Senator Cornyn on the Issues

Energy

Senator Cornyn’s solution to high fuel prices and our nation’s dependency on foreign sources for oil in very simple terms: We need more energy. In the long-term, Senator Cornyn proposes exploring all viable alternative sources including wind, solar, nuclear, coal, geothermal and more. In the short term, it is vital to our nation’s security that we open up ANWR and the outer continental shelf for exploration and drilling. He adamantly opposes Democrat proposals to tax, sue and regulate our way out of our energy dependence do nothing to that end.

Economy

Senator Cornyn believes that low taxes, minimal regulation and pro-growth economic policies are the keys to a vibrant, robust economy. Senator Cornyn has consistently supported Republican-led tax cuts that have led to unprecedented economic growth for Texas and America. Limiting unproductive government interference in our free market system is the key to our prosperity. We must make this tax relief permanent.

Immigration/Border Security

Senator Cornyn has insisted that we address the long-overdue reform of our broken immigration system – that we enforce our laws – not ignore them. The law protects all of us, no matter where we come from or how we pronounce our last names. We must commit to a legal immigration system that serves the best interests of our country. That means securing the border and enacting comprehensive immigration reform legislation that can be enforced. Securing the border will require a number of steps, including increased numbers of Border Patrol agents (we’ve doubled them in the last four years), vehicle barriers and fencing in appropriate locations, and technological-assisted electronics, drones and other methods. Immigration reform is long overdue, and Senator Cornyn believes it can best be resolved through a comprehensive approach followed by strict enforcement of the new law.

Health Care

The key to better health care, and making it more affordable, is giving people more choices and more control, not government mandates. Senator Cornyn is putting forward reforms that ensure patients continue to pick their own doctor and make it easier for people to take their insurance with them when they change jobs. He also believes individuals and employees of small businesses should be given access to the same tax advantages employees of bigger companies get. Another proposal that would greatly improve the quality of coverage would be putting the cost and quality of health care online, so patients can easily compare prices and services. Senator Cornyn opposes Universal Health Care. A government-run, single-payer model would lead inevitably to rationing of services, fewer alternatives for individuals, an impaired doctor-patient relationship and decreased quality of health care.

Veterans

As the son of a World War II veteran, supporting our fighting men and women has always been my highest priority. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Cornyn has demanded that our Veterans receive the health care access, services, and benefits they have earned and so rightly deserve. Senator Cornyn has worked to secure pay raises and increased benefits for military personnel, helped increase VA health care funding by 34% and VA mental health funding by 27%, and sponsored legislation to bring a much needed Veterans Hospital to South Texas. Regarding our future veterans, Senator Cornyn voted for a dramatic expansion of G.I. bill education benefits which supported our volunteer military and its positively influenced its retention efforts. It contained a benefits transferability component that would be a major assist in recruiting and retaining vital career personnel. The Defense Department, as well as independent and nonpartisan sources such as the Congressional Budget Office, determined that the Democrat version of the same bill, which didn’t include transferability, would harm our retention efforts and our ability to defend ourselves.

National Security

Sen. Cornyn believes that the government’s top priority is to keep Americans safe and secure. America must stay on the offensive in the Global War on Terror, and Sen. Cornyn has worked to ensure that the men and women on the front lines have the tools and resources needed to do just that. Sen. Cornyn believes that comprehensive immigration reform is paramount to that goal.

War In Iraq

Senator Cornyn was an advocate for the current surge well before the Administration adopted it. One of the reasons that we have had no further terrorist assaults on U.S. soil after 9-11 is that our volunteer army is engaging the terrorists on foreign soil, and defeating them. Senator Cornyn believes that an artificial timetable for withdrawal would only benefit our adversaries and leave a major power vacuum in the region. Senator Cornyn has supported our troops and military leaders as they have struggled against a determined and vicious enemy in an unstable region. His policy in the war on terror is similar to Ronald Reagan’s – We win, and they lose.

Education

Senator Cornyn believes every child deserves access to a first-class education system and has worked to keep the cost of college education in check. He co-sponsored and voted for the College Cost Reduction and Access Act which increased the number of Texas Pell Grant recipients and helped lower the cost of student loans. Senator Cornyn also helped secure an additional $224 million to increase the number of Texas high school students attending college. While Sen. Cornyn has been in the Senate, Pell Grants have increased in Texas by more than $156 million and student loans by more than $1 billion, an increase of 73%. Senator Cornyn has sought to reform No Child Left Behind, to make certain our K-12 education decisions are made not in Washington – but in Texas, by parents and teachers and school boards.

The Environment

Senator Cornyn believes that we should be good stewards of our environment and that we must relieve ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil. The most productive avenue to do so, which is consistent with our security and economic needs, is to develop clean energy sources, including renewable and nuclear, and to invest in technology that will allow us to use other energy sources in an environmentally friendly way. Senator Cornyn is a proponent of part of giving tax credits to homeowners and builders who incorporate alternative energy sources in their homes, like solar, wind, and geothermal energy. He strongly opposes any unilateral environmental standards that might be imposed on the United States that are not likewise imposed on our global competitors because they unfairly burden job creation in our country. As an avid outdoorsman, Senator Cornyn believes that conservation is important as well. While in the Senate, Senator Cornyn has worked to preserve and protect Texas’ wildlife habitat, protect marine species and coastal wildlife, restore our streams and rivers, and control and eradicate noxious weeds.