THE CONAWAY CHRONICLE, Volume 4, Issue 10

Thank you for reading The Conaway Chronicle, a review of my activities in Congress. This newsletter is to let you know what’s going on in Washington and what important issues are being debated in Congress.

Job-Creating $350 Million Federal Grant for Clean Coal Power Plant Comes to Odessa

Last week, it was announced that a $350 Million federal grant will go toward a new clean coal power plant initiative in Ector County, set to create 2,000 jobs for the Odessa area. This grant, awarded to the Texas Clean Energy Project, is the largest grant awarded to date by the Department of Energy, and covers about 20% of the total cost of the project.

This announcement is a huge win for West Texas, and brings a flood of encouragement in a discouraging economic environment. This project will directly create jobs for hard-working West Texans. Texas has a unique opportunity with the "NowGen" project, as it is the first of its kind and will be used as an example for clean coal technology across the globe in the future. Through clean coal technology, we can learn to burn coal with as near zero emissions as possible, which this plant does.

I applaud all who helped to make this project possible, and praise the Department of Energy for recognizing the importance of this project. Because of their swift action, groundbreaking should occur within a year, and the plant should be up and running by 2014. I'm proud to have worked with the Texas Delegation in both the House and Senate, Members of the state of Washington Congressional Delegation, the Texas State House and Senate, the Union Pacific Railroad, the Clean Air Task Force and the National Resource Defense Council to make this project a reality.

The plant is expected to be built in Penwell, about 15 miles West of Odessa.

Where are the Jobs?

Last Friday, new unemployment numbers were released, indicating that over 11,000 Americans lost their jobs in the month of November, with the unemployment rate at 10%.

Last week, President Obama held a "jobs summit" at the White House in an attempt to convince the public that job creation is a priority for his administration. The numbers prove that the Democrats ill-advised economic policies are not working, and it is my hope that we can work together in a bipartisan manner toward a fiscally conservative, common sense plan to lower the deficit and get Americans back to work.

Opposing Obama's Economic Plan

Earlier this week, President Obama gave an address to the nation on the current state of the economy. He is expected to lay out his plan to use the TARP money that has been repaid to send financial aid to California, New York, and other states that are in economic turmoil. A poll shows that a staggering 58 percent of American voters oppose such a plan to bail out states that are in "serious financial trouble”.
 
The fact that the President finds it permissible to use TARP funds that have been repaid and should have been used to reduce our massive deficit to provide more bailouts that are completely unrelated to the financial crisis of 2008 is wrongheaded and is simply unacceptable. If our President and the Majority in Congress really want to create jobs and get the economy back on its feet, they should pay down the deficit, stop the spending and borrowing, and start putting money back in the pockets of hard-working Americans where it belongs.

Congressman Jeb Hensarling sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi, which I signed, urging her to not consider tapping into the Troubled Asset Relief Program funds. Click here to read the letter.

We Need a Full Repeal of Harmful Death Tax Legislation

Last week, House Democrats brought a vote to the House floor that reinstates the ill-advised Estate Tax, also known as the “Death Tax”, at a 45% tax rate and a $3.5 million personal exclusion amount. Under current law, the death tax expires for one year, beginning on January 1, 2010, before resurfacing in full force on January 1, 2011.

As a CPA and former small business owner, this is a subject that I am very passionate about. First and foremost, the death tax is bad policy and needs to be fully repealed. Democrats propose that this bill will provide a permanent fix to the estate tax, but the exclusion is not adjusted for inflation and does not adjust the alternative valuation for farmland or the deduction for family-owned businesses.

I offered two amendments to the bill that would adjust the exclusion amount for inflation and increase the alternative valuation for farmland to $1.85 million (adjusted for inflation) and $2 million for family owned businesses. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi would not allow these permanent fixes to come to the floor. However, I hope to work with moderate and Blue Dog Democrats to gain support for a full repeal of the death tax to lift the burden from Rural America and small businesses.

The death tax imposes a huge financial burden on American families and small businesses, while simultaneously destroying jobs and lowering wages for workers. Taxing death is bad policy, and I will continue fighting to repeal the estate tax permanently to remove the heavy hand of the government from pushing on the backs of our farmers and ranchers, small businesses, and hardworking Americans.