Rep. Paul Workman
My district’s freshman state representative (the only Conservative Representative in Travis County) Paul Workman (R-HD 47) has introduced two bills kinda related — one I strongly oppose, and the other I strongly support. But both of them not-too-transparently would benefit Rep. Workman’s construction business (and thus the businesses of a lot of his friends and supporters).
House Bill 2886, the one I oppose, would create a guest worker program in Texas.
Workman, who owns a construction company, said the proposed Texas Immigration Reconciliation Act also would help fill the needs of Texas businesses and serve as a way to collect more taxes to “pay for services provided.”
Workman’s bill would offer undocumented immigrants the opportunity to apply for resident alien cards. The card, which would be valid only in Texas, would cost $4,000 — what he estimated a human smuggler, or coyote, would charge to bring someone across the border. The card would be valid for eight years and would require the applicant to pass criminal background checks.
Except that exactly nothing would change with his bill. Illegal immigrants are coming over here right now and finding abundant construction jobs without having to pay the $4K fee. What makes Workman think they’re going to do so now? Hint: They’re not.
Workman’s second bill, which would still benefit his construction industry, more importantly also benefits Texas students, workers, and tax payers. HB 1370 would establish the Texas Construction Academy for high school juniors and seniors interested in a career in the construction industry.
The academy would be a residential training center for high school juniors and seniors that, in addition to providing a typical high school curriculum necessary for high school juniors and seniors to graduate from the academy with a high school diploma, would also teach and give hands on experience to kids in the all areas of civil, commercial, residential, and industrial construction, including training in the following specific areas:
- installing electrical, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning, and plumbing systems
- drywall
- framing
- welding
- pipefitting
- operating heavy equipment
- surveying
- estimating the costs of materials and projects
- managing construction projects
- worksite safety
Not every kid wants to nor should go to college. And the average American high school does little to prepare students for any real careers. There should be a whole lot more vocational training going on in our high schools to prepare kids for great jobs that pro-illegal immigration advocates are always telling us “Americans are too lazy to do.” When the truth is that many young kids would gladly go into construction if 1) they knew anything at all about construction, and 2) they didn’t have to compete with the illegal labor of immigrants.
The largest contributor to Workman’s election campaign (besides my $25 donation) was the Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA). It should come as little surprise then that nearly every bill he’s proposed in his first session are construction industry dreams. Which makes me a little sick in my stomach to have supported him over the two lawyers who opposed him in the primary (I don’t like voting for lawyers…way too many of them in politics already)…plus one of them was a carpetbagger, to boot.
Is it really that hard to find a single politician who is interested in representing the best interests of their constituents rather than lining their and their friends’ pockets first? Apparently so.
Email This Post
⋅
Print This Post
I’m not fond of the first bill you mention, but I do find the second one to be a good idea. Indeed, it sounds very much liek a state version of the Job Corps program that my dad worked for back in the 1980s & 1990s — his center actually was residential and had a construction trades program. Kids got out and were actually trained with a useful skill — and let’s be honest, most of our schools would not have the sort of vocational (oops — the current buzz phrase is Career And Technical Education) program to teach these skills. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is the right time for such a program to start — we don’t have the money.
*shrug* Honest Politician is an oxymoron
Robbie, You are wrong.
The Guest Worker bill could solve so many of Texas’ problems in regards to illegals.
First – Texas creates an enforcement division that can find employers for hiring illegals. Currently only the federal government can do this, but they refuse to do it. If this bill becomes law Texas could collect fines to pay for the cost of the illegal being here.
The free market will solve the immigration problem because these $10,000 per illegal fines will increase the risk of hiring illegals and reduce the incentive for employers to hire illegals.
Second, Texas collects fees and taxes on a large group of workers that currently don’t pay fees or taxes. The fees alone would generate over $4 billion if only half of the illegals currently in Texas sign up. Then Texas would tax their income and the revenue would go to state and local governements to support the services that the illegals are ALREADY USING BUT NOT PAYING FOR. So, Texas will make illegal pay to play.
Third, the bill will make Texas safer because our limited resource can be used to increase our effectiveness and efficiency on border operations and will lead to our increased capture of drug smugglers and criminals.
I suggest you read the bill, think about it before you react. After thinking about the problem and the proposed solution, if you have any comments that move the ball down the field on this problem submit them.
By the way what about all the other bills Workman has filed to help the people of District 47? There are several if you take the time to look. Workman has filed about 20 bills that do more for the district than Bolton during her 4 years.