VETERANS
As a veteran of the United States Army, Congressman Ortiz is committed to providing our nation’s veterans with appropriate healthcare services and benefits. He believes it is essential that our troops are taken care of when we send them into battle and that they should not only be given the respect they deserve, but also the benefits they have been promised when they return.
Congressman Ortiz is pleased the Democratic-led Congress passed the largest single increase in veterans’ healthcare funding in the agency’s seventy seven year history through the Fiscal Year 2008 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill.
Additionally, the Congress passed one of the most significant veteran’s bills in history, the GI Bill for the 21st Century. The new GI Bill restores full, four-year college scholarships for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Educational benefits would be available to all members of the military who have served for at least three months on active duty since September 11, 2001, including activated reservists and National Guard.
Although Congressman Ortiz believes we will never do enough to thank those who put their lives on the line to protect our freedom, he will continue his work advocating for adequate healthcare benefits and a Veterans Hospital in South Texas.
MILITARY/DEFENSE
Congressman Ortiz is a champion of the military. He supports the troops and will continue to advocate for the readiness of our forces throughout his career. He has also worked tirelessly with leaders and elected officials to bring federal dollars to South Texas military installations, securing over $45 million in funding for projects at Corpus Christi Army Depot, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, and Naval Air Station Kingsville.
He understands that the right people, the right equipment, and the right training make all the difference in how ready our military is to protect the country. Due to his expertise on military readiness, Congressman Ortiz serves the Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness. As Chairman he is responsible for military construction, facilities investment and sustainment, base realignment and closure, military training, and operations and maintenance of equipment.
Our military service members are facing multiple extended deployments leaving less time at home and less time for military training. Equipment is battle damaged and destroyed each day and cannot be repaired or replaced fast enough. This results in severe equipment shortfalls and usage of strategically located equipment around the world typically used for quick reaction to conflict. Furthermore, National Guard deployments have left armories with little equipment or people to respond should there be a natural disaster or other homeland emergency.
To decrease the risk to the nation, Congressman Ortiz has worked diligently to provide resources to sustain the current force in support of ongoing operations and to provide money for equipment and resources for the future force.
IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY
Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz is one of the Congress’ most knowledgeable members on issues involving border security and immigration. He is the co-chair and founder of the Congressional Border Caucus, a coalition of members who represent districts along the Southwest Border to advocate for border issues. As a former law enforcement officer, Congressman Ortiz brings together his knowledge of security and his understanding of the unique nature of border communities, and their economies, as he advocates for adequate border security and immigration reforms.
He believes immigration and border security go hand in hand, and any legislation the Congress considers must take both into account. He has been working with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a large coalition of members, including business leaders, law enforcement personnel, educators, clergy and immigrant rights groups, to find a sensible solution to the immigration problem.
BRAC
During the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, the Defense Department ordered for the shutdown of Naval Station Ingleside by 2010. Since then, Congressman Ortiz has worked with the local community and the Ingleside Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) to plan for the economic adjustment and future planning of the area.
Congressman Ortiz secured over $1.3 million for the Ingleside LRA’s redevelopment plan, which will ensure economic stability in the region.
Congressman Ortiz will continue to advocate for more federal resources to assist the Ingleside community offset the loss of the base.
ENERGY
A large number of factors have combined to put pressure on gasoline prices, including increased world demand for crude oil and fear of supply disruption due to terrorism or natural disaster. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have also added to the demand for fuel, and a decline in the value of the dollar has increased the dollar price of oil.
The ultimate goal is for the United States to become both energy independent and energy responsible. Therefore, Congressman Ortiz supports drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). While some have concerns about the environmental hazards drilling offshore and in ANWR may impose, the technology has consistently improved and less and less environmental disruption can occur if done correctly.
Congressman Ortiz cosponsored legislation that would allow for drilling in certain areas of the Gulf of Mexico and would remove the federal moratorium on leasing in federal waters more than 100 miles from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
In addition, it is important to put emphasis on alternative fuels and find ways to develop renewable energies. Texas leads the nation in wind energy production and Congressman Ortiz urges more funding to explore such means.
AGRICULTURE
Congressman Ortiz supported the Farm Bill, which will invest billions of new dollars for nutritional programs and provide new assistance to farmers whose crops may be impacted by natural disasters.
The bill also includes a five-year, $250 million authorization to create a Southwest Regional Authority which will coordinate economic development efforts in the Southwest border region. This provision will lead to a diversified regional economy and allow South Texas counties to cooperate on economic development projects.
Resources will also be funneled to Hispanic Serving Agricultural Institutions, such as Texas A&M-Kingsville, so they can pioneer new innovations in the agricultural sector.
Components of the Farm Bill includes:
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Commodities that qualify for Farm Bill support include cotton, sugar, corn, wheat, and grain sorghum.
- Extends the strong safety net for farmers by continuing the non-recourse marketing loan program and the price-based counter-cyclical program, which provides assistance when prices decline.
- Continues to support U.S. sugar producers with the successful marketing allotment program, while ensuring that domestic sugar cane and beet producers provide most of the sugar demanded by U.S. consumers.
Updates the Food Stamp Program to reflect technological advances and decrease abuse, and promotes the health and well-being of children and low-income families.
- Address rising food prices by investing an additional $10.4 billion in nutrition programs, such as the USDA Snack Program which helps schools in all states to provide healthy snacks to students during after-school activities.
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Funding an additional $1.3 billion for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides commodities and other resources to states to help stock food banks.
- Increases efficiency and education in the crop insurance program to help farmers better manage risk.
- Budgeted standing disaster assistance program for crops stricken by catastrophic natural disasters such as drought and flood.
- Authorizes renegotiation of the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) by 2011 to ensure that the crop insurance market reflects current conditions.
- Addresses health care, emergency, first responder, and broadband telecommunications needs for rural areas.
- Authorizes the Rural Firefighters and Emergency Medical Service Assistance Program to provide improved emergency medical services in rural areas.
- Expands 9-1-1 access in rural areas by making telephone loans to public entities for facilities and equipment, and provides grants for weather radio transmitters to increases coverage of rural areas by the emergency weather broadcast system.
- Fruit and vegetable producers will have their own place in the Farm Bill for the first time and will benefit from more than $1.3 billion for new programs that support research, pest management, trade promotion and nutrition for the industry.
EDUCATION
Congressman Ortiz recognizes that the path to success is rooted in education. His top priority is maintaining the South Texas economy and facilitating job growth. The Congressman continuously encourages young people to obtain their educational goals and return to South Texas—a critical component to a strong economy.
Making higher education an affordable dream for South Texas families continues to be a goal for Congressman Ortiz. It’s important that the Federal government do all it can to ensure an educated workforce; thus, it has a role in keeping the cost of going to college low. Federal loan and grant programs such as Stafford, Perkins, and Pell are all essential to that objective—and funding these programs must remain a national priority.
HEALTH CARE
Congressman Ortiz realizes the value and importance of making healthcare available and affordable for South Texans. Access to quality, affordable health care is critical to the well being of America, today and in the future. Central to this is addressing the needs of the 46 million uninsured Americans, strengthening the Medicare system, and providing health insurance to our low-income children.
For the duration of his 26 years in Congress, Congressman Ortiz has supported expanded coverage of health care, especially efforts to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for working families—as they often make too much money for federal assistance but do not make enough to afford insurance. He also is a strong supporter of health research at South Texas colleges and universities.
Congressman Ortiz believes in quality and affordable health care, and his record in the House of Representatives reflects this belief.
Congressman Ortiz joined his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to override the President’s veto on important legislation that strengthens Medicare and prevents a 10.6% pay-cut to doctors who provide critical services to our seniors and veterans who use TRICARE to provide them with access to healthcare. TRICARE reimbursement rates are tied to those for Medicare providers and, without Congressional action, doctors may have chosen not to accept America’s military retirees, their spouses and family. The bill also makes the Medicare drug benefit work better for community pharmacies that serve rural areas, who without this legislation, would have been driven out of business.
ECONOMY
The state of our economy is one of the most important concerns of Americans today. The economy has been very difficult for many people in South Texas. Gas and food prices are up, the dollar is weak, and foreclosures are increasing. Between 2000 and 2007, real wages have shown almost no growth in Texas.
In South Texas, the unemployment rate is essentially the same as last year. In June 2008, the unemployment rate in Corpus Christi was 4.9 percent, and in Brownsville-Harlingen it was 6.8 percent. Nationally, the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent.
To combat these economic woes, Congressman Ortiz supported legislation that provided economic stimulus checks to more than 130 million American families, including seniors and disabled veterans. Congress also passed and the president signed a provision that will extend unemployment benefits by up to 13 weeks.
The minimum wage was also increased to $6.55 from $5.85, the result of action by the Democratic Congress last year – the first increase in the minimum wage in 10 years. Next year the minimum wage will increase to $7.25. These increases will directly affect 863,000 Texans.
Congressman Ortiz also supported legislation that provided a temporary “patch” to protect middle-class taxpayers who would have been hit with the alternative minimum tax (AMT), which protected more than 25,000 taxpayers in South Texas from paying higher taxes. The AMT was originally passed to ensure that rich taxpayers were paying their fair share, but because the original bill was not indexed to inflation and because of the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, the AMT now threatens middle-class families.
