Rick Perry’s possible 2010 opponent went on the attack yet again today in the pages of the Austin American-Statesman, criticizing the Governor for rejecting $555 million dollars in strings-attached federal stimulus dollars. Back in March, Governor Perry said “thanks, but no thanks” to that portion of the Obama stimulus package if it meant changing Texas law and expanding the government’s intrusion into private enterprise.

Michael Q. Sullivan, President of the watchdog group Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, explains that revisionist history from the Senator isn’t scoring her any points:

The conservative movement and the responsible business community (large and small businesses alike) were uniformly opposed to taking those burdensome dollars. Not only would it have required massive tax increases in the future, it would have done so with requirements that the state forever alter our unemployment insurance laws. (The feds now claim they were joking about that “forever” part, but the federal law still clearly states that the rules must be permanent.)Both the Texas Association of Business and the National Federation of Independent Business loudly urged lawmakers to reject the use of stimulus funds. As did nearly every member of the Texas Conservative Coalition, the conservative caucus of the Texas Legislature. A mid-session report by the group pointed out that “federal matching funds drive increases in state spending, exposing taxpayers to increased tax liability from both federal and state governments.”
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It would have been irresponsible to take those federal UI dollars. Frankly, it represents a lack of leadership to have voted against in the Senate what she now demands Texas to have accepted. And it is always poor judgment to cede the state’s clear authority over such matters to Washington, and certainly to the Obama Administration.

The Governor’s rejection was not some flippant political gesture, it was the result of thoughtful, careful deliberation about what it meant to accept long-term federal strings in exchange for a short-term infusion of federal dollars.
Click here to explore some of the supporting documents, videos, and op-eds from March.
Click here to read Four Facts About Unemployment Insurance, also posted in March.