Michael Williams address CPAC10 VIDEO

Michael Williams address CPAC10 VIDEO

Michael L. Williams is a Commissioner on the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s oldest regulatory commission. In November 2000, the people of Texas elected him to complete an unexpired term. In November 2002 and 2008, they re-elected him to a full six-year term. He was initially appointed to the Commission by then-Governor George W. Bush in December 1998 to fill a vacant seat. Williams served as Chairman of the Commission from September 1999 to September 2003 and again from July 2007 to February 2009. He is the first African American in Texas history to hold an executive statewide elected post.

Williams serves as the Chairman of the Governor’s Competitiveness Council. He also chairs the Governor’s Clean Coal Technology Council, represents the Governor on the Southern States Energy Board and is a member of both the National Coal Council and the Interstate Compact Commission. Williams also serves as the Railroad Commission’s “point person” for the agency’s regulatory reform and technology modernization efforts.

The son of public school teachers who earned degrees in math and the husband of a mechanical engineer, Michael is the creator and co-sponsor of the “Williams Future Innovators”, a summer camp for 6th through 12th graders to inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.

An advocate of alternative energy, Williams is championing the conversion of Texas public and private fleets, especially school buses from diesel and gasoline to environmentally cleaner, cheaper and domestically produced natural gas and propane through his “Breathe Easy” initiative.

Michael is the immediate past Honorary State Chairman of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Texas. He initiated the Texas response against the tragedy in Darfur. Williams also narrates short stories for children of all ages, including the visually impaired and those with special needs.

Previously, Williams served as general counsel to a Texas high-tech corporation and “of Counsel” with the law firm of Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. He also has served in a volunteer capacity as the General Counsel of the Republican Party of Texas, the chairman of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, on the Board of Directors of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School.

A devout conservative, Michael was one of the original board members of the Texas Christian Coalition. He is also a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.

He was an adjunct professor at Texas Southern University in the School of Public Affairs and Texas Wesleyan School of Law.

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush appointed Williams to be Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, a position previously held by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Former President Bush previously appointed Williams as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Law Enforcement at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He had policy oversight responsibility for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Customs Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Williams also served in the Department of Justice as Special Assistant to Attorney General Richard Thornburgh.

Williams served as a prosecutor in the Reagan Justice department. In 1988, he was awarded the Attorney General’s “Special Achievement Award” for the conviction of six Ku Klux Klan members on stolen military weapons charges. Previously, he was an assistant district attorney in his hometown of Midland, Texas.

Williams is a proud alumnus of the University of Southern California where he holds a bachelor’s, a master’s and a law degree.

He is a member of Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Arlington, Texas. He and his best friend, Donna, celebrate 23 years of marriage.

VIDEO CREDIT: Townhall

TEXT CREDIT: MichaelWilliamsTX

Congressman Dave Camp Weekly Republican Address 02/20/10 VIDEO FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

Congressman Dave Camp Weekly Republican Address 02/20/10 VIDEO FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

Remarks by Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), as provided by the House Republican leader's office

Hello, I’m Congressman Dave Camp from Michigan, and I serve as the lead Republican on the House Ways & Means Committee.

This is a time of economic uncertainty. Tens of millions of Americans are either looking for work or have just given up entirely. They’re looking to Washington for solutions. But instead it seems Washington keeps adding to their problems.

That’s why Americans are demanding that President Obama and the Democrats in control of Congress scrap their misguided plan of a government takeover of health care. They don’t want a 2,000-page bill that threatens jobs and drives up health premiums; they already have enough challenges to deal with in their daily lives.

They want Washington to start over with a step-by-step approach to health care reform that begins with reducing costs and ensures they can keep their current plan if they like it.

For those families and small businesses looking for a sign that Washington is ready to wake up and find common sense on this issue, next week’s White House health care summit may not be it.

In fact, right now, Democrats are continuing to work behind closed doors, putting the finishing touches on yet another massive health care bill Americans can’t afford and don’t want.

If it is like Democrats’ other health care bills, this one will drive up premiums, destroy jobs, raise taxes, slash Medicare benefits, and add to our already-skyrocketing debt.

But this won’t be just another bill written in secret and signed off on by special interests. Democrats have admitted they are working on an undemocratic plan to jam this bill through Congress and subvert the will of the American people.

Democrats themselves are describing this latest maneuver as a ‘trick.’ If the starting point for this summit is more of the same backroom deals and partisan bills, then this meeting will likely be a charade.

From the beginning, Republicans have listened to the American people and offered reforms that lower health care premiums for families and small businesses.

The bill I and House Republicans proposed last fall implements common sense solutions focused on lowering costs. Our bill ensures nobody will be denied coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition.

It gives states the tools to implement their own innovative reforms. And we put an end to the junk lawsuits that are forcing doctors to practice defensive medicine and drive up the cost of health insurance for all Americans.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the Republican health care bill would actually lower health insurance premiums across the board by up to 10 percent – about $2,000 per year. The Democrat bills do just the opposite – they increase the cost of health care.

Just as important, Republicans get the job done without cutting Medicare, without raising taxes, and without piling more debt on our kids and grandkids. All the details of our plan are available at healthcare.gop.gov.
Republicans remain ready to discuss these ideas with President Obama and move forward in a bipartisan way to lower health care costs.

But Americans' health care is way too important to risk on a rushed backroom deal that puts federal bureaucrats in charge of your personal health care decisions.

Instead of hurting small businesses by forcing them to pay new taxes and meet new regulations, our focus should be on lowering their health care costs so that they can expand and hire more workers.

So in order to have a productive bipartisan conversation on health care, Democrats must first listen to the American people and scrap their massive government takeover of health care. We must go into the summit with a clean slate focused on making healthcare affordable.

That is what Americans are asking for, and that is what Republicans will continue to work for. Thanks for listening.