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Dunnam to Perry: Texas Businesses Still Paying for Your Bad Decisions
Yesterday the Texas Workforce Commission reported that it will be forced to raise the unemployment tax rate on Texas businesses and issue roughly $2 billion in bonds to fund services for unemployed Texans. This comes on top of a $1.7 billion loan from the federal government and a major unemployment tax rate increase last December.
"Texas is in this situation because of Rick Perry's decisions," said Representative Jim Dunnam. "He had an opportunity to reduce the strain on the unemployment trust fund, but campaigning and politicking are more important to the Governor than common sense and fiscal responsibility."
Dunnam is referring to Perry's decision to reject approximately $555 million in unemployment benefits offered to Texas through the federal stimulus plan. Although Perry accepted over $16 billion in stimulus dollars from the federal government last year, he rejected the unemployment benefit money, claiming that it came with 'strings attached.'
"Perry has done a good job convincing Texans that he hates the stimulus," said Dunnam. "But truthfully, he requested and accepted a vast majority of the dollars offered to Texas by the federal government. One of his worst decisions was rejecting the unemployment benefit money. It was a campaign decision that put Texas businesses in a horrible place."
In order to continue unemployment benefits last year, the Texas Workforce Commission was forced to borrow roughly $1.7 billion in interest-free advances from the federal government and double the average unemployment tax rate from 0.99 percent to 1.83 percent. A year later, the unemployment rate in Texas is just above 8 percent, the unemployment trust fund is already zeroed out, and the advances from the federal government are set to expire in December.
"Perry doesn't seem to understand that his decisions have long-lasting consequences in our state," said Dunnam. "While he is out campaigning all over the country, Texas agencies are forced to take out loans and issue bonds just to keep the lights on. That is not sound public policy."
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