Texas Association of Business

AUSTIN – The political arm of the Texas Association of Business, the Business and Commerce Political Action Committee (BACPAC), is proud to announce its endorsements for the 2010 general election. Endorsements are as follows:

Railroad Commissioner: David Porter

US House: Joe Barton (CD-6)

Bill Flores (CD-17)

Randy Neugebauer (CD-19)

Pete Olson (CD-22)

Francisco “Quico” Canseco (CD-23)

Donna Campbell (CD-25)

Henry Cuellar (CD-28)

Texas Senate: Glenn Hegar (SD-18)

Brian Birdwell (SD-22)

Texas House: Erwin Cain (HD-3)

Lance Gooden (HD-4)

David Simpson (HD-7)

Byron Cook (HD-8) …

Austin -- The following statement may be attributed toTexas Association of BusinessPresident Bill Hammond:



“I read a recent Associated Press article in horror as former Houston Mayor Bill White made it clear that he was open to the idea of raising taxes as a method to address transportation funding.  

 

“It is obvious that Bill White wants to import the very same anti-business, anti-jobs ideas that have left California in absolute shambles.  Bill White’s transportation funding scheme would cost jobs and topple the best business climate in the nation.



“Through…

Austin – The Texas Association of Business (TAB) and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) joined Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa), Chair of the House Rural Caucus, to voice opposition to the proposal before the current Texas Board of Medical Examiners requiring a patient who receives a telemedicine consultation to see a physician within 72-hours. The rule would cripple telemedicine and its benefit to those in underserved areas.

“Telemedicine has enabled access to health care for families who would ordinarily have to drive for hours on end to receive a simple diagnosis,”…

The Texas Association of Business (TAB), the National Federation of Independent Business - Texas (NFIB/Texas) and the US Chamber of Commerce recently held a joint-press conference to detail the effects that the health care reform bill, signed into law by President Barack Obama, will have on the small businesses of Texas.

Under the health care reform bill recently signed into law by President Obama, both premiums and uncertainty will rise in employer-sponsored health insurance plans. Employers with over 50 employees will be forced to offer coverage or pay a $2,000-per-employee fine. Businesses …

Austin – The Texas Association of Business today called for immediate action to expand Medicaid Managed Care (MMC) to save Texas taxpayers tens of millions of dollars per year. Currently, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is prohibited from providing three Texas counties with an MMC program, a prohibition that drives up the aggregate health care costs of all Texans.

What the state has today is a system of increasing inequities in the cost and in the quality of health care, all while wasting taxpayer money. The HHSC has calculated that extending MMC to the South Texas …

San Antonio – Leaders from the Texas Association of Business (TAB), National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today held a joint-press conference to denounce the current incarnation of health care reform being negotiated by Congress.  The leaders called upon Congressmen Ciro Rodriguez and Henry Cuellar to reject the legislation. 

The House legislation will require employers to provide health insurance for the employees or pay an eight percent payroll penalty. The Senate version, which could be worse, would require companies with more th…

Austin —The Environmental Protection Agency endangerment finding that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare sets a dangerous precedent that allows the executive branch to threaten the entire country and our economy, essentially saying to Congress: pass a cap-and-trade climate bill… or else. The uncertain status of the science of climate change and the public health effects of greenhouse gases demand that EPA establish far more justification for this action than it has shown so far. The threat this finding poses to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of jobs…

(Austin) –“Comptroller Susan Combs’ revised estimate of our state’s emergency savings fund from $9.1 billion to $8.2 billion highlights the need for our state and legislative leaders to act in concert to stave off new taxes and fees and to resist the short-term solutions that upended California’s state economy.  As a result of the impending budget shortfall, every state entity and agency must start now to cut costs and reduce expenses.

 “I applaud the economic stewardship of Governor Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, Speaker Straus and the T…

Austin —The following statement may be attributed to Texas Association of Business (TAB) President Bill Hammond:

On behalf of the Texas Association of Business and employers across the state, I applaud the courage of Congressman Chet Edwards for voting against the government-takeover of health care insurance. This tax increases in this bill directly targets the small business owners while still leaving millions ineligible for health insurance. Congressman Edwards listened to his constituents and is doing what is right for the employers of Texas by opposing this trillion dollar governmen…

The Texas business community has an essential role in the public dialogue on education. Why: Because Texas employers are the overwhelming consumers of the education system. Our state’s ability to produce an educated workforce affects whether companies will locate their operations in Texas. To date, our state has been successful in attracting and retaining some of the most influential companies in America.

To build upon that success, Texas must address the most looming challenge facing our state: educating and preparing our booming Hispanic population to enter the workforce or pursue a po…