Cong. González on the Wrong Side

In just three weeks into President Joe Biden’s term our congressman, Vicente González, has already found cause to vocally disagree with him and González is wrong. President Biden has issued an executive order to pause on leasing federal lands for oil and gas extraction while the federal government reviews the process and contracts. González and three other Texas Democrats, Henry Cuellar of Laredo, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher of Houston, and Marc Veasey of Fort Worth wrote a letter demanding the order be rescinded.

The federal government charges a 12.5% royalty on oil and gas produced on federal lands which is about half of what the state of Texas and other states charge on state owned lands or what private landowners typically get on their leases. That 12.5% leaves little to nothing for the federal treasury once the cost of cleanup and damage to roads is covered. Earning a competitive royalty rate alone is a good reason for the federal government to review oil and gas leasing on its lands as they’re currently leaving a lot of money on the table and enriching the already wealthy shareholders while leaving the rest of us to clean up the mess. It’s also important to know that most of the federal land currently leased isn’t in production so pausing further leasing won’t stop new drilling even a little bit.

Less than 2% of Texas is owned by the federal government and of that about three quarters is held by the Department of Defense or the National Park Services. There is no federal land not held by the Dept. of Defense or National Park Service that I could find in Congressional District 15 which Cong. González represents so it’s not like local jobs are at stake. In point of fact his constituents who own mineral rights in the Eagle Ford Shale in a few counties in the district should actually benefit from the pause in federal leases by their lands and the oil and gas produced thereon becoming more valuable; especially if the federal government raises the royalty percentage to the market rate.

The real reason that Pres. Biden has but a hold on leasing federal land for oil and gas development is that he understands that global climate change is an existential threat to our way of life and possibly our species. The world has less than 30 years to get carbon emissions under control before the climate is irrevocably wrecked. If we don’t collectively get our act together and stop spewing CO2 and methane into the atmosphere faster than trees and plants can absorb the CO2 our children and grandchildren will find that much of the world will be uninhabitable by the end of the century. There will be drought, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s. The drought will cause crop failure and famine world-wide leading to mass migration and war over resources.

All four Texas Democrats who signed onto the demand to rescind the pause in leasing have two things in common: districts with substantial oil and gas businesses and the number one industry making campaign donations to them was oil and gas. It seems pretty clear who Cong. González is listening to and it isn’t his constituents since Pres. Biden’s climate change initiatives have been well received by the general public.

It is a national security imperative that we avoid a climate change caused disaster and our congressman is too worried about appeasing a handful of rich campaign donors. Call his Washington D.C. office at 202-225-2531 and let him know what you think.

 Published in the Seguin Gazette - February 3, 2021

President Mobster

Imagine you manage a small business in a part of town that’s sees more than its share of crime and a wealthy guy from another part of town walks in trailing a couple big guys that look like bodyguards. Imagine further that you’re having a conversation with the wealthy guy about the local business climate, fair treatment of employees, and other topics when he changes the subject and asks very nicely to dig back in your records and find evidence that a mutual acquaintance has been involved with something shady. Then he says “You’ve got a great business here, it would be a shame if something happened to it”. Would you think he’s a mobster? If he’d asked for cash you’d probably call it a protection racket.

Donald Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have both admitted to having had that conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine. They’ve both admitted to withholding congressionally authorized military aid, specifically weapons, from Ukraine in order to extract the promise of help finding dirt on Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Were Russia not continuing its illegal and undeclared war on Ukraine it would be easy for Zelensky to shrug off such demands but support from the United States is critical to maintaining the freedom, autonomy, democracy of Ukraine. Zelensky needs all the help he can get to respond to Russian aggression.

The fact that Trump has admitted to extortion for political gain both in his own statements and in the purported “transcripts” suggests to me that the whistleblower report is likely even more damning. Trump and his cronies have been illegally withholding the whistleblower report for nearly a month then he suddenly admits and can’t stop talking about just what the rumors have been suggesting. Based on Trump’s past use of outrageous statements to distract from more important issues I think these revelations likely mean that the report will document even worse transgressions than the early rumors suggested. Based on his actions toward Ukraine it would appear Trump actually believes that his statement  from late July, "Then I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president, “ is true.

Article II of the U.S. constitution says nothing of the sort. In fact Article II clearly limits presidential power, it assigns the title Commander in Chief of the armed forces, the power to make treaties, appoint ambassadors, judges, department heads and others but only with agreement of two thirds of the senate. Article II doesn’t even include the power to veto legislation but it does provide that the President “shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Our congressman, Vicente Gonzalez, finally got on board with calling for an impeachment inquiry just hours before Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House would begin such an investigation. The House leadership has withheld support for impeachment for many months and many committee investigations have been stymied by witnesses who refused to cooperate, now that Speaker Pelosi has taken off the brakes we may see quite a bit of action from the six committees assigned to the investigation in the coming months. None of it will matter if their chairs don’t hold witnesses in contempt if they refuse to truthfully and completely answer questions and provide requested evidentiary documents.

Now is not the time to let up on our member of congress, it is every bit as imperative now as it was last week to push him to support a full inquiry into Trump’s misdeeds.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - September 27, 2019

Rep. Gonzalez Supports Wall Street Over Constituents

Last week I wrote about our congressman, Vicente Gonzalez, co-sponsoring legislation that empowers debt collection attorneys to our detriment. Just a day or two later I saw him promoting his successful efforts to encourage the US Department of Agriculture to load $50 million to the San Miguel Electric Co-op so it can continue providing electricity to 40 or so South Texas counties with 220,000 customers. That sounded like something to be proud of until I learned that it will keep one of the dirtiest coal burning plants in the country operating for another 19 years so that investors don’t lose $489 million if it is forced to shut down before the loans are paid off.

The reality then is that rather than let the “market” work and wealthy investors lose money he’s proud of using our tax dollars to bail them out while polluting our air with both toxins and climate damaging greenhouse gases. This particular plant is so dirty and inefficient because it burns lignite coal, a fuel so inefficient that operators build plants on top of coal deposits as it is too expensive to haul it by train.

The volume of carbon dioxide put out by the San Miguel plant is much higher per kilowatt of electricity generated than almost any other type of generator. That excess carbon dioxide just hastens the very climate change that is already damaging the residents of the district. Both Seguin and McAllen where the bulk of the district’s population resides have experienced several devastating floods in recent years and such floods are likely to become both more frequent and more damaging as the climate heats up.

The National Climate Assessment (NCA) was released by the federal government the Friday after Thanksgiving, it assesses the science of climate change and variability and its impacts across the United States. Among its findings were that “In the absence of significant global mitigation action and regional adaptation efforts, rising temperatures, sea level rise, and changes in extreme events are expected to increasingly disrupt and damage critical infrastructure and property, labor productivity, and the vitality of our communities. Regional economies and industries that depend on natural resources and favorable climate conditions, such as agriculture, tourism, and fisheries, are vulnerable to the growing impacts of climate change. Rising temperatures are projected to reduce the efficiency of power generation while increasing energy demands, resulting in higher electricity costs. The impacts of climate change beyond our borders are expected to increasingly affect our trade and economy, including import and export prices and U.S. businesses with overseas operations and supply chains. “

Overall “…the continued warming that is projected to occur without substantial and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions is expected to cause substantial net damage to the U.S. economy throughout this century, especially in the absence of increased adaptation efforts. With continued growth in emissions at historic rates, annual losses in some economic sectors are projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century—more than the current gross domestic product (GDP) of many U.S. states.”

I don’t know about you but I’m more than frustrated that the man we elected to represent us seems to be more interested in his Wall Street backers like Charles Schwab, Credit Suisse Securities, and UBS Americas Inc. just to name a few, than he is in the wellbeing of his constituents. If you feel the same way call his office and let him know. His Washington office number is 202-225-2531.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - December 7, 2018

We Deserve Better Democrats Than Gonzalez

It’s deeply disappointing to find that someone you voted for isn’t living up to their stated principles. Late last week I noticed a news article about a bill that if passed will make it legal for attorneys doing debt collecting to harass debtors once again. While that in itself is disturbing the fact that our congressman, Vicente Gonzalez, is the co-sponsor of the bill is even more so. The bill passed out of committee with a largely party line vote with Gonzalez being the only Democrat voting in favor.

The bill Gonzalez sponsored would prevent the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) from exercising supervision or enforcement authority over them and exempt debt collection attorneys from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). H.R. 5082 will enable some debt collection law firms to engage in abusive and deceptive practices and get away with it.

Public interest attorneys like Carolyn E. Coffey, the Director of Economic Justice at Mobilization for Justice, and Claudia Wilner, Senior Attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, who wrote the article say they know that debt collection attorneys engage in some of the worst debt collection misconduct. Only the FDCPA and the CFPB keeps them even partially in check.

In an example they wrote about their organizations used the FDCPA to sue a debt collection law firm for obtaining hundreds of thousands of default judgments against unsuspecting people,  mostly low-income people of color, by filing false affidavits with the court. The debt collection attorneys used the fraudulently obtained judgments to freeze their victims’ bank accounts, garnish their wages, and coerce them into entering “voluntary” payment agreements. Our FDCPA lawsuit returned tens of millions of dollars to their clients as part of a settlement and resulted in reversing of 200,000 state court judgments.

In a 2016 report by Human Rights Watch, Rubber Stamp Justice: US Courts, Debt Buying Corporations, and the Poor, the authors documented widespread abuses by debt collection attorneys in courts across the country, including cases brought beyond the statute of limitations and hundreds of cases where people never received notice of the suits, all of which resulted in wrongful judgments, often against the wrong people.

Congressional District 15 here in Texas is one of the poorest in the nation and based on the propensity for debt collection attorneys who abuse the law to do so in low-income communities it is likely that we’ll be among those to suffer the most. I find it deeply disturbing that it is our elected representative working to open the door to abuses that were outlawed 30 years ago when Congress first added attorneys to the definition of debt collector in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. When Vicente Gonzalez met with voters in the district during the 2016 primary he claimed he would work for all the people here, his actions say something else entirely. Apparently Gonzalez made friends with the wrong kind of people at the New York office of his law practice.

It isn’t enough to elect more Democrats to Congress or the Texas legislature, we have to work to elect better Democrats too.

Protecting A Million Texans Requires Your Vote

As if you needed another reason to make time to vote in November think about this, Texas is one of 20 states suing the federal government to take away healthcare from millions of Americans especially middle and lower income Texans. Our Republican Attorney General, Ken Paxton, joined the suit earlier this year in an effort to use the courts to do what Congress chose not to. Paxton is empowered by the fact that Republicans control both houses of the legislature and every statewide office.

The cynical ploy used by the Attorneys General is the claim that since the individual mandate was central to the Affordable Care Act, the fact that Congress repealed it invalidates the entire law. Since 1.2 million Texans are covered through plans purchased via the Exchange created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) having the court decide in favor of killing it will endanger the lives and health of all of them. Of course it won’t have any effect on the 4.5 million Texans denied coverage by Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision not to accept the 90% federally funded Medicaid expansion.

Whether or not Democrats can beat Paxton directly by electing Justin Nelson to replace him or indirectly through electing a majority in one or both houses of the legislature and cutting his budget, it can be done. Readers have three or four ways to protect the healthcare of over a million Texans. They can vote to replace the current Attorney General with Justin Nelson who if elected will certainly withdraw from the suit. They can vote to replace the Governor with Lupe Valdez who can make it known to the legislature that she will veto any budget that continues to fund attacks on the Affordable Care Act. They can vote to replace the incumbent in the House with John Rodgers who would fight to force Paxton to drop the suit by cutting his budget. Rodgers would also demand that the state take the federal money to expand Medicaid which would not only be a boon to those 4.5 million Texans not currently insured, it would also stimulate the economy of the entire state leading to many more jobs and higher paying jobs as well. If you live in the part of Guadalupe County which is in Senate District 25 you can replace the incumbent who is widely recognized one of the worst legislators in Texas with Steve Kling.

On the federal side we have an opportunity to put a stop to Republican efforts to repeal the ACA in whole or in part by taking back one or both houses of Congress. We need to hold onto a House seat by voting for Vicente González so that in other districts where Republican incumbents are in jeopardy of losing their seats we can gain enough to achieve a majority there. This is really important as Republicans in the House are still working to undermine the ACA by any means available. They are also plotting to cut Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid benefits claiming that they are causing a deficit; when in fact that deficit is caused mostly by the tax breaks they just gave big banks and billionaires. A Democratic House majority insures that Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the ACA all continue to be adequately funded.

There is also the very real possibility of replacing one of the Senate’s most unpopular members if we all get out and vote for Beto O’Rourke. If Texas voters flip that seat it will go a long way toward making it possible to win a majority in the Senate.

Vote! Vote! Vote!

Most Americans Want Medicare For All

In one sense Democrats and Republicans agree on the need to reform healthcare in the United States. The difference is the goal of Republicans in Congress is to lower taxes, particularly for the wealthiest while the goal of Democrats is to make sure more people are covered by insurance. Republicans in Congress can’t seem to agree on how far to push, the Freedom Caucus, aka TEA Party, want to take away healthcare for everyone receiving coverage through the Medicaid expansion. That’s in addition to the folks the so called moderate Republicans want to throw to the wolves by reducing subsidies on the Exchange such that they could no longer afford insurance.

Whether or not the motivation for cutting off the federal assistance is at least partially racist the fact is that the rate of uninsured among Hispanics is 30.7%, more than twice the rate of African-Americans and three times that of whites.

Texas' overall uninsured rate is about 8 percentage points higher than the overall U.S. uninsured rate. Nearly 18% of Texans still don’t have health insurance making this state the worst in the country.

Medicaid expansion critics like Gov. Abbott object to providing coverage to able-bodied adults who can work. What they don’t talk about is that many Texans work a full time job and still don’t earn enough to qualify for subsidies on the exchange but they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s latest healthcare “reform” proposal Medicaid would be turned into what is called block grants the amount that the federal government gives to states to administer Medicaid would be reduced. A block grant would allow much more freedom to states like Texas to set their own criteria for who deserves healthcare and how much care would be paid for. Since under Ryan’s proposal funding would also be reduced some people would lose coverage or have access to less healthcare.

One group most likely to suffer are those in nursing homes since a very large fraction of Medicaid is spent to subsidize the fees since Medicare doesn’t cover it and their social security checks usually aren’t enough either. Once those folks run out of their retirement savings the only thing keeping them in the nursing home is Medicaid. If Paul Ryan were to get his way be prepared to close in the garage and put grandma in there because there will be no where else for her to go.

I think most of us would agree that the folks we, know regardless of income, deserve to be able to see a doctor when they’re sick and fill the prescriptions needed to recover. I’ll bet most of believe that every child should get the healthcare they need to grow up strong and healthy. Recent studies show that over 60% agree that it would be so much simpler and better if everyone was on Medicare. And it’s not just liberals who believe this, 30% of Republicans agree.

Representative John Conyers of Michigan has filed a bill in Congress named the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, H.R. 676. The bill that would not only insure that every American could go to the doctor when sick but it would also save the 20% that insurance companies now get to spend on overhead because Medicare is just that much more efficient.

If you wondered what that bunch of demonstrators out in front of the Guadalupe Regional Medical Center last Saturday were doing; we were calling on our congressman, Vicenté Gonzalez, to join other Texans in co-sponsoring H.R. 676.

Published in the Seguin Gazette April 14, 2017

Guadalupe Rallies to Defend the ACA/Medicaid/Medicare

Last Saturday more than 80 area residents rallied at the Guadalupe Regional Medical Center on E. Court Street in support of maintaining the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and Medicare. The group acted because of the threats to those programs posed by actions of the Republican controlled Congress. Republicans have begun the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act. They’re also working to turn Medicaid into straight block grants to the states and convert Medicare to a voucher system.

The goal of the event was to send a message to newly elected Congressman Vicente Gonzalez that many of his constituents rely on various parts of our current healthcare insurance system and drastic changes will be unwelcome. Doctor Sarah Typhair held a sign stating “This M.D. proudly supports the A.C.A.” Many in attendance have children or grand-children covered through the provision that allows them to stay on their parents insurance until age 26. Some rely on the fact that A.C.A. forced insurers to drop the lifetime cap that meant people like my wife who have had multiple serious health issues no longer lose coverage after $1 million dollars of healthcare.

Congressional Republicans have been using the phrase “Repeal and Replace” for quite a while now so you’d think they’d have most of the details figured out but you’d be wrong. While Republicans have the repeal part down they can’t agree on the replace part at all. The Congressional Budget Office analyzed one of the more widely accepted proposals and found that if enacted it would increase deficit spending by $171 billion or force a 26% cut in the subsidies available to those who get their insurance through the exchange meaning that many would once again find health insurance unaffordable.

Turning Medicaid into a block grant is sure to fix the number of dollars spent and therefore further limit the number of people who benefit from it. Texas has the highest rate of uninsured in the nation at 17% due to Governor Greg Abbott’s failure to expand Medicaid which the federal government would have paid for 90%. That’s 4.6 million Texans whose only option for healthcare is the emergency room and no follow up care or prescription coverage. Converting to block grants means our rate of uninsured will climb higher still.

The proposal to convert Medicare to a voucher program would mean that seniors would get a fixed amount of money to use in order to purchase health insurance on the private market. There are a host of problems with that not the least of which is insurers don’t want to insure seniors in the first place because of their numerous and expensive health problems. Another problem is that there’s no guarantee that the voucher would cover the entire cost of the insurance premium so those seniors who are already struggling to pay their bills or for their prescriptions will have an even greater costs shifted onto them.

Rally participants urged Congressman Gonzalez to come out strong as a defender of the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and Medicare. Every there understands that those programs aren’t perfect but the Trump Republican proposals to abolish or dismantle them are moves in the wrong direction. Gonzalez would do well to become a champion for improving those programs.

Published in the Seguin Gazette March 3, 2017