Texans For Kay

“Despite his election-year rhetoric, Rick Perry’s culture of cronyism in Austin is undermining Texas’ border security. Under Perry’s watch, millions in border security funds have been wasted on boondoggles, been diverted for personal travel and been mismanaged on the border. When it comes to securing our border, Texans can trust Kay Bailey Hutchison to get the job done through commonsense initiatives,” said Joe Pounder, Texans for Kay spokesman.

Austin, TX – Today, in Irving, we’ll hear Rick Perry talk about the importance of securing Texas’ border, but in reality he has put the interests of his cronies and campaign ahead of Texans’ safety. Whether it’s shelling out millions of taxpayer funds for a “boondoggle” border camera program, siphoning off DPS funds for extravagant travel while cutting the border security budget, or doctoring border crime figures for a campaign talking point, Rick Perry’s culture of cronyism in Austin is hurting Texans’ border safety. In contrast, Kay Bailey Hutchison has a strong record of fighting for Texas’ border needs and has introduced a commonsense plan to secure our border. Check out the facts below:

BORDER CRONYISM #1: Taxpayers “Paid An Exorbitant Amount” For Perry’s Border Camera Program Which Has “Failed To Meet Nearly Every Law Enforcement Goal”:

Perry Has Dedicated A Total Of $4 Million In Taxpayer Money To The Border Camera Program. “Perry birthed the border camera concept during his 2006 gubernatorial reelection campaign. After fits and starts, BlueServo and the Sheriff's Coalition launched the border watch Web site in 2008 with $2 million in grant funding from the governor's office. This fall, Perry awarded the Sheriff's Coalition another $2 million to keep the cameras rolling.” (Brandi Grissom, “Broken Border, Part Four: Who's Watching?” The Texas Tribune, 11/11/09)

In Its First Full Year Of Operation, Perry’s Border Camera Program “Failed To Meet Nearly Every Law Enforcement Goal.” “Gov. Rick Perry's border Web camera program has run out of money, and in its first full year of operation failed to meet nearly every law enforcement goal.” (Brandi Grissom, “Virtual Border System Ineffective, Out Of Cash,” El Paso Times, 7/11/09)

•    Cameras Led To Only Eight Drug Busts And 11 Arrests. “But interviews and reports the El Paso Times obtained indicate the nearly 125,000 ‘virtual Texas deputies’ registered on the site led law enforcement to just eight drug busts and 11 arrests.” (Brandi Grissom, “Virtual Border System Ineffective, Out Of Cash,” El Paso Times, 7/11/09)

•    Sheriffs Coalition Planned To Install 200 Cameras, But Only Installed 17. “The sheriffs coalition was to install 200 cameras, but only 17 were up and running. That's about one camera for every 70 miles of the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border.” (Brandi Grissom, “Virtual Border System Ineffective, Out Of Cash,” El Paso Times, 7/11/09)

•    With High Costs, “Texas Seems To Have Paid An Exorbitant Amount For The Small Number Of Cameras That Have Been Installed.”  (Brandi Grissom, “Broken Border, Part Four: Who's Watching?” The Texas Tribune, 11/11/09)

•    With Few Results, Little Traffic But Still Millions Being Spent, The Program Is Being Called “A Boondoggle.” “An expert in crime surveillance called the program an extreme waste of money. ‘It’s probably a boondoggle,’ said Jennifer King, a researcher at the University of California Berkley School of Information, who has studied camera crime surveillance.” (Brandi Grissom, “Broken Border, Part Four: Who's Watching?” The Texas Tribune, 11/11/09)

BORDER CRONYISM #2: Local Law Enforcement Is Losing Out On Border Security Money Due To DPS Budget Cuts, While Perry Siphoned Off DPS Funds For Vacations To Vegas, Israel And NYC:

Due To “An Anticipated State Budget Shortfall,” DPS Is Proposing A $10.3 Million Cut In Border Security Grants To Local Law Enforcement. “The decision follows a mandate by Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Joe Straus that state agencies chop 5 percent out of their bottom lines to meet an anticipated state budget shortfall. For the Department of Public Safety, which is already struggling financially, the cut ordered last month will mean a $14.6 million hit, and border security funds could take the brunt. The agency is proposing to cut $10.3 million in border security grants to local law enforcement, according to an internal e-mail from DPS director Steve McCraw obtained by the Tribune.” (Brandi Grissom, “Department Of Public Stimulus,” The Texas Tribune, 2/5/10)

•    Without The Cut In The DPS Budget, Local Law Enforcement Could Have Received As Much As $26 Million To Help Secure The Border. “Without the 5 percent cut, local law enforcement could have received as much $26 million in grants — the $10 million from DoPS, plus the $16 million from stimulus funds — to pay officers overtime for border patrols.” (Brandi Grissom, “Department Of Public Stimulus,” The Texas Tribune, 2/5/10)

While DPS Is Struggling To Fund Border Priorities, Perry Spent $12,321 In DPS Funds In October So He Could Attend A Bachelor Party In Las Vegas. (Christy Hoppe, “Rick Perry's Cost For Leaving Las Vegas,” The Dallas Morning News’ “Trail Blazers” Blog, http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com, 1/7/10)

Perry Spent Over $70,000 In DPS Funds Last Year On A Trip To Israel, Where He Stayed At A “Swanky” Hotel And Enjoyed An Evening At A “Scotch And Cigar Bar.” (“Perry's Secret Jerusalem Trip Raises Questions,” CBS 11, cbs11tv.com, 10/29/09)

Perry Spent $32,840.66 In DPS Funds Last Year On A Trip To New York, Where He Attended “Four Private Meetings With Campaign Donors.” (Kelley Shannon, “Perry Frequent Traveler In 2009,” The Associated Press, 11/14/09; Texas Department Of Public Safety, Public Information Request For Protective Services Bureau Records, 12/30/09)

BORDER CRONYISM #3: Perry Has Tried To Doctor The Numbers, But Truth Is – Crime On The Border Has Increased On His Watch:

Rick Perry Routinely Claims That His Administration’s Efforts Have Produced A 65 Percent Drop In Border Crime. “Gov. Rick Perry has said repeatedly that state-led border security efforts have produced a 65 percent drop in crime. He has used the statistic in campaign ads, in press conferences about border initiatives and even in his State of the State address to legislators this year.” (Brandi Grissom, “Broken Border, Part Five: Safer?” The Texas Tribune, 11/12/09)

But DPS Figures Show That From 2005 To 2008, 20 Border Counties Experienced A Crime Rate Increase Of About 2 Percent, With Some Counties Experiences Crime Rate Increases Of Up To 151 Percent. “But uniform crime reports that police agencies submit to the Texas Department of Public Safety and FBI indicate that crime rates in 20 border counties increased by about 2 percent on average from 2005 through 2008. … In Terrell County, the crime rate grew 151 percent. There were eight crimes in the county in 2005 and 19 in 2008. And the urban border counties of El Paso and Webb both saw crime rates climb. In Webb County, home to Laredo and neighbor to Nuevo Laredo, where the drug cartel fighting was centered in 2005 and 2006, the crime rate grew about 8 percent. In El Paso County, directly across from violence ridden Juarez, the crime rate rose 2 percent.” (Brandi Grissom, “Broken Border, Part Five: Safer?” The Texas Tribune, 11/12/09)

Perry’s Figures “Are More Likely Campaign Calculations Than Accurate Statistics,” And Even Perry’s Own Homeland Security Official Admitted The Numbers Were Not Completely Accurate. “Stunning borderwide drops in crime GOP Gov. Rick Perry last week attributed to state border security efforts are more likely campaign calculations than accurate statistics, according to experts and some law enforcement officials. In news conferences and campaign television commercials week, Perry lauded state-led border security operations he said reduced crime 60 percent borderwide and kept Texans safe from terrorism. But Perry's top homeland security official acknowledged the numbers used to calculate that average do not prove a sustained drop in crime from El Paso to Brownsville, do not include crime rates in major border cities and do not account for other factors that may have contributed to the crime decrease. … To come up with the 60 percent drop in crime Perry touts, state homeland security officials averaged together declines in several counties from operations that happened at different times over a four-month period.” (Brandi Grissom, “Experts Question Perry’s Border Crime Assessment,” El Paso Times, 10/25/06)

Perry Only Used Figures From Rural Areas To Create His Figure, While The DPS And FBI Reports Show “The Whole Border Picture.” “So what accounts for the discrepancy between Perry’s numbers and the DPS numbers? Perry’s 65 percent claim is drawn from rural areas, where there aren’t many people and there wasn’t much crime to begin with. The DPS and FBI crime reports account for the whole border picture.” (Brandi Grissom, “Broken Border, Part Five: Safer?” The Texas Tribune, 11/12/09)