Gov. Perry on Criminal Justice

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today received the endorsement of the political action committee of the Pasadena Police Officer’s Union for re-election in 2010.

“Gov. Perry has been a champion of the law enforcement community,” said E.R. Rogge, president of the Pasadena Police Officer’s Union. “While some folks are content to talk about leadership, Gov. Perry has been busy leading the charge to make Texas the safest state in America.”

The Pasadena Police Officer’s Union represents more than 200 members of the Pasadena Police Department and is a member of the Texas Municipal Police Association.

“I’m truly honored to receive the endorsement of Pasadena’s finest, who do such a tremendous job at protecting and serving Texans,” said Gov. Perry. “The bravery and service of our state’s law enforcement community are crucial to making Texas the best place in the nation to live, work and raise a family.”

Gov. Rick Perry today received the endorsement of the San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA) for re-election.

“Gov. Perry has been a relentless advocate of the law enforcement community and always championed our legislative agenda,” said Dean Fischer, Vice President of the San Antonio Police Officers Association. “The resources that the State of Texas has provided to police across the state under Gov. Perry’s watch have helped modernize and improve how we protect and serve our communities. For these reasons the San Antonio Police Officers Association is proud to endorse Governor Rick Perry in the Texas Republican primary on March 2, 2010.”

The San Antonio Police Officers Association, an organization whose primary purpose is to benefit police officers and their families, was established in 1946 and consists of over 2,000 members.

“The sacrifices Texas peace officers make day in and day out to protect our communities and secure our state are crucial to upholding our state’s outstanding quality of life,” said Gov. Perry. “I am incredibly proud of our law enforcement community, especially the San Antonio Police Officers Association, and grateful for their dedicated service and support. I remain committed to ensuring our peace officers have the tools they need to keep Texans safe.”

IRVING – Gov. Rick Perry today visited the Irving Police Association to discuss the impact of Texas’ border security efforts and reiterate his commitment to upholding the security of Texas communities.

“I deeply respect the Federal Border Patrol Agents who work with our local and state law enforcement in the border region, but they have consistently been shortchanged when it comes to the resources that they need to do their job,” said Gov. Perry. “That is why Texas keeps stepping up with resources to fill that gap. I am proud of what Texas has done to bolster border security by putting more boots on the ground with the technology, coordination and support they need.”

Gov. Perry specifically highlighted efforts to combat the threat of transnational gangs across the state, which have become an increasing threat to Texas communities and recruit members from Texas schools and prisons.

“As we have made life and business tougher for the drug cartels, they have relied increasingly on transnational gangs fueling their growth in size and influence in communities across our state,” said Gov. Perry. “That is why we have provided close to $4 million in grants to local police departments across the state in 2008 in the effort to provide adequate resources to peace officers on the front lines of the ongoing conflict with these gangs.”

Specifically in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as part of the state’s transnational gangs initiative, $225,000 grants were awarded to Arlington, Garland, Fort Worth and Irving, along with a $500,000 grant for Dallas.

The governor cited the success of the state’s anti-gang strategy, noting 2009 reports from police departments across the state that show close to 1,000 felony arrests and the seizure of more than half a ton of drugs. In addition to grants allocated in 2008, the 81st Legislature passed an omnibus gang bill which provided for the electronic monitoring of gang members, the creation of gang-free zones, and the establishment of civil liability for gang members and the damage they cause. The Legislature also funded a gang intelligence section within the Texas Fusion Center as well as gang investigations and prosecutions.

“These gangs most certainly know that we mean business and the drug cartels that fund them are working even harder to overcome our efforts,” said Gov. Perry. “Fortunately for us, we have the resolve, and more importantly, we have Texas peace officers who have sworn to defend our citizens and do so with great courage. I thank them for their service and the safety and security they preserve with their sacrifice.”

Because the federal government has failed to secure Texas’ international border, Gov. Perry has been instrumental in providing the necessary resources to fill the gap by implementing a border security strategy based on putting boots on the ground and equipping law enforcement with the technology, training and funding they need to stem the flow of crime across our border:
• At Gov. Perry’s request, the Texas legislature allocated $110 million in state funds in 2007 to amplify border security efforts through Operation Border Star, which has funded more personnel, and provided assets like aircraft, patrol boats and better technology for communications, data management and coordinated efforts.
• At Gov. Perry’s request, legislators renewed border funding at $116 million in 2009, which includes funds to combat the emerging threat of transnational gangs infiltrating our communities and threatening the safety of our citizens, recruiting members from Texas schools and prisons.
• In Oct. 2009, Gov. Perry launched the Ranger Recon Teams, which utilizes the specialized criminal intelligence and apprehension capabilities of the Texas Rangers to protect Texans who live in remote areas of the border, and whose lives and whose property are threatened by border crime.
• Since Jan. 2009, Gov. Perry has urged the federal government, through letters to President Barack Obama, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, to approve his request for 1,000 Title 32 National Guardsmen to support civilian law enforcement efforts to enhance border security in Texas.
• Gov. Perry has consistently fought to fund and utilize innovative technology to support border security strategies which include the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition’s Virtual Border Watch program, a system of cameras along the border, which creates a virtual online patrol presence, allowing the public to view and report suspicious activity to law enforcement. Other technology resources include five state-of-the-art helicopters with forward-looking infrared, electronic fingerprint booking stations, night vision goggles for law enforcement, license plate readers and enhanced radio interoperability to allow communication between different law enforcement jurisdictions.

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today received the endorsement of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) for re-election in 2010.

“Texas law enforcement officers and their families have better lives because of laws signed by Gov. Perry,” said Charley Wilkison, Public Affairs Division Director of CLEAT. “Our organization’s record of legislative success would have been meaningless without the governor’s friendship and leadership. Whether in agreement or opposition, he has always listened and stretched to meet our position whenever possible. We’ve been able to complete a lot of important work over the years, and our organization believes the governor has earned our endorsement and deserves our support.”

CLEAT represents more than 17,500 local officers in more than 80 local affiliated law enforcement associations. Its mission is to ensure that all members receive the rights, protections and respect they deserve for their role in enforcing the laws of Texas and protecting the lives and property of its citizens.

“People come to Texas because they know it’s a place where they can find a job, raise their families, and enjoy an outstanding quality of life,” said Gov. Perry. “The safety that members of CLEAT and other peace officers provide is an essential part of that quality, and plays a key role in our continued status as a national economic leader and an optimistic outlook on life. I am honored to receive CLEAT’s endorsement and eager to continue working with them to ensure they have the tools they need to keep our communities safe and secure.”

Joins More Than 60 Associations and Conservative Leaders To Tout Vision for Texas’ Future

DALLAS – Gov. Rick Perry today joined more than 60 associations and conservative leaders who have endorsed his re-election to highlight his diverse, statewide support. He also touted accomplishments that have strengthened Texas’ economy and offered his vision to keep Texas moving forward.

“I am deeply honored to have the support of these Texans from fields including agriculture, healthcare, retail sales, manufacturing construction, law enforcement and education, as well as advocates for genuine Texas values, all of whom play an essential role in our state’s future,” said Gov. Perry. “With support like this, anything is possible, and I am genuinely grateful for their endorsements.”

From trade associations including the Texas Municipal Police Association, Texas Association of Realtors and Texas Medical Association, to influential conservative leaders including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Gov. Perry’s endorsements highlight the broad-based support he has from diverse groups and industries. He also has strong support from the state’s Republican Party leadership, including endorsements from two-thirds of the State Republican Executive Committee leadership, several former chairs of the Republican Party of Texas, and Republican National Committeeman Bill Crocker.

Gov. Perry emphasized his focus on job creation and economic development, noting its importance to maintaining the state’s economic strength and pointing to the state’s low taxes, predictable regulatory climate, fair legal system and education efforts that have helped make it a national leader in exports and Fortune 500 companies.

The governor also spoke against the misguided policies being promoted by Washington, including cap-and-trade and healthcare reform, that would expand government, increase debt and further intrude into Americans’ lives. He noted the important role states should play in offering innovative, effective alternatives to the challenges our nation faces.

“The future well-being of our country resides at the state level with experienced executives leading their states to sustain a climate of innovation while running interference with a federal government run amok,” said Gov. Perry. “That is why I am seeking re-election. I love Texas and I am fully convinced that we have the fundamentals in place to lead our country out of these tough times.”

Moving forward, Gov. Perry reiterated his proposals to make the recent small business tax cut permanent, promote a Constitutional amendment to require a two-thirds vote of the legislature to increase state taxes, root out unnecessary regulations that stifle innovation and investment, and expand the number of STEM schools in the state and UTeach programs at state universities.

Click here to view a video highlighting Gov. Perry's endorsements.

Below is the list of individuals and groups who have endorsed Gov. Perry’s re-election:

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
Texas Municipal Police Association
Texas Chemical Council
Texas Society of Professional Engineers
Republican National Committeewoman Cathie Adams
Texas Right to Life
Houston Realty Business Coalition
Texas Apartment Association
TX Republican County Chairman Assoc. Pres. Linda Rogers
Heidi Group Founder Carol Everett
Texas Alliance for Life
Texas Department of Public Safety Officers Association PAC
Texas Home School Coalition PAC
Texans for Life Coalition President Kyleen Wright
Conservative Republicans of Texas President Dr. Steve Hotze
Free Market Foundation President Kelly Shackelford
Texas Chiropractic Association
Americans for Prosperity* State Director Peggy Venable
Texas State Association of Fire Fighters
Texas Association of Realtors
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Texas Civil Justice League PAC
Texas Oil and Gas Association President Rob Looney
Concerned Women for America State Director Ann Hettinger
Texas Optometric Association PAC
Texas Pest Control Association
Energy Entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens
Texas Recreational Vehicle Association
Texas Poultry Federation
Justice at the Gate Founder Alice Patterson
Former Republican Party of Texas Chair Tina Benkiser
Texas Cattle Feeders Beef-PAC
Eagle Forum Founder Phyllis Schlafly
Texas Pharmacy Business Council
Justice Foundation President Allan Parker, Jr.
Texas Podiatric Medical Association
Texas Association for Interior Design
Former Texas Republican Party Chairman Susan Weddington
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Bill Bennett
Family Research Council Action PAC Chairman Tony Perkins
WallBuilders President and Founder David Barton
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
Texas Association of Builders HOMEPAC
Manufacturers PAC of Texas
Texas Medical Association TEXPAC
Former Republican Party of Texas Chair George Strake
Texas Society of Anesthesiologists PAC
Texas Restaurant Association PAC
Vision America Founder Dr. Rick Scarborough
Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas PAC
Recreational Fishing Alliance
Texas Recreational Fishing Alliance
Texas Nursery and Landscape Association PAC
Career Colleges and Schools of Texas
Two-Thirds of the State Republican Executive Committee
Republican National Committeeman Bill Crocker
Former Republican Party of Texas Chair Tom Pauken
Texas Motor Transportation Association TRUCKPAC
Empower Texans PAC

*Organization listed for identification purposes only, Americans for Prosperity itself does not endorse candidates.
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Stacy Kuykendall, the ex-wife of Cameron Todd Willingham, offers her first detailed account of the 1991 fire that claimed the lives of her three daughters and led to Willingham’s execution in 2004. “Todd set our house on fire then stood outside and watched it burn,” Kuykendall asserts, saying she agrees with Gov. Rick Perry’s portrayal of her husband as “a monster.” Here is the full statement:

A full accounting of medical malpractice reforms shows the benefits would be $242 billion a year.

Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said medical-liability reforms could save about $11 billion annually. This assessment is a gross underestimate of the potential benefits of reform and was intended to give cover to congressional Democrats who say malpractice-liability costs are trifling. But a full accounting shows the benefits would be a hefty $242 billion a year, more than 10 percent of America's health expenditures.

Last year alone, damage awards for medical-malpractice claims reached $5.9 billion. Adding in legal costs, underwriting costs, and administrative expenses, total med-mal tort costs were nearly three times higher — $16 billion. From 1986 through 2002, the average insurance payment for a malpractice claim more than tripled to $320,000. The average jury award for medical liability was $637,134 in 2006.

Getting sued is now part of the job description for physicians. Each year, up to 25 percent of them face lawsuits. Doctors are found innocent in 90 percent of cases, but they lose even then — average defense costs per claim approach $100,000. Fear of lawsuits causes most doctors to practice "defensive medicine," meaning they order unnecessary tests, referrals, and procedures to protect themselves against allegations of medical negligence.

A recent survey of doctors published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 93 percent of physicians admit to practicing defensive medicine. A 2008 survey by the Massachusetts Medical Society found that about 25 percent of medical procedures are defensive in nature.

Defensive medicine wastes patients' and doctors' time and costs $191 billion annually, according to the best scholarly research. Such waste drives up the cost of medical care and the price of health insurance. In fact, by making health insurance more expensive, defensive medicine adds at least 3.4 million Americans to the rolls of the uninsured, and reduced productivity and annual output by more than $41 billion in 2008. To ease the burdens of malpractice lawsuits, jury awards should be capped for impossible-to-quantify "pain and suffering," so-called non-economic damages.

According to my study "Tort Law Tally," capping awards in med-mal lawsuits cuts losses an average of 39 percent and annual insurance premiums by 13 percent. But the most important benefit from caps is better access to care. States with caps have 12 percent more physicians per capita than states without caps, according to a study published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Non-economic-damage caps were an integral part of the malpractice reforms adopted in Missouri in 2005. Skyrocketing malpractice premiums had caused shortages of specialists, and patients had problems getting treatment. Thanks to the reforms, med-mal claims in Missouri are at a 30-year low. Average payouts are $50,000 lower than they were in 2005, before the caps went into effect.

Texas capped non-economic damages in 2003 as part of a broader tort-reform package, and since then, more than 16,500 doctors have flooded into Texas, many to previously underserved rural and minority communities. Texas has jumped six spots in the American Medical Association's ranking of doctors per capita. Nearly 430,000 Texans have health insurance today as a result of the medical liability reforms, says the Perryman Group.

Rising liability costs are causing hospitals to close; doctors to flee states; maternity centers, trauma centers, and clinics to shut down; and patients to travel long distances due to chronic shortages of providers in some communities. Congressional testimony relates the cases of Tony Dyess, who is brain-damaged, and Fred Andricks, who died, because lawyers drove neurologists out of their local areas, forcing long delays in treatment while being airlifted.

Despite these grim realities, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, claims: "The whole premise of a medical malpractice 'crisis' is unfounded." The senator is wrong, and so are those, including the CBO, who minimize the burdens.

Effective malpractice reforms would allow doctors to spend more time with patients, not attorneys, increase access to health insurance and local providers, and provide benefits of at least $242 billion a year. Less spending on wasteful litigation means better patient care and lower costs for all Americans.

Mr. McQuillan is director of business and economic studies at the Pacific Research Institute and coauthor of "The Facts about Medical Malpractice Liability Costs" and "Tort Law Tally."

Our images of bravery usually come wrapped in Army green or police-force blue.

But bravery comes in blond, too.

Jenna Quinn may look more like a beauty queen than an icon of bravery, but her courage is something to behold.

Jenna is a triumphant survivor of sexual abuse.

No, more than mere survivor, she has become a valiant warrior against sexual abuse of children and adolescents.

A new Texas law bears her name. And the 22-year-old Carrollton woman leaves today for Boston, where she will meet with legislators and others to encourage the fight against sexual molestation.

We first met Jenna here five years ago. She was 17 years old and already showing her courage.

Victims of sex crimes usually aren't named in news stories, but Jenna wanted her name used. She wanted to be a model of openness to other victims.

See, Jenna had previously tried to be brave in a very different way. For several years, starting at age 13, she worked very hard to keep a secret.

The secret: She was being sexually molested by her father's best friend.

His family and hers were practically one big family – always together, sharing meals, celebrating holidays, traveling as a group.

Because Jenna knew that telling her secret would devastate so many others, she decided to suffer the ordeal alone. And suffer she did, undergoing so much emotional torment that she came close to suicide.

Finally telling her secret brought such sweet relief that she has been on a campaign ever since to spare others her torment.

The first step in that campaign was telling her story in my column, just a few days after her molester was sentenced to 20 years in prison. "I'm not scared. Don't you be scared," she told other victims at the time.

She followed that by telling her story for a short documentary film, It's Not Just Jenna. Kellie Quinn, Jenna's mom, said the film is now used in schools all around the state to heighten awareness of sexual abuse – particularly that it's most often perpetrated by a close, trusted person.

Jenna said her proudest moment came in August when Gov. Rick Perry held a ceremony to sign "Jenna's Law." The legislation creates a state task force on sexual abuse and requires schools to implement more education and prevention measures.

The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, praised Jenna for both proposing the idea and helping get it passed. "Her passionate testimony and strong dedication effectively moved this bill through the legislative process," he said.

Jenna said she hopes the warning signs of abuse will become better known, leading to earlier detection. "It takes pressure off the victim and puts more responsibility on parents and caretakers," Jenna said.

Along with all these accomplishments, Jenna managed to graduate in just three years with a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas.

And she graduated with honors, no less.

As far as her molester, Jenna said she's disappointed that he still hasn't apologized. But she said she has forgiven him. "I just feel sorry for him," she said.

Their two families are no longer close. But Jenna was thrilled to get a note of congratulations on Jenna's Law from her molester's ex-wife.

"It meant everything to me," she said.

Jenna is excited about starting graduate school in January. She plans to become a counselor working with autistic children.

"I feel as though I've been restored fully," she said. "I couldn't be any better. I feel blessed."