Sen. Hutchison’s long record stands for Texas

One of my most memorable moments on Capitol Hill was when I walked into in my cubicle and saw a note. It said Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was watching one of Rice’s College World Series games. Though I was her only Rice intern, she supported my university fully, and she made sure I knew it. Her support for the Rice Owls is only a small example of her faithful service to Texas, better seen during her during her 13 years in the Senate.

At a press conference for hurricane relief funding for Texas, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson warned never to get on Senator Hutchison’s bad side. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Texas was federally reimbursed at a lower rate than Louisiana. Sen. Hutchison led the outcry, unifying the Texas congressional delegation in pushing for a fairer allocation of funds, asserting that hurricane damage does not discriminate between states and neither should the federal government. By the end of the summer, Hutchison had secured over $3.76 billion for Texas to begin recovering from the previous year’s disasters.

Hutchison has supported the war on terror since its inception and continues to reiterate the importance of security of American citizens. She refuses to tolerate a world where terrorists are willing to “shoot children in the back […] for absolutely no reason whatsoever.” The situation is complicated, but the effort to diffuse foreign threats must remain steadfast. Senator Hutchison believes, “Every child in our country should grow up with the same kind of freedom and opportunity everyone” in the Senate has enjoyed. Sacrifices have been made, and each casualty is heart-wrenching. Hutchison understands and faces the sacrifices made on behalf of the war on terror on a regular basis. One of her staffers is a disabled marine from the Iraq War, critically wounded in an attack in Najaf, Iraq in 2004. Shards of shrapnel blinded him completely in the left eye, also injuring his forehead, torso and thigh. Despite these injuries, he also continues to support the war and understands it as something beyond Bush adventurism, doing whatever necessary to support Hutchison in this policy.

The senator voted against the Senate version of the immigration reform bill, which, in her view, rewards illegal behavior. Furthermore, undocumented immigrants pose a threat to national security for the simple reason that no one knows who is in the country, exacerbating the pre-existing problem of identification theft that affects countless Americans. The status quo and the House version of the bill are also untenable. So Sen. Hutchison has pushed a highly touted alternative that could bring forth meaningful, comprehensive immigration reform. Improved border enforcement is only the first element of the plan — she wants a system that would give employers the resources and responsibility to only hire workers who are in the country legally. Under her reform, the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States would be forced to return to their home nation for background checks. Then, if jobs are available, they would be permitted to return to work in this country but would be ineligible for welfare. However, under this program individuals could potentially become citizens after 17 years.

Additionally, Hutchison has always been a fervent supporter of NASA. A viable space program is not only good for the local economy but also for the development of science and engineering, which are vital to America’s competitiveness in the technologically driven global economy. Hutchison has constantly pushed through legislation to provide the funding and resources for education in these fields, which include support for higher education. On a larger scale, space exploration and higher education drive the imagination of a nation, challenging mankind to pursue ever more daunting tasks.

Since her special election in 1993, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has provided pragmatic leadership for Texas and the nation on Capitol Hill. However, she is also convinced that at times the best way to help her constituents is to limit government involvement. Hutchison knows and listens to the concerns of the people she serves, and she makes the effort to address these issues and explain her position. As an individual who has seen her at work, I know her policies are solid and her character is impeccable.

Leonard Chan is a Lovett College senior.

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