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Capitol Comment
by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
2007 Year in Review
December 21, 2007
Nearly a year ago, when I was sworn into Congress for my third term as U.S. Senator, I knew that 2007 would be a challenging year for passing positive legislation for Texas, and America. The shift in Congressional leadership meant that my goals for strengthening our country, both in terms of domestic policy and foreign policy, would face greater obstacles than ever. However, through perseverance and dedication, we were able to surmount many of these hurdles. We prevented tax increases, supported our military through funding, and achieved important victories for our families, our communities, and especially our brave service men and women overseas.
Our greatest accomplishment of this year was maintaining funding for the War on Terror, despite persistent opposition from some in Congress. The Senate leadership spent hundreds of hours of Congress’ time and forced 40 votes over an 11-month period on an unsuccessful effort to cut off the funding our troops needed to complete their mission. Some continued to attempt to stop sending support to our troops, despite clear successes. For example, last month, U.S. commanders and Iraqi government officials proclaimed that Al Qaeda had been routed in every neighborhood in Baghdad, citing an 80% drop in the murder rate since its peak. In fact, the positive developments in Iraq have been so dramatic that General David Petraeus recently recommended a drawdown of troops because conditions on the ground merit such action. Because of our success, some troops are returning home in time to spend the holidays with their families. Our most staunch and determined efforts have been necessary to ensure the Iraq policy in Congress keeps pace with the progress our commanders are reporting from the battlefield.
Many of the decisions made by Congress directly affect the lives and well-being of average Americans, especially those concerning taxes. This year, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) was poised to raise taxes on 23 million middle-income taxpayers. A critical priority of this Congress was extending relief from the AMT to protect these Americans from $65 billion in new taxes under the AMT. Congress passed relief from the AMT for another year – without the $51 billion tax hike House Democrats proposed – and as a result, hundreds of thousands of Texas families will not be hit with the average $2,000 per family tax hike that was expected without this relief. Another effort to raise taxes was thwarted when we passed an energy bill without a $21 billion tax increase levied against energy producers that would have lowered domestic supply and burdened Americans with even higher gas prices. I am determined to keep the tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003 that created jobs and allowed every taxpayer in America to keep more of their hard-earned money.
One of the most high-stakes debates in Congress this year was overall spending. The funding stalemates that have dogged this Congress have at last been responsibly and favorably resolved. The Congressional leaders pushed for spending bills containing $22 billion more than President Bush budgeted, leading to a months-long standoff of veto threats and imperiled federal budgets. The flashpoint of this impasse came when the bipartisan bill to fund military operations and veterans care, which had been passed in both chambers of the House and the President had pledged to sign, was held up for political reasons. We were able to defeat this effort and every dollar intended for our troops and veterans will now be delivered to them unobstructed. The President’s goal, which I share, is to eliminate the budget deficit by 2011. We successfully cut the $22 billion added by Congressional leaders and kept our goal of continuing to reduce the deficit. In addition, the major Texas priorities needed for transportation, mass transit, ports, water conservation, and health care for poor children were fully funded.
As we work on the issues before us, we must also look to the future, preparing our young people for a changing global marketplace. An important achievement to that end was this year’s passage of the America Competes Act. I cosponsored this legislation, which was aimed at better positioning American students to compete with their international counterparts and to create a better-educated U.S. workforce. The bill increases research investment, improves education in math, science, engineering and other technical disciplines, and stimulates innovation to foster technological and scientific excellence. President Bush signed the bipartisan legislation into law in August. With an eye toward research, education, and innovation, we can prepare young Americans to compete with the brightest minds from around the world, and lead our country in economic security and prosperity into the future.
It has been a difficult year in Washington, yet I am prepared to work just as ardently in the next Congress – no matter the obstacles or obstructions – to ensure that the decisions we make and the policies we adopt will improve the lives of Americans, and protect our children’s future.
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