and human service agencies down to five, producing innovations and cost-savings of close to $1 billion for Texas taxpayers with the passage of House Bill 2292. While we increased education funding by $1.2 billion - funds that were over and above what was needed for enrollment growth - we produced $70 million in savings by streamlining the functions of the Texas Education Agency.

EDUCATION REFORM
Making Sure Our Children Are Prepared for College and Jobs

Texas High School Project: A major public-private education initiative which partners the State of Texas, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Communities Foundation of Texas, and other private benefactors. It is designed to increase high school graduation and college attendance rates in school districts statewide.

The $130 million high school completion initiative, which includes $65 million in state funds along with roughly $65 million in private funds, is one of the largest public-private efforts of its kind to improve Texas schools. The state's portion of the funding was allocated in the budget during the regular session of the Texas Legislature.

Under the THSP, the state will offer grants of up to $600,000 to approximately 140 school districts. The grants will help pay for additional services for at-risk students at low-performing high schools to help them graduate and be academically prepared for college. Grants to the first set of 70 districts are expected in February, with a second round to be allocated in September.

Early Childhood Education: Senate Bill 76 established the Governor's Early Start Initiative and the State Center for Early Childhood Education at the University of Texas at Houston. $10 million was appropriated for programs to ensure that children are ready for kindergarten. Ten early childhood pilot programs have been funded throughout the state.

Increased Funding: At Governor Perry's insistence, the Texas legislature increased funding in public education by $1.2 billion at a time when state government was dealing with a $10 billion shortfall.

Master Science: The Legislature adopted Governor Perry's vision for an improved science curriculum, building on the successful model programs created in past years: the Master Reading and Master Math teacher programs. Expert science teachers will be rewarded with an annual $5,000 bonus if they apply their skills in the classroom and mentor their fellow science teachers.

Classroom Supplies: For the first time ever, the state will begin reimbursing teachers for school supplies they purchase for needy school children. House Bill 1844 passed the legislature at the urging of Governor Perry, and the appropriations bill authorizes TEA to set aside funds for a pilot project that is scheduled to begin in Spring 2004.

Safer Classrooms: Senate Bill 930 protects teachers from frivolous lawsuits by allowing them to effectively maintain discipline in their classrooms without fear of being sued.

TEXAS Grant: Despite budget pressures, state leaders funded a $56 million increase for the popular TEXAS Grant Scholarship Program, bringing total funding to $324 million. Texas now has more than one million college students, and a higher total of Hispanic college students than ever before.

First Generation: At Gov. Perry's urging, a $3 million grant awarded to the Texas Workforce Commission for exceeding performance goals set by the U.S. Education and Labor Departments was earmarked to recruit and aid "first generation" college students. The First Generation program is a key component of the governor's efforts to make higher education more accessible and affordable to a new generation of Texans.

Drop-Out Grants: In December, Gov. Perry announced $5 million in grants awarded to 13 Texas school districts, charter schools and other organizations for dropout prevention programs. These grants represent the first use of the $130 million in state and private funds that are included in the Texas High School Project. This initial $5 million comes from the Texas Grants to Reduce Academic Dropouts (GRAD) funds.

Perry also issued an executive order directing that $700 million in state aid to Texas schools be paid on time in August, rather than allowing the Foundation School Program payments to be delayed until September. The order was issues to clear up any confusion about conflicting provisions passed in two separate bills during the legislative session.

Perry also successfully worked to prevent more than 40 rural school districts from losing state aid. The schools faced the loss of funds just as they were gearing up for the 2003-04 school year as a result of a new state law that impacts how property appraisals are figured in the school finance formula. Perry worked with the Texas Education Agency to advance payments to school districts out of future funds owed to them, and lawmakers later fixed the problem during a special session.

HEALTH CARE
Protecting Our Most Vulnerable Citizens

Children's Health Insurance Program: Despite a $10 billion budget shortfall, eligibility for the Children's Health Insurance Program remained at 200 percent of the federal poverty level, the income eligibility applied by almost every other state. While some benefits were reduced to make the CHIP program more closely resemble benefits state employees receive through their health insurance, Gov. Perry worked with legislative leaders to restore mental health benefits to children in the program. The additional money needed to restore the benefits was made possible through administrative savings identified at the Health and Human Services Commission.

Under the Texas CHIP program a family making as much as $3,000 in monthly income is potentially eligible for coverage, ensuring we have maintained a generous benefit program for working families while taking extra measures to ensure taxpayer dollars are not spent on families who no longer qualify because they make too much money.

Medicaid Reimbursement: Gov. Perry sought and received authority to use $167 million in federal funds to increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate for health care providers and expand community care services for the elderly and poor. The move was part of the Governor's effort to stretch tax dollars to fund the most critical services. Additionally, he established the Governor's Medicaid Reform Workgroup to review the health care system and make recommendations on how to reduce costs in the Medicaid program.

Federally Qualified Health Centers: After urging lawmakers to provide seed money to increase the number of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Texas was awarded almost $3.9 million in federal grants to expand health care services to low-income and uninsured Texans. FQHCs provide routine and preventive care primarily to uninsured and underinsured Texans who live in areas designated as medically underserved. In addition, Perry worked with the Texas Department of Health in awarding $3.6 million in state incubator grants to develop new FQHCs. This new infusion of funding will help the centers attract more federal dollars and provide services to an additional 250,000 Texans, many of whom do not have insurance.

Improving Access to Health Insurance: New legislation also will make it easier for small employers to offer health insurance to their workers. Studies show that 75 percent of uninsured Texans have full-time jobs, and more than half of those Texans work at companies with no more than 20 employees. Employers now will be allowed to pool their risks and jointly purchase health care insurance at a lower cost. The laws allow small employers to join together to purchase health care policies and eliminate mandates on health care options offered by small employers.

Trauma Funding: The Texas Driver Responsibility Program will raise $1 billion for the state's trauma care centers over the next five years. We funded this initiative with tougher fines on habitually bad drivers - those individuals responsible for many of the patients who end up in emergency rooms.

Immunizations: Gov. Rick Perry signed an executive order directing the Texas Department of Health (TDH) to expedite implementation of a statewide plan to increase childhood immunization rates in Texas. We also improved the Texas immunization registry and paved the way for new public-private partnerships to increase awareness of the importance of early childhood immunizations. A new law expanding the reasons parents may refuse to vaccinate their children actually makes such exemptions more difficult to obtain. Under the new law, a parent must request in writing an exemption form from the Texas Department of Health (TDH), sign an affidavit before it is submitted to a school or daycare.

El Paso Medical School: Gov. Perry announced in October that legislative leaders had agreed to use budget execution authority to award $2 million in funding to finance start-up costs and faculty salaries for a new medical school in El Paso. Perry also signed legislation allowing the school to use $45 million in tuition revenue bonds to build the school. The $2 million comes from savings achieved through Perry's use of his line-item budget veto authority. The school will be the first new medical school in Texas in 30 years.

Regional Academic Health Center: Gov. Perry also announced that $9 million in funding to finance operating costs for the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) in Harlingen. Established by the Texas Legislature in 1997, the RAHC is a component of the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio aimed at providing undergraduate and graduate medical education. The money came from savings made available through Perry's use of his line-item veto authority.

SAFETY AND JUSTICE
Protecting Our Citizens, Our Children and the Homeland

In 2003, Governor Perry's Criminal Justice Division provided $ 143,302,260 in state and federal grants to support homeland security, law enforcement, the judiciary, corrections, and criminal justice organizations.

Homeland Security and Law Enforcement: In 2003, the Governors Office directed more than $50 million in federal funds for homeland security preparedness and counter-terrorism, reduction of violent crime, narcotics trafficking and abuse, equipment and training for law enforcement officers, treatment for substance abusers and technology. Also, a $1.7 million grant was designated to the Department of Public Safety to create a Texas Security Alert and Analysis Center to coordinate the state's intelligence, response and warning systems. The center allows the state to coordinate response to any type of threat, whether a hurricane, bioterrorism event, food safety alert, or other threat.

School Safety: Gov. Perry worked with the Texas Workforce Commission to identify $460,000 in funding to provide crisis training workshops for teachers and school officials across the state. The workshops provided intensive training so schools would be better prepared to respond to acts of violence and other potential disasters, and to develop school safety plans.

Juvenile Programs: Governor Perry designated $31,650,328 to help promote juvenile accountability, and delinquency prevention programs in Texas schools.

Victims Programs: $39,005,455 was given from the Governor's Office to victims' advocacy services and violence against women prevention and assistance programs.

Additional Funds totaling $22,598,512 were designated by Governor Perry to help smaller criminal justice programs across Texas.

VOLUNTEERISM
Encouraging Texans to Give of Themselves

Gov. Perry created the "OneStar Foundation," a non-profit organization whose goal is to help marshal Texans' indomitable spirit into meeting the needs of their fellow Texans, and named Susan Weddington to head the effort. The mission of the OneStar Foundation is to provide individuals and charitable organizations with the information and resources necessary to build partnerships with the state to assist those in need, and encourage Texans to volunteer in their communities. As part of its role, OneStar will open and house the Texas Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The office will provide a single point of contact and coordinate with similar federal and state offices to share information and distribute best practice models that will help other volunteer organizations improve the services they offer.

The House is debating Medicare reform

 Mr. Ortiz just made this statement for the Congressional Record.  The vote is expected in a couple of hours. -- CT

Statement by Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz, TX27
Regarding:  HR 1, Medicare Reform
November 18, 2003

Congress created Medicare in 1965 to make healthcare affordable and available for all senior citizens. My colleagues and I have fought to maintain this original intent.

Today, the leaders in Congress are pushing dangerous legislation - called Medicare reform - on South Texas seniors that fails to include an adequate prescription drug benefit while privatizing Medicare, killing the program at the end of the decade.

This prescription drug "coverage" is not what seniors expect or deserve. When seniors have more than $2,200 in drugs costs, they will hit a gap, where Medicare will no longer cover the costs of their prescriptions until they reach $5,000.

When this happens, these seniors will be forced to pay 100% out of their own pockets while still paying monthly premiums.   Meanwhile, their HMOs will select their doctors and their pharmacies.

Over 185 organizations with an interest in seniors' issues are wholly opposed to this bill.  While one of the largest senior organizations has lent support to this bill (The American Association of Retired Persons, AARP), it is the only one to do so ... it is the only one that provides insurance to seniors at a profit of $635 million ... and the only one poised to take advantage of billions of dollars in the bill to entice private insurers to cover seniors.

The bill effectively ends drug reimportation by allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to decide what prescriptions could be reimported.  The HHS Secretary has already said he would allow none.

If this is not the answer, what is?  I stand on my record, voting 8 times for a complete Medicare Rx drug plan ... voting 6 times and co-sponsoring 6 bills supporting higher reimbursements to doctors and hospitals ... voting 6 times not to kill Medicare ... and voting 8 times and co-sponsoring 3 bills to improve rural heathcare.

Nothing in this bill makes prescription drugs cheaper. Other Federal programs, such as the Veteran's Administration, get cheap drugs negotiating directly with the big drug companies. The plan will keep the government from negotiating for lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.

This plan protects the profits of drug manufacturers instead of providing real savings to seniors. Rising drug prices are unaddressed in this bill, a victory for the drug industry for preventing any attempts to lower drug prices. 

Meanwhile, the value of some seniors' property will be used to determine their level of coverage - including jewelry, cars, and other property of value for which they worked their entire lives.

In South Texas, for the short term anyway, the bill (which would not take effect until 2006) would help only about 30% of low-income seniors.  Effectively, that means this bill will not help over two-thirds of our most needy seniors.

When I think about the seniors this bill will affect, I think of the ladies who took care of me as I grew up in Robstown, Texas.  Life for them revolves around family and children, paying the bills and finding health care in their senior years.

These are the people affected by this bill, which ends Medicare as we know it, privatizing the entire program by the end of the decade.  It is thousands of South Texans like these who have raised angry voices in opposition to this bill.  I stand with them.

Medicare has been a trust between the government and those who do the hard work in our society, our senior citizens.  Too many seniors depend on Medicare for their healthcare needs, and I will not support a bill that destroys that trust.

ORTIZ: HOUSE PASSES ENERGY, WATER SPENDING BILL WITH $10 MILLION FOR AREA

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz announced today that the House of Representatives has passed the final Energy and Water spending bill, which contained funding for the Coastal Bend.

"Probably the biggest issue for South Texas in this bill was the future of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW)," said Ortiz.  "This fall, a late change to the funding bill could easily have closed the GIWW.  Several House members joined me in asking negotiators to find a solution; and the language, while not removed altogether, was watered down enough to keep dredging the GIWW."

"This year we finally broke ground for Packery Channel, which will be a big boost to the Coastal Bend economy," Ortiz said.  "Authorizing and funding Packery Channel has been a long journey, and we are not finished with it yet.  Of one thing we are certain - Packery Channel will bring new economic opportunity to the Corpus Christi area."

Ortiz won the following funding for South Texas:

?       $3 million for construction of North Padre Island (Packery Channel)
?       $6.6 million for operations and maintenance, Corpus Christi Ship Channel
?       $400,000 for planning, Corpus Christi Ship Channel deepening

The President is expected to sign the bill shortly.