It is no secret that President Obama does not like Texas. The Obama Administration’s policies towards manned spaceflight, energy policies, and EPA regulations have had a devastating impact on District 129. Obama’s policies and regulations have seen massive job losses in the technology/aerospace and
energy sectors within the district. For instance, NASA alone has lost approximately 4,000 jobs due to the end of the Shuttle Program without a new Space Transportation System. This represents about a 20% of the workforce previously employed by NASA and the more than 70 aerospace and defense firms in
the area. Indeed, under the NASA administration’s direction, Astronaut training for commercial crew astronauts has been given to Kennedy Space Center (JSC), bucking 40 years of history and expertise. Wayne Hale, a former shuttle program manager, sarcastically noted that “With the level of interest that our citizens and leaders have in JSC, I soon expect to see that facility in the hands of a different federal agency. Soon the National Park Service will be leading tours through the historic – and empty – halls of the Johnson Space Center National Historic Site.” We must not let that happen. Not only must we protect the 14,000 NASA civil servant and contractor jobs in the District, we must look for ways to expand and broaden our base. As a State Representative, I will work to raise the visibility of the Johnson Space Center to State government. Texas cannot take JSC’s historic and important role for granted.
Do you realize that the last Texas Governor to visit JSC was Ann Richards, a Democrat, back in 1994? I will personally escort the Governor of Texas to a JSC visit and make sure that Texas spaceflight jobs are suitably addressed in the 83rd State Legislature. I will work with the Houston Technology Center (HTC) which is developing a satellite facility at JSC to create new high technology companies and create 10,000 new jobs. Likewise, I will also work with the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership which has a 501(c)(3) technology consortium called “BayTech” that will bring together academia, industry, JSC NASA, City of Houston, and the State of Texas to create jobs, generate new revenue streams, and maximize future prospects for Houston and the District. I will do whatever I can as a State legislator to see that every resource and assistance that the State can provide is indeed met.
Fortunately, District 129 is not only defined by NASA and the aerospace industry. Our region boasts of robust technology companies (9,000 employed in software development and computer services firms), specialty chemical manufacturers (8,000 jobs in the oil refineries and Bayport Industrial Complex alone), recreational boating (more than 7,000 boat slips – 3rd largest in America), biotechnology (2,900 employed in biotech firms) and medical services. Yet, these business sectors are under continuous assault from federal over-regulation and job-killing policies. Obamacare, the DOE, and the EPA are a major drag on prosperity in these job creating business sectors. I promise that if you elect me, I will meet often with the US Congressional delegation and local government initiatives in our area to work to change the anti-Texas, job killing policies and revitalize our community to bring back the thousands of jobs we have lost over the last three years.
