Interview with Texas Senator John Cornyn

Candidate Interview - August 2008

Interview with Texas
Senator John Cornyn

Texas GOP Senator John Cornyn is running for his second term in the United States Senate. First elected in 2002 with 55 percent of the vote, the Houston-born former state Attorney General, District Court Judge, and Texas Supreme Court Justice who hails from San Antonio has already risen to the ranks of his party’s elected leadership (Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference) and serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary, and Budget Committees. A staunch defender of free markets and individual liberty, Senator Cornyn has distinguished himself as a leading advocate for the confirmation of conservative, strict constructionist federal judges who will interpret the law and not make it, and for securing the border and fixing our broken immigration system. NAW was proud to work with Senator Cornyn who played a key role in the recent legislative effort to solve the asbestos litigation crisis.

WDPAC recently sat down with Senator Cornyn to discuss issues and the campaign.

Q: Sen. Cornyn , you’ve served in the United States Senate for nearly six years. What stands out as your proudest achievement during that time?

I was especially proud when the Senate confirmed two Justices for the U.S. Supreme Court who are dedicated to interpreting – and not writing – the law.  But my happiest moment was when the President signed a bill that Sen. Leahy and I wrote that updates and reforms our federal open government law.  Our democracy depends on consent of the governed, and it must be an informed consent.

Q: Many of the tax policies enacted in 2001 and 2003 are temporary. Among those set to expire at the end of this decade include repeal of the death tax, marginal income tax rate reductions, and the reduced tax rates on capital gains and dividends. Should these policies be allowed to expire or should they be made permanent?

These tax cuts should be made permanent, and not simply because our economy is currently struggling and can ill afford a tax increase.  The tax reductions all encompass sound tax policy that strengthen economic growth, create jobs and encourage entrepreneurs and risk-takers.

Q: One tax issue of particular importance to many wholesaler-distributors revolves around the last-in-first-out (LIFO) method of accounting. It appears that LIFO repeal now ranks high on a list of potential revenue raisers. Will you now commit to vote to preserve LIFO?

Legislation to repeal the LIFO accounting method has been introduced in the House of Representatives but not in the Senate. The last thing Congress should do is raise taxes and simply eliminate LIFO without providing businesses with an acceptable replacement that keeps taxes low and allows for expansion of job opportunities here at home.

Q: Where do you stand on proposals to increase or eliminate the earnings tax cap as an approach to shoring-up the solvency of Social Security?

I oppose lifting the earnings cap unless benefits are adjusted upwards accordingly.  Social Security was not designed as a means-tested entitlement, but this measure would move us markedly in that direction.

Q: There is no more important issue to wholesaler-distributors than “card check”. In this Congress you voted against the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” which proposes to eliminate the secret ballot in union organizing elections. If you are re-elected will you continue to oppose this issue and vote against the card check bill if it comes before the Senate?

You will not be surprised to learn that I will adamantly continue to oppose the card check proposal as long as I am in the U.S. Senate.

Q: Health insurance costs are a leading concern of large and small employers and health care reform seems likely to be a leading issue for the coming 111th Congress and the new administration. Reformers appear to fall into three broad “camps:” those who favor incremental changes; those who want to reduce the influence of government policy on private health insurance programs; and those who favor a greater federal role. What are your thoughts?

I believe that at its best, U.S. health care is the best in the world.  We do have problems with affordability and accessibility that we must address.  As we work on those issues, we should do what we can to maintain the choices and options in the current system, and resist the movement towards a single-payer socialized system that will inevitably lead to rationing and a lower standard of care for most people.

Q: What if anything can and should the federal government do to provide immediate relief from skyrocketing gasoline prices? And with a longer view in mind, what is your prescription for enhancing the nation’s energy security and ensuring a sustainable, stable and affordable energy supply?

Our energy problem is that Congress has taken control away from the free market, and has taken upon itself the role of choosing what energy proposals should be permitted.  In the process, we have become the only nation in the world that is failing to develop its own resources.  If Congress would allow American ingenuity to pursue any and all energy proposals that have economic promise – from renewable to nuclear to clean coal and traditional fuels – then prices would fall both in the short and long terms.

Q: Are there any closing thoughts you’d like to offer as to why the voters of Texas should give you a new six year term in the U.S. Senate?

Texas is arguably the fastest-growing and most successful state in the union.  We believe in low taxes, individual freedom, limited government, and limitless opportunity.  I was born and raised in Texas, and I’d like to continue to bring our Texas values, and our way of doing things, to Washington, D.C.

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