JOB CREATION

As a member of the House Committee on Economic Development, Bryan Hughes knows the importance of quality jobs for East Texans. That's why he helped create a $250 million job creation fund so the State of Texas can attract new jobs. He helped bring over 200 jobs to Marshall with the creation of MECAR, a high-tech munitions manufacturing company. Bryan Hughes has built coalitions with the state, local businesses, and hard working East Texans, and since Bryan took office, over 3000 more people have found jobs in District 5 and unemployment is down dramatically across our area. Bryan Hughes believes job creation is a priority, and he will continue to create new jobs and retain the ones we already have.

EDUCATION & SCHOOL FINANCE

Bryan Hughes believes we have no higher priority than the education of young Texans, and he is working hard to provide an excellent education for all students. Bryan Hughes supports an across-the-board pay raise for all teachers because we must start paying our hard working educators the salary they deserve. Last session, Bryan voted against cuts to teacher health insurance, and authored legislation to remove costly Health Reimbursement Accounts and fully restore the teacher insurance pass-through. During the legislative session, Bryan fought to put $1.2 billion more into public education. Next session, Bryan will continue to protect benefits for our teachers and direct more money to the classrooms and teachers, not administrative overhead in Austin.

As the Legislature addresses school finance, Bryan will work to reduce the property tax burden on homeowners and he is opposed to a state income tax. As a member on the House Subcommittee on Completion and Dropout, Bryan Hughes is working to keep our kids in school and improve our graduation rates. Bryan Hughes believes our teachers and administrators are working hard to provide every student with a quality education, and it's time the state did its part to help ease the burden.

HEALTHCARE

Bryan Hughes knows that healthcare is not a republican or a democrat issue, and that's why he built coalitions with members of both parties to expand access to healthcare in rural areas. He sponsored the Rural Physician Relief Act, which helps rural Texas attract and retain quality physicians. Bryan Hughes authored the Texas CARES program, which helps our seniors gain access to low cost prescription drug plans. To make sure as many children as possible are covered, Bryan voted independent of his party and supported legislation that would continue to provide children's health insurance to the maximum number of needy families.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

This session began with serious challenges, not the least of which was a $9.9 billion budget shortfall. Bryan Hughes tackled the budget shortfall by reducing spending, not increasing taxes. He recognized the basic fact that when times get tough, Texas families look at their budgets and decide what they can cut back on and what they can do without. Bryan thought it was time for government to do the same, and for the first time since World War II, we are actually spending less state money than we did in the previous budget, while maximizing federal matching funds. The budget process was not easy, and there remain areas for improvement, but for the first time in a long time, the state government is trying to live within its means just like the rest of us have to.

PRO-FAMILY, PRO-LIFE, PRO-LIBERTY

During the last campaign, Bryan heard from many of you about increasing legislative efforts to protect our families and our way of life. He listened and the legislature acted swiftly to require our Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence for students to pray at the beginning of every school day. He passed model legislation to protect traditional marriage and the sanctity of every human life. Bryan Hughes also worked hard to ensure that Texans' 2nd Amendment rights could not be taken away from them. Pro-family, pro-life, and pro-liberty efforts made great achievements this session, and we're proud to say that the Texas Legislature stood up for Texas values.

RURAL TEXAS

As more of Texas' population shifts to urban and suburban areas, those of us in rural Texas will have to work even harder to make sure that rural interests are protected. That is the primary purpose of the Rural Caucus, where Bryan Hughes serves as Vice Chairman. The Rural Caucus, whose membership is drawn from nearly 100 members of the Texas House and Senate, is of special importance to us in District Five, since it works to address the needs of rural Texas and to make sure that rural interests are represented in the Legislature. From water and agriculture issues to transportation and redistricting and budget concerns, our work on the Rural Caucus is making a real difference in the fight to preserve our rural way of life.