Henry Cuellar for Congress | Proven Leadership for Texas

For over five years, Congressman Henry Cuellar has represented over 12,000 farms throughout South Texas, and having lived and worked in a ranch in the Texas Hill Country, Henry Cuellar understands the importance of agriculture to Texas and to the country. From being a "Star Green Hand in the Future Farmers of America" to authoring legislation to support young farmers, Henry Cuellar has been a friend and an advocate to our farmers and ranchers in Texas.

Congressman Cuellar believes in lowering taxes for everyday hard-working American families and sparking economic growth to sustain and create new jobs. That's why in 2009 he supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to give average hard-working Americans over $4.2 billion in tax cuts. In fact, 95% of all hard working Americans benefited from tax cuts from the Recovery Act, including 274,000 families in the 28th District of Texas.

Congressman Cuellar understands how important economic security is to the nation's hard-working families. Millions of Americans rely on the national economy for their long-term prosperity, investments, education and retirement. That's why he supports protecting America's hard-working families, small businesses and seniors by passing meaningful legislation that supports jobs, stimulates growth and promotes accountability, transparency and efficiency between the nation's economy and consumers.

Congressman Henry Cuellar has been an advocate for Texas Education before coming to Congress in 2005. After 14 years as a Texas State Representative and Texas Secretary of State, Henry Cuellar understands how important education is to children and adults throughout Texas. That's why in just the past year alone, he's worked hard to secure over $5 billion in federal funding for Texas public schools, teachers, public colleges and universities.

Since coming to Congress in 2005 and after 14 years as a Texas State Representative and Secretary of State, Congressman Cuellar understands how vitally important it is for the nation to secure its energy independence now and for the future. He also understands how economically important it is to Texas to stake its claim as the number one producer of domestic energy resources including oil, natural gas, clean coal, wind and solar energy.

As a border native, Congressman Henry Cuellar has taken on border, cartel and drug related violence, ensuring border communities have the state and federal resources they needed. Henry Cuellar believes as a society, we need to hold criminals accountable for their violent behavior and continuously advocate on behalf of our communities and their safety. That's why he helped draft and pass a constitutional Victims’ Bill of Rights in Texas while serving in the State Legislature. Now in Congress, Congressman Cuellar has continued to fund the nation's law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local level.

Every American should have the right to quality affordable health care. More than 41 million Americans have no health insurance and in Texas, one out of every four people are uninsured. For insured Texans, premiums have doubled since 2001. Illness should not result in bankruptcy or poverty. Losing a job should not mean losing coverage and all Americans deserve health care security for the future.

As the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism, Congressman Henry Cuellar is actively engaged in coordinating and overseeing those security measures which protect the American people from the 21st Century threats we face today. Now more than ever, our nation's Homeland Security efforts affect all aspects of American travel, commerce and everyday living. Particularly in Texas, there is a balance between maintaining legitimate trade, travel and border security. As a native to the nation's souther international border, Congressman Cuellar understand how vital it is to secure our nation's Land Ports of Entry from the security challenges of today.

A good job for everyone with a living wage and decent benefits - and the opportunity for everyone to share in the gains and profits from productivity - is the measure of a strong economy. In a slow growth economy - one like the one we are in now - layoffs are spreading, unemployment is rising, wages are losing value, families are struggling to maintain health care benefits, deficits have returned and the Social Security Trust Fund is being used for other programs.

Congressman Cuellar believes Congress has to protect the economic promise of the nation's everyday hard-working Americans. That's why since coming to Congress in 2005, he's helped pass dozen of tax breaks and economic incentives for the nation's low to middle-income Americans. In February 2009, he helped pass the largest single measure to provide 95% of all hard-working Americans with a tax cut. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided over $100 billion worth of payroll tax cuts for hard working Americans, including over $4.2 billion for working Texans.

For more than 40 years, Medicare has offered critical health care and financial stability for our nation’s seniors. Over 45 million seniors received Medicare coverage in 2009 and the health care reform passed by Congress and signed into law this year will safeguard, strengthen and improve Medicare. Most importantly, health care reform ensures long-term sustainability for the nation's Medicare system and stability for those millions of seniors who rely on the critical health care services it provides.

As a former small business owner, Congressman Cuellar understands the stakes small businesses face today. That's why he's help take unprecedented action in Congress to provide small businesses with extensive tax cuts, financial assistances, small business loans, tax credits and other incentives to level the playing field for small businesses in these tough economic times. Congressman Cuellar values the role small businesses play in the nation's economy and understands how vital they are to employing Texas and the rest of the country.

Congressman Henry Cuellar is committed to addressing the needs of America’s military and their families. Since coming to Congress in 2005, Congressman Cuellar has helped pass bipartisan legislation to increase military pay, improve military education, strengthen military health care and provide critical assistance for millions of military family members nationwide. By approving legislation to increase military capabilities and strengthen the Department of Defense, Congressman Cuellar has continuously advocated for the nation's military branches and applauds the work they do.

As a five-term member of the Texas House Appropriations Committee, Henry Cuellar championed getting more funding for TxDOT’s construction and maintenance expenditures in underserved areas--the rural and border areas while not forgetting urban areas.

Henry Cuellar believes Texas must have the best transportation infrastructure in the nation to take advantage of all the opportunities of NAFTA. With NAFTA and increased truck traffic there has been a need for increased planning and construction along the border.