Before the end of the year, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on whether or not to raise the federal government’s nearly $12.1 trillion debt limit in order to pay for this year’s record deficits. This historic vote should give lawmakers in both parties pause about the state of America’s finances and the need to reign in spending.  Unfortunately, it appears that President Obama and his Congressional allies are content to stick with “business as usual,” even if it means prolonging our recession and jeopardizing our long-term economic stability.

Americans love having options. From the food we eat to the cars we drive, we relish making our own choices based on our preferences and what is best for ourselves and our families. Health care should not be an exception.

The fabric of Texas’ rich history is woven with legendary stories of sacrifice and remarkable acts of valor. From the battle of the Alamo, when Colonel William Barret Travis and his men stood their ground, declaring “no retreat, no surrender” and sacrificed all for the freedom of their nation – to the young men and women who are laying down their lives on foreign battlefields today – generation after generation, our state’s men and women have exhibited the indomitable Texas spirit of service and patriotism.

When Congress was presented with a massive spending bill as the first major piece of legislation under the new Administration, many lawmakers, myself included, balked at the trillion dollar price tag. As massive as the stimulus legislation was, it was merely the preamble to a series of proposed big government tax and spend initiatives. On the docket is the largest budget in the history of our nation, a proposal that will raise taxes and swell the national debt, and an Omnibus Appropriations bill that will, for the first time in our nation’s history, spend more than $1 trillion for annual appropriations.

On September 11, 2001, the United States peered into the face of evil when 19 foreign terrorists brought the violence of Islamic extremism onto our soil, claiming the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans. That day changed the course of history, delineating the post-9/11 era from the days that came before. In the eight years since, America and its allies have boldly waged the Global War on Terror in an effort to prevent terrorism from ever reaching America’s shores again and to protect free nations across the world.

Throughout Texas on  Monday, February 16, children  enjoyed a day off from school.   Although the federal government honors “Washington’s Birthday” each year on the third Monday of February, Texas goes one step further by concurrently observing “Presidents’ Day,” a state holiday that celebrates all of our past Presidents.

n one of history’s more candid reflections, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Treasury Secretary under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, confessed, “We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work.” Just six years after crafting the New Deal, Morgenthau declared that their efforts to create jobs and restore America’s depression-ravaged economy by expanding the federal government to unprecedented levels had been a failure. By Morgenthau’s own assessment, the New Deal saddled our country with “as much unemployment as when we started- and an enormous debt.”

Recently, I outlined my goals for keeping Texas and the United States connected through our national highway system and commercial and passenger air transportation. As the Senior Republican on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, I am also focused on another kind of connectivity: telecommunications. Over the past several decades, America has seen a rapid advancement in communication technologies. While most citizens enjoy its benefits, we have not kept pace with other nations and the advantages of connectivity have not reached all our citizens. We must find ways to leverage new innovations to expand their reach and improve the lives of all Americans.

Often we begin a new year with a set of goals to achieve, or with a list of priorities that will receive our special attention in the foreseeable future. Some people pledge to get fit; others resolve to be more fiscally responsible. Likewise, Congress must, at the outset of a new legislative session, set an agenda and work to accomplish it. As the Senior Republican on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, a body that oversees America’s vast transportation network, I hope to focus on several key issues that require action in the Senate this year to keep our nation moving and our commerce flowing. 

This month we will celebrate the 220th anniversary of our nation’s very first presidential inauguration ceremony.  Steeped in tradition, these ceremonies give all Americans, regardless of how they voted, the opportunity to come together every four years to honor our democratic process and the hard-won freedoms established by our Founding Fathers.