Campaign Update

As governors of states whose residents, like all Americans, are desperate for the restoration of fiscal responsibility in Washington, we are proud to have signed the “Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge” amid the debate over once again raising the federal debt ceiling.

We oppose an increase in the federal debt limit unless three common-sense conditions are met: substantial cuts in spending; enforceable spending caps to put the country on a path to a balanced budget; and congressional passage of a balanced-budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That amendment should include a requirement for a congressional supermajority to approve any raises in taxes.

At heart, the pledge represents the reality that yet another temporary fix to our nation’s budgetary woes is no fix at all. The time has come for all of us to begin holding the federal government to the same common-sense standards in place in most states, including South Carolina and Texas.

Gov. Rick Perry today announced that M&G Group, an international PET resin manufacturer, has chosen to locate its third North American plant in Corpus Christi. This expansion is expected to create at least 250 direct jobs at the facility, and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in capital investment.

"I'm pleased M&G Group has chosen Corpus Christi as the location of its new North American plant, creating hundreds of jobs for Texans and further strengthening our state economy, and wish them continued success at this new facility," Gov. Perry said. "This announcement is great news for South Texas and for the Lone Star State as we continue to attract companies from around the world to create jobs in Texas thanks to our low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulatory climate, fair legal system and skilled workforce."

If you don't believe Reaganomics can still work in this day and age, for whatever reason, I say you should look no further than the state of Texas.

Under the leadership of Gov. Rick Perry, Texas has championed and built upon the concepts my father used to rebuild America in the 1980s.

The results, again, are unassailable.

Over the decade between April 2001 and April 2011, more than 730,000 private-sector jobs were created in the Lone Star State. During that same stretch of time, the next-best state added just over 90,000 and the nation as a whole lost 2.2 million.

Between 2001 and last June, Texas — a right-to-work state that taxes neither personal income nor capital gains — added more jobs than the other 49 states combined. And since the recovery began two Junes ago, Texas has created 37 percent of America’s net new jobs.

Texas became the USA's second-largest economy during the past decade — displacing New York and perhaps heading one day toward challenging California — in one of the biggest economic shifts in the past half-century.

The dramatic realignment of the nation's economy was illustrated by North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia all overtaking one-time industrial powerhouse Michigan in economic size from 2000 to 2010. The economic winners of the last decade are states that focus on raw materials, government and senior citizens. The big losers are places that make things — industrial states and even California.

USA TODAY examined each state's gross domestic product to determine how the country's economic output has shifted within its borders. The data, recently released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, reflect both population growth and income increases — in short, the economic weight of each state.

Gov. Rick Perry told state legislators Tuesday to get to work on some immigration-related measures while they're in town for their overtime session.

Among them is a measure banning so-called sanctuary cities, which got House but not Senate approval in the regular five-month session that ended last week.

Gov. Rick Perry told state legislators Tuesday to get to work on some immigration-related measures while they're in town for their overtime session.

Among them is a measure banning so-called sanctuary cities, which got House but not Senate approval in the regular five-month session that ended last week.

Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston continue to lead the nation's largest metro areas in new jobs and the rate of job growth compared with a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday.

Total nonfarm employment in the 12-county North Texas area stood at 2,929,700 in April, up 83,100 over April 2010, said the bureau's regional commissioner, Stanley Suchman.

For four years, the Republican Governors Association has methodically built toward establishing a majority of governors — on the promise that executives at the state level would transform the nation.

One hundred days ago this week, the last of the Republican Party’s new majority of 29 governors was sworn in. Now the nation can see the tremendous impact made possible by a group of governors committed to sweeping reforms in every facet of government. Over this short time, new GOP governors have redefined the nation’s politics by hitting the reset button in their states — promoting fiscally responsible policies to lead the way back to national prominence.

Seventy-seven of the nation's 100 biggest markets — with Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth leading the way — added jobs in March, according to a report issued Wednesday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.