Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

By now, the Rick Perry, Radical Republican agenda is clear. During the 82nd Session of the Texas Legislature, TEA party Republicans mean to wage war on Hispanics.

In Perry’s party, which just took 22 seats away from Democrats to create a supermajority in the Texas House, the agenda is now crystal clear—cut taxes for the billionaires that funded Perry’s last election, cut budgets for key programs that invest in Hispanic education and health, cut regulations to corporations like the predatory lenders whose PACs pay for House wins and do anything possible to keep Hispanics away from the ballot box.

"Rick, there you go again. Giving a letter to President Obama at the Austin airport is just another gimmick to move the focus off Perry’s failed record at DPS. Quit blaming Obama for Border Security—El Paso is safer than ever. Get over to DPS and fix it now. That’s one responsible thing you can do on your watch.”

On the evening of Wednesday, June 23rd, Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, was monitoring events on Capitol Hill from his office, which overlooks the ice-skating rink at Rockefeller Center. Volcker, who is eighty-two years old, works at a polished granite desk covered with correspondence, books, and financial reports. Apart from a slight loss of hearing, he is in robust health, and when he rises to greet guests he towers above them. His height (six feet eight inches) is initially intimidating, but that impression is soon mitigated by his wry manner. For a year and a half, Volcker, who serves as an economic adviser to President Barack Obama, had been waging a campaign to curb greed and speculation on Wall Street. This effort was reaching a climax, as the Senate and the House of Representatives worked to reconcile the lengthy financial-reform bills that each had passed.

"We so appreciate your courage and tenacity to deliver on the promise of fundamental change to fix what everyone acknowledges is a broken health care system. If "starting over" is what Republicans still want, then I ask you to review the history of health care in Texas from George W. Bush to Rick Perry—because “starting over" here means no action at all to address woefully inadequate health care access in the least insured state in the country."

"What we need now is patient, careful, and strong leadership. Our three state region needs a coordinated plan and the kind of help that neighbors give neighbors. Our thoughts and prayers are with our brothers and sisters in Juarez.”