AUSTIN – Texas should continue down its successful path of enabling competition in its electricity and telecommunications markets, according to a report released today by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “Texas has the most competitive electricity market in the U.S., if not the world. Its telecommunications market is equally successful,” says Bill Peacock, the report’s...
Press Release May 25, 2010AUSTIN – Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister have joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation as Senior Fellows. Foundation President Brooke Rollins announced at an Austin luncheon today that Cruz and Brister will work with the Center for Tenth Amendment Studies, the Foundation's eighth policy center. The...
Press Release May 20, 2010"We agree with Speaker Straus' statement today that ‘we cannot afford business as usual.' As intimidating as the task may seem to some legislators, we must balance our budget by focusing on the spending side of the equation. "Many of the budget cuts made during our last budget shortfall in 2003 were restored two years...
Press Release May 10, 2010“Today’s Senate testimony by Texas Health & Human Services Executive Commissioner Tom Suehs makes clear the extent to which the new federal health care law will disrupt Texas’ ability to manage its Medicaid program, and to which Congress will hijack Texas’ state budget. “Texas legislators now understand that they will be forced to make additional...
Press Release March 31, 2010AUSTIN – A new report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation seeks to help state and local policymakers identify cost-effective approaches to reducing juvenile crime and rehabilitating juvenile offenders. “With Texas entering a difficult budget-cutting cycle, the report is intended as a reference guide for policymakers that helps them to replicate programs proven to be...
Press Release March 25, 2010AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation criticizes yesterday’s U.S. House passage of legislation that enables the federal government takeover of America’s health care system. “The legislation that Congress has sent to the White House will have disastrous consequences on Texans’ access to quality health care,” said The Honorable Arlene Wohlgemuth, executive director of the...
Press Release March 22, 2010This morning's Congressional Budget Office score is nothing more than a smoke screen to distract the public. The core issue remains the ugly details of the U.S. Senate health care bill the House will try to "deem to have passed" this Sunday. Passage of the Senate bill would increase Texans' health insurance premiums by 61...
Press Release March 18, 2010HOUSTON – The enactment of current federal proposals to cap carbon emissions could cost Texas as much as 200,000 jobs and $41 billion in economic activity in the year 2030, according to new research released today by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “Texas, having an economy tied to energy development and manufacturing, is particularly vulnerable...
Press Release February 18, 2010“The EPA’s endangerment finding on CO2 is an abuse of its authority, and our state leadership is on solid ground to challenge it in court. EPA is charged with implementing the laws enacted by Congress, not making new ones. “EPA’s claim of regulatory authority over CO2 gives them unprecedented power to regulate millions of buildings,...
Press Release February 16, 2010AUSTIN – Texas consumers in regions open to electric competition can purchase electricity at considerably lower prices than is routinely reported in national comparisons, according to new research released today by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “Most competitive prices are considerably lower than what is reported in the federal government’s data,” said Bill Peacock, Director...
Press Release January 26, 2010AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation is pleased to announce the additions of Dallas businessman George Seay III and Celina entrepreneur and ABC/ESPN college football analyst Craig James to its board of directors. "George Seay and Craig James bring new ideas and energy to the Texas Public Policy Foundation," said TPPF Chairman Wendy Lee...
Press Release January 20, 2010AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation sharply criticized the U.S. Senate’s approval earlier today of H.R. 3590, saying that the proposed federal government takeover of our health care system would do considerable harm to Texas patients and the Texas state budget. “Under the legislation approved by the U.S. Senate, the prognosis for health care...
Press Release December 24, 2009