Journal of the Senate, Regular Session of the Seventy-Eighth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 1 Page: 45
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the special interests speak with a loud voice, but it is the quiet voice of the
common interests that we must listen to. They are the men and women who
run the dry cleaner up the street, who drive the trucks that put food on our
tables, who care for the sick and infirm in our hospitals. The men and
women who pay their bills and pay their taxes represent everything that is
best about America, accepting responsibility for themselves and expecting it
from their government. And those men and women are wise enough to
know it is not the size of government that defines the compassion of our
people but the priorities we set. Limited government, focused rather than
unwieldy, clear in priorities rather than long on promises, that's the
government Texans have voted for and expect from their leaders.
My priorities are clear. We will pursue fiscal discipline to keep
government spending in check. We will focus on creating jobs by keeping
taxes low and building a 21st century transportation system. We will
improve access to health care by allowing doctors to spend more time
examining patients and less time being cross-examined in the courtroom.
We will protect our natural resources because the work of God should be
preserved for future generations to enjoy. We will increase economic
security by reforming insurance laws and lowering rates. And we will
continue to invest in the greatest economic development tool in the history
of this state: the education of our children, all of our children. Those are my
priorities and the priorities of the people of Texas.
There are other challenges before us that did not arise yesterday and
that will not be solved tomorrow. Both our tax system and our school
finance system must be reformed. All the answers may not be found this
session, but we will work until they are found, and these issues will be
addressed under this administration. What we do together will help chart the
course to the future.
What do we know about that future? The heroes of current and past
generations provide a road map, with lessons in selflessness and sacrifice.
Certainly that is true of the members of the 95th Bomb Group with whom
my father served. More than half a century ago, when the cause of freedom
called, they answered. In the skies over war-tom Europe they faced down
danger and death. They suffered the loss of friends and the loss of
innocence. They confronted evil and defeated it. They put service above self
and country above all. They are the heroes who stood in harm's way to
protect the American way. And I would like to ask every veteran and every
man and woman serving in our military today to please stand so we can
recognize you. On behalf of all Texans, all Americans, thank you. Your
actions echo words spoken centuries ago by the prophet Isaiah, when he
said, "Here am I, send me." We have heard those words before. When a
band of soldiers formed behind the walls of the Alamo and their fellow
patriots charged to victory at San Jacinto, "Here am I, send me." On the
cliffs of Normandy, on the rock of Corregidor, on the DMZ in Korea, in the
jungles of Vietnam, over the sands of Kuwait, in the caves of Tora Bora,
Texans have answered, "Here am I, send me."Tuesday, January 21, 2003
SENATE JOURNAL
45
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Texas. Legislature. Senate. Journal of the Senate, Regular Session of the Seventy-Eighth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 1, legislative document, 2003; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123803/m1/51/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.