Congressman Michael McCaul Texas Insider Report
On Friday the FAA gave final approval for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to patrol a portion of the Texas-Mexico border in the Big Bend region. The addition of a drone is a major step forward in securing our border with Mexico. The drones will allow us to patrol areas that are difficult to access on the ground.
I look forward to further authorization for drones to be used along the rest of the border all the way to the Gulf Coast. While this represents progress I will continue to fight to expedite surveillance technology and for additional federal agents and the use of National Guard troops along the border.
The drone approval came one day after myself and my fellow Ranking Members on the Homeland Security Committee met with Secretary Napolitano and I appreciate the swift action by the administration to push this through.
I look forward to further discussing our border security with President Calderon when he visits the White House this week.
Healthcare Reform More Expensive than Thought
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office now estimates that discretionary spending under the new health reform laws will reach $115 billion over the next 10
years which is more than twice the amount CBO estimated when the bill passed.
The
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has announced it will join the 20 state attorneys general in challenging the legality of the new laws.
Also 18 states have decided they will not run the temporary high risk pools created under the law citing concerns they will pay for the pools once federal funding ends.
High Tech Legislator of the Year
I am tremendously proud to have received the Legislator of the Year Award from the Information Technology Industry Council a national tech advocacy group. The world is so partisan but technology transcends partisan politics. It provides solutions to so many policy problems we have.
The policies we devise at the federal level some of them through the bipartisan Congressional High Tech Caucus which I founded and co-chair including R&D tax credits trade policy and patent reform ultimately determine whether we advance technology in the United States and create jobs in the US instead of sending them overseas.
I look forward to continuing to work with the high tech companies in Texas and beyond to make sure Congress addresses the concerns that are most important to them.
