Rick Perry on Government Reform Republican Governor (TX)

Cut Congress' pay in half & make them part-time

PERRY: I think that it's the states' call, not the federal government. But the real issues that we have in this country are that people are sick of Washington, D.C. They're sick of the money that they're seeing spent, they're sick of the fraud and the corruption that they're seeing. They're sick of seeing their kids' futures mortgaged because we've got a Washington, D.C., that is out of touch with the country. It's the reason, when I talk about my overhauling Washington plan, and I've gotten a pretty good response when I talk about going to a part-time Congress. Cut their pay in half, let 'em spend half the time in Washington, D.C. Send 'em back home to have a regular job like the rest of the people in their districts, and work under the laws that they pass. That, I suggest, along with a balanced budget amendment, will go a long way toward stopping a lot of the nonsense that we're seeing coming out of Washington.

Culture of Washington too cozy with corporate lobbyists

PERRY: Well, we have the regulations in place, and we had the regulations in place well before the meltdowns occurred. We have a culture in Washington, D.C., where these corporate lobbyists have these cozy relationships with the people that they are regulating. And we have to have leadership in this country that not only recognizes that, but demands that those individuals who are working for us are in those agencies, whether it's in the stock market or whether it's Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. And when there are individuals who are breaking the laws, who are pushing the bounds, that there are clear efforts that are made to take those people either out of those jobs or prosecute them for criminality. One of the two, that has to happen. And you can pass legislation like you said until the world looks level. But you have got to have men and women who are committed to the laws of this country.

Make Washington inconsequential in your lives

Tort reform was powerful TX job creator; do same federally

ROMNEY: Oh, sure. But if you're dealt four aces that doesn't make you necessarily a great poker player. Under Ann Richards, job growth in Texas was under 2.5% a year; under George Bush 3% a year; under Rick Perry it's been 1% a year.

PERRY: The fact is the state of Texas has led the nation. While the current resident of the White House is overseeing the loss of 2.5 million jobs, Texas during my period of governor has created over a million jobs. And we did that during some pretty tough economic period. One of the things that's really important was tort reform that we passed. And you want to talk about some powerful job creation? Tell the trial lawyers to get out of your state and to quit costing businessmen and women. That's what needs to happen in the states, and it's also what needs to happen at the federal level, passing federal tort reform at those federal levels.

Require voters to present photo ID at polling places

SB 14 requires a voter to show as a valid form of photo ID, either a driver's license, US military ID card, US citizenship certificate that contains a photograph, US passport, or Texas concealed handgun license. The bill creates a free election identification certificate, with a photograph, for registered voters who need a photo ID.

The bill also increases the penalty for voting illegally to a second degree felony, and increases attempted illegal voting to a state jail felony. Voters who fail to show a photo ID at the polling place may cast a provisional ballot.

States are liberty's friend

• States allow us to live with people of like mind: I would no more consider living in Massachusetts than I suspect a great number of folks from Massachusetts would like to live in Texas. We just don't agree on a number of things.
• States promote mobility.
• States limit centralization of power.
• States should be laboratories of democracy.
• States encourage civic virtue, independence, and self-reliance.

Reverse trend of federal power back to state & local level

Serving as the governor of Texas for almost ten years has given me a unique perspective on the current state of things in our country. And from my vantage point, I see a nation filled with good, hardworking people who are wondering what happened to the country they knew. It wasn't so long ago that we were expected to pay our bills, we were able to pray at the town meeting, and we believed it was important to rely on ourselves or our families rather than government.

Strong union requires limited federal government

This power structure is no trivial matter. It is not a footnote to our founding or something just for the history books. It is the result of intense forethought and debate by the very men who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to give this nation to us. This structure protects the liberty of every American while honoring the cohesive whole we are as a nation.

An obvious question arises, though: how do the states protect liberty, and what is liberty in the first place? Well, before there was government, there were people. We, the people, were given life by our Creator.

Earmarks corrupt the governing process

Why do we care about $29 billion in earmarks when our national deficit this year will be around $1.5 trillion? Because earmarks corrupt the process and divert attention from the real task of governing and oversight.

A modest 1-year moratorium on earmarks, proposed in 2008, was defeated 29-71. However, due to pressure from the Tea Party movement and an extremely frustrated American public, the idea of a moratorium remains alive, and at least the House GOP voted as a conference in Mar. 2010 to adopt a moratorium. What legislators should do is adopt a moratorium on pork until the budget is actually balanced, but don't hold your breath. In fact, the GOP failed to mention earmarks in its "agenda" document released in the fall of 2010

Campaign contributions are political free speech

Any student of American history, or even the casual observer of the news of the day, must admit that the Court adheres to the Constitution in appearance and as a matter of necessity, finding in it or in previous case law the single nugget around which the Court can marginally justify its policy choice to keep up the pretense of actually caring one iota about the Constitution in the first place.

Control spending to make government less burdensome

It was only six years ago when the 78th Legislature kicked off with a $10 billion budget shortfall.

To our shared credit, we didn't raise taxes like so many other states did then...and are again contemplating today. Instead, we tightened our belt, made spending cuts where we could and focused on key priorities, never forgetting that it's not OUR money we spend here; it's the taxpayers'.

All across the country, states are hiking sales taxes, and begging Washington DC for a bailout. Because we took a different approach back then, we know it's better to control spending to make government less burdensome, as a way to free up the economic power of our citizens.

What's wrong with restricting ex-felons from voting?

Reforms must respect state's rights to select electors.

The Issue

NGA’s Position

No Pork Pledge: decrease earmarking; increase transparency.

Despite congressional reforms over the past several years to reduce pork barreling and increase earmark accountability and transparency, earmarks continue to figure prominently as the "currency of corruption" on Capitol Hill, undermining the federal budgetary process and our democratic system of government. In an effort to encourage more members of Congress and candidates for office to kick the earmarking habit, CCAGW has launched a new no-gimmicks, anti-pork pledge.

By signing CCAGW’s No Pork Pledge, incumbents and candidates vow not to request any pork-barrel earmark, which is defined as meeting one of the following criteria:
• Requested by only one chamber of Congress
• Not specifically authorized
• Not competitively awarded
• Not requested by the President
• Greatly exceeds the President’s budget request or the previous year’s funding
• Not the subject of congressional hearings
• Serves only a local or special interest