Tom Leppert

REP. MICHAEL C. BURGESS (R-TX): "Tom Is The Candidate With Real Ideas To Turn Our Country Around And The Tenacity To Fight For Bold Proposals, Like Fundamental Tax Reform, That Our Country Needs To Grow The Economy And Put Americans Back To Work."

DALLAS, Texas – Texans for Tom Leppert announced today that Republican Congressman Michael C. Burgess has given his endorsement to Tom's candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

"As a Texan and a fellow Washington outsider, I know Tom will be a fresh face and bring a new perspective to the U.S. Senate so we can get our economy turned around and balance our budget," said U.S. Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX). "In Congress, I have been a vocal proponent of creating a simpler, flatter, fairer tax system, and I know Tom would be a vital ally in the Senate as we work together to make this a reality. Tom is the candidate with real ideas to turn our country around and the tenacity to fight for bold proposals, like fundamental tax reform, that our country needs to grow the economy and put Americans back to work."

Congressman Burgess, a former obstetrician, was first elected to Congress in 2002, representing Texas' 26th Congressional District, which includes most of Denton County and parts of Tarrant, Cooke, and Dallas Counties.

Rep. Burgess has been an outspoken advocate for fundamental tax reform and has sponsored H.R. 1040, the 'Freedom Flat Tax Act.' Rep. Burgess is also one of the foremost experts on health care policy in Washington and is the Chairman and Founder of the Congressional Health Care Caucus.

"I am very pleased to receive Congressman Burgess' endorsement," said Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Leppert. "I'm looking forward to working closely with Congressman Burgess so we can change the way Washington does business and pass the reforms needed to get this country back on track."

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"At A Time When Families Are Struggling And Washington Continues Down The Wrong Path And Ignores The Tough Calls, Texans Will Choose A New Senator To Represent Them. They Will Have Three Clear Choices -- A Career Politician, A Lawyer, Or A Businessman Who Brings A Unique Conservative Approach To Government. Someone Who's Signed Both Sides Of A Paycheck, Grown A Business, And Cut Wasteful Spending In Both The Public And Private Sector. Who Understands Firsthand How Decisions Made In Washington Affect The Economy. Only One Candidate In The Race For Senate Has Created Thousands Of Jobs And Made The Hard Calls That Are So Lacking In Washington Right Now."

DALLAS, Texas – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Leppert today welcomed David Dewhurst into the U.S. Senate race in Texas:

"It comes as little surprise to me that David Dewhurst has thrown his hat into the ring. Like other career politicians, he has long expressed his interest in a host of higher offices, and I'm glad he has finally settled on the job he wants next.

"As my Twitter followers know, I have been asking David where he stands on a number of important issues. Now that he's a candidate he should be ready to tell us whether he will support Congressman Paul Ryan's budget, fight the NLRB's attacks on Right to Work, call for an end to Obama's offshore drilling moratorium and sign the Cut Cap Balance Pledge.

"This election is about which candidate knows how to spur job growth and restore fiscal responsibility to Washington. The career politicians and lawyers have had their chance, and they've failed. It's time to send a real-life job creator to the U.S. Senate. I've signed both sides of a paycheck, and I've made the tough choices in both the private sector and as Mayor of Dallas to cut spending and balance budgets.

"At a time when families are struggling and Washington continues down the wrong path and ignores the tough calls, Texans will choose a new Senator to represent them. They will have three clear choices—a career politician, a lawyer, or a businessman who brings a unique conservative approach to government. Someone who's signed both sides of a paycheck, grown a business, and cut wasteful spending in both the public and private sector. Who understands firsthand how decisions made in Washington affect the economy. Only one candidate in the race for Senate has created thousands of jobs and made the hard calls that are so lacking in Washington right now."

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While Washington has been telling us our economy is on an upswing, today's jobs report shows that nothing could be further from the truth, with unemployment rising back to 9.1% and momentum carrying us in the wrong direction. Gas prices have skyrocketed as Barack Obama has crippled domestic energy production and small businesses have been hit by costly regulations and the threat of tax hikes.

These are tough times for Texans, and Washington is only making things worse. Congress must act to end the growing debt burden by refusing to raise the debt ceiling without a plan to balance the budget. Just last week, the Senate could have led our country to avert fiscal calamity and begin creating jobs by passing Paul Ryan's Path to Prosperity. The Senate failed to pass this bold plan as Democrats chose false political attacks instead of offering any budget proposal.

Texas must choose a Senator who understands how to create jobs and make the hard calls necessary to reduce our debt. I've created thousands of jobs in the private sector and led Dallas as our region topped the nation in job growth. This success required tough choices in business and as mayor to cut spending and institute pro-growth policies. We can put Texas back to work, but we need to elect a Senator who understands how to build a business and expand the economy.

Proud to Support Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Pat Toomey's Budget Proposals

America is facing a dire fiscal situation we can only escape by electing leaders with experience making the tough calls. I'm proud to be the candidate in this race who has spoken out fully in support of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's 'Path to Prosperity,' which takes on issues others deem too heated to discuss in Washington or confront on the campaign trail. We will not achieve solvency for entitlements, let alone our country, until elected officials show the courage to put their political careers on the line to reach a balanced budget and preserve entitlements. Paul Ryan's plan looks toward the future and is the answer for our country's long-term fiscal health. I would vote for it.

In the short-term, however, I believe we must confront realities that will require us to tighten our belts faster. The fate of American prosperity will be determined over the course of the next ten years. Either we continue on our current path and doom future generations to foot a bill that will leave them with a debt too high to surmount and resources too few to prosper, or we say enough is enough, get America back on track, and continue on as not only the greatest nation the world has ever known but also a beacon to the rest of the world. Conservatives will ultimately pass a Balanced Budget Amendment and Paul Ryan's budget, and right now, I believe we also must pass Senator Pat Toomey's plan to balance the budget within ten years without raising taxes.

Senator Toomey returns non-defense discretionary spending to 2006 levels. His plan also promotes economic growth by lowering marginal tax rates and simplifying the tax code while eliminating special-interest tax loopholes. Obamacare's spending, taxes, and entitlements will be repealed by this budget, and it will implement a Medicaid block grant program to the states, reform medical malpractice, and permanantly reform the sustainable growth rate to Medicare, preventing devastating cuts to doctors.

While Senate Democrats refuse to propose any budget at all, Republicans have now offered two bold plans to move our country forward. I give my support to both. There is, of course, far more that must be done to turn our country around, and we must continue working for more reforms moving forward. But these plans are the cornerstones for saving the American Dream and returning our country to prosperity for generations to come.

Will you stand with me in supporting Congressman Ryan and Senator Toomey today?

Jobs in Texas threatened by effort to block company's plant relocation

The Obama administration has launched a battle in South Carolina that is both a strike at Texas and an attack upon America's free enterprise system.

Airplane manufacturer Boeing would like to expand its operations and create jobs with a new facility in North Charleston, but the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has taken legal action against the company because South Carolina, like Texas, is a right-to-work state. The NLRB says Boeing can't expand into South Carolina. It must instead keep all its workers in Washington, where it already has facilities and faces a toxic business climate. Washington is a state with forced unionization, and Boeing has regularly confronted work stoppages by the unions.

If the Obama administration succeeds in this attempt to tell businesses where they're allowed to set up shop and decide where workers can be employed, then it is not just South Carolina jobs that are in danger. Texas jobs are at stake as well, and the NLRB could soon be issuing rulings that companies cannot create jobs here in Texas. And, even further, this will have the unintended consequence of encouraging companies to locate facilities overseas just to be competitive in today's global economy.

Right to work empowers workers and it has fueled Texas' and the nation's economic growth. Rather than forcing anyone to join a union to obtain a job, it gives people the liberty to decide if that's the choice for them. Texas and 21 other states guarantee this right, and studies show these states have all seen stronger job growth, income growth and population growth than states that force workers to join unions as a prerequisite for employment. One economist found that 4.8 million people left their forced unionization states in favor of right-to-work states between 2000 and 2008. Right-to-work states also have better-educated workforces, and even as health care coverage in other states dropped by 5.7 percent between 1999-2009, coverage in right-to-work states increased.

With all the advantages right to work has over forced unionization, it's not surprising that Big Labor and its surrogates on the NLRB are doing whatever they can to stop Boeing from creating jobs in South Carolina.

Since becoming president, Barack Obama has stacked the NLRB with pro-union political appointees. The Senate rejected the appointment of Craig Becker to the NLRB, but Obama made a recess appointment, circumventing the Senate's constitutional authority to approve nominations. And while NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon has yet to even face a vote in the Senate, he is the chief proponent of this dubious legal action against Boeing.

These unelected Obama appointees to the NLRB are telling a private company it's not allowed to relocate and create new jobs. This affront goes to the very heart of what we believe in America. If we're going to turn this country around and revive the American Dream, we must remember where our strength lies. Our free enterprise system is what built this country and led us to prosperity. We are in decline because our own government has taken a turn against the values that made us the greatest nation the world has ever known.

I spent my career in the private sector, growing businesses and creating thousands of jobs in the process. Witnessing this overreach by the NLRB, as well as other attacks on business like Obamacare and Washington's vast regulatory expansion, I can tell you businesses are confronted with a difficult decision over whether to maintain their operations here in the United States. If we don't roll back these government encroachments, American jobs will soon be shipped to China and India at an even faster pace.

Action must be taken to save jobs in Texas and around the country. Barack Obama should withdraw his nominations to the NLRB. If he refuses, the Senate can reject confirmation. This, however, is only a temporary fix. It is Congress' fault that the NLRB has gone unchecked. The board should face broad congressional oversight and funding should be stripped before it puts American jobs at even greater peril.

This originally appeared as an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle. -Team Leppert