First, I want to thank Big Jolly Politics for the hard work you do. You give Texans a conservative, hard-hitting outlook on the important issues being decided up in Austin.

Texas is looking at a major budget challenge when the Legislature convenes next year and I have already taken steps to balance our budget without raising taxes or fees. Along with Gov. Perry and Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, I have told state agencies they must decrease their upcoming budget requests by 10 percent.

These requests are a continuation of efforts to meet our constitutional duty to balance the state budget.  We take our responsibility to Texas taxpayers very seriously, and I believe, together, we can make the necessary choices to help the Texas economy rebound and grow stronger.

I am committed to cutting government and making Austin live within its means, and I hope you will get behind my conservative leadership now.

After being elected Speaker, I guided the House through a difficult session plagued by tough economic times. We passed a budget that reduced state general revenue spending by more than two percent a year, invested close to $2 billion more in public education, increased college financial aid by $250 million, provided seed funding for the expansion of the number of Tier One institutions in Texas, and allowed the state’s “Rainy Day Fund” to grow to $9 billion to address future budgetary challenges.

That just proves that with the right leadership, we can make the hard decisions and still keep Texas strong.

The House passed its version of the budget with a unanimous vote. Similarly, legislators passed major school accountability reforms out of the House without a single dissenting vote.

I’m proud of the steps the House has taken since I became Speaker. We Republicans are working together and now with 99 GOP members, I look forward to the kind of budget reforms that our state needs.

You can learn more at www.conservatives4joestraus.com