[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15286]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          EDUCATION JOBS FUND

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, as an elected representative of the 
great State of Texas, I swore a solemn oath to uphold and defend the 
Constitution. So it is a great disappointment to discover that some 
Members of the other body are attempting to undermine the separation of 
powers enshrined in our Constitution. I am speaking, of course, about 
the House-passed language that was included in Senate amendment No. 
4575, which I opposed earlier today.
  The language in the amendment unfairly requires the State of Texas to 
maintain fiscal year 2011 levels of State funding for elementary, 
secondary, and higher education spending for 2 additional fiscal years 
in order to receive a portion of the $10 billion Education Jobs Fund. 
This places an undue burden on a single State that is likely an 
unconstitutional condition on funding in violation of the Supreme 
Court's holding in South Dakota v. Dole.
  Specifically, the language conditions Texas's receipt of Federal 
education dollars on an event that would violate the Texas 
Constitution. The Texas Governor cannot make the required assurances 
because the Texas legislature, not the Governor, decides how to spend 
the State's money. Any attempt by the Governor to bind the 
legislature's hands would be ineffective because that office lacks the 
power, and the mere attempt could violate the Texas Constitution. Nor 
can the Governor make an assurance regarding the actions of a future 
legislature, as the amendment requires. Such conditions, which cannot 
be lawfully met, can have no possible relation to the Federal interest 
in education spending.
  According to the Congressional Research Service, the State's share of 
the $10 billion is estimated to be over $830 million. By ensuring that 
the State will not be able to access these funds, the Texas provisions 
effectively create a significant and substantial amount of 
discretionary funds available to the Secretary of Education. The 
practical effect of this petty, partisan gamesmanship will be to saddle 
future generations of Texans with a debt for which they are unlikely to 
receive any benefit.
  This was a shameful, irresponsible exercise in raw political power. 
Texas students deserve more than to be political pawns. Forcing the 
legislature and Governor to choose between violating the Texas 
Constitution or accepting Federal dollars is an abuse of Federal power 
and is a clear threat to the separation of powers. A State's elected 
government should not be made subjects of political appointees and 
unelected bureaucrats at the Department of Education.

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