Law of the Land
Dear friend,
I believe in the law, through which our nation has set the standard for how to create, apply, and adjudicate its rules. Legislators, such as myself, make the laws. When those laws are challenged, the courts weigh in, balancing the rules as written with precedent and with our guiding document, the Constitution.
The most important debates end up with the Supreme Court, which is final stop for disputes over the law of the land. While its history is not a straight line favoring progress, over time, progress is made. From rulings that affirm free speech to the decisions that ended segregation, the Court has slowly but surely expanded freedom and dignity to all citizens of this great nation (although, to be sure, I consider Citizens United a step back — but that’s for another day).
This week we saw two huge decisions that will impact our lives directly:
- The decision to strike down most of Arizona’s SB 1070, which is immediately relevant for District 29 residents and will reverberate across the nation as states and the federal government wrestle with the politics of what ought to be an issue of decency and human rights (read the decision here).
- The decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act , which will unfold over time and inform how we pay for and receive health care, a fundamental, perhaps the fundamental, quality-of-life issue (read the decision here).
Both issues will play out in the coming Legislature, as Texas Republicans will try to stall implementation of the health care law and replicate the Arizona law.
Gov. Rick Perry already has said he intends to attempt to pass a bill modeled on Arizona’s SB 1070, on which the Supreme Court ruled three of the four provision unconstitutional, and left the fourth hanging by a thread.
That fourth provision, which the court left intact, is the so-called “papers please” element (see graphic ^ ). We already know most professionals consider this an impediment to their main job, which is keeping communities safe. Both our police chief and our sheriff have testified that their job is to provide public safety, and asking them to act as immigration officers makes it that much harder.
We do not need to subject people to needless harassment. We do need to pass humane, practical immigration enforcement, to welcome immigrants and take them out of the shadows. That’s how we identify the bad guys, by the way. Forcing the 99 percent of hard-working, decent people — people like our parents and grandparents — into the shadows does nothing but give criminals more cover, give workers less protection from exploitation, and give politicians election-year scapegoats.
Once this law goes into effect in Arizona, and once cases of discrimination come to the forefront as a result of this measure, I feel confident that it will be reexamined and repealed by the Supreme Court. Until then, I’m concerned it will lead to racial profiling, and we’ll be fighting this battle state-by-state, including in Texas.
Health Care
The same might happen with the Affordable Health Care Act. While the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law, it left open the option for states to refuse expansion of Medicaid coverage. In addition to that major policy issue, we’ll have to work on implementation. As a member of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, I look forward to working with my colleagues to help shape the policies needed to meet the requirements and provide the benefits laid out in the law.
I mentioned above this is a quality-of-life issue. It’s also an economic issue. Families can be ruined by a major illness. This law helps the 30 percent of El Pasoans — some quarter-million people — as well as the 5 million total people and 1.2 million children in Texas who lack health insurance, figures for which Texas leads the nation. Why would the state want to maintain its dubious leadership in this area by turning down federal support for an expanded Medicaid program?
There is another piece of this that bears mention. One element of health care reform is what is called the 1115 Medicaid Transformation Waiver, which allows communities to leverage local resources to get more federal funding. University Medical Center is leading the effort to develop a 1115 plan, which I believe will result in more accessible health care for more people in El Paso and Hudspeth Counties.
This week brought momentous rulings on issues of vital important to our health, quality-of-life and civil liberties. But the work of good government in our great democratic nation is never done, and the rulings have given us both opportunity and challenge. I believe we are up to the challenges.
Other items of note
- I was honored to speak to members of the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association(TREIA) on Tuesday in Austin. I received the “State Leadership Award” for Senate Bill 1910, which brought net metering to El Paso. Net metering allows homeowners who install solar panels or other clean energy systems on their property to be compensated for surplus electricity fed back to the grid. While the bill affects El Paso Electric’s service area, it could be used as a model for other Texas service areas. TREIA’s advocacy efforts were instrumental in passing this bill and I look forward to working with them in the future to increase renewable energy options across the state.
- On Wednesday, I had to privilege of welcoming representatives of local organizations to the Texas Veterans Commission’s Fund for Veterans’ Assistance (FVA) overview and application workshop. During the Senate Veterans Affairs and Military Installations Committee hearing held in El Paso in May, questions were brought up about why El Paso was not receiving as many FVA grants as other areas of the state. As a result, I invited the folks from the FVA to come to El Paso and walk local organizations through the application process. There was a great turnout and I hope that it will result in more money to help our El Paso veterans and their families. The FVA can only give grants if it has money. You can help by donating a few dollars when you renew your vehicle registration or buying a $2 Veterans Cash scratch off lottery ticket. The more money they have, the more veterans they can help.
Sincerely,