Rick Perry
Governor of Texas and author of "Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington"
WHEN: Tuesday, April 12, 2011
12:00PM – 1:15PM
WHERE: San Antonio Ballroom – 4th Floor
Westin Galleria Dallas
13340 Dallas Parkway
Dallas, Texas 75240
Complimentary copies of Fed Up! are included for the first 200 registered attendees.*
Complimentary self-parking is available in the parking garage. Valet parking is available at the discounted rate of $12 per vehicle.
Join us on April 12 as the National Center for Policy Analysis welcomes Rick Perry, Governor of Texas and author of the recent book Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington, as a part of the Hatton W. Sumners Distinguish Lecture Series.
Perry will discuss his new book, in which he concludes that Americans "must step up and retake the reins of our government from a Washington establishment that has abused our trust." In Fed Up!, Perry argues that Washington – not our nation – is broken, why states matter, and how we can turn the pages on a new chapter in our nation's history.
* Table buyers will receive eight (8) complimentary copies of Fed Up! for their guests.
About Rick Perry
A fifth generation Texan, Governor Rick Perry has led a life of public service, starting in the United States Air Force and continuing over two decades in elected office.
Governor Perry's administration has focused on creating a Texas of unlimited opportunity and prosperity by improving education, securing the border and increasing economic development through classic conservative values. Under Governor Perry's leadership, lawmakers concluded the 2009 legislative session with a balanced budget, a tax cut for 40,000 small businesses in Texas and billions of dollars in the Rainy Day Fund. Despite the challenges posed by a struggling national economy, Gov. Perry has committed to working with legislators this session to balance our state budget without raising taxes while protecting essential services by making the though decisions necessary to prioritize spending and live within our means, like Texas families have to do every day.
During his tenure, Governor Perry has maintained a strong focus on fiscal discipline, leading the state out of a $10 billion budget deficit in 2003 by cutting government spending. In addition, he has used his line item veto to scrub more than $3 billion in spending from those budgets, while encouraging investments in the building blocks of a prosperous state: the economy, education and security.
The Texas economy is performing well in the current global economic crisis, thanks to a focused effort to keep taxes low, regulations predictable and legal system fair. Gov. Perry led the effort to reform the legal system, signing into law a series of lawsuit reforms designed to stem the flow of frivolous lawsuits through Texas courts.
On the education front, Governor Perry has worked to improve the quality of Texas schools by increasing accountability, raising expectations and funding programs that work. In addition to introducing the largest teacher incentive pay program in the country, Governor Perry has overseen a 43 percent increase in total spending on public education in Texas. He also signed a school finance reform package that provided a 33 percent school property tax reduction, a $2,000 pay raise for teachers, record funding for classrooms and a reformed business tax.
Stepping into the gap left by the federal government, Governor Perry has worked with the legislature to fund coordinated border security efforts to the tune of more than $230 million over the past several years. Pursuing a "boots on the ground" strategy, the approach of integrating and coordinating local, county, state and federal law enforcement efforts, this effort has decreased crime in key areas by more than 60 percent.
Rick Perry's political career started in 1985 as a representative for a rural West Texas district in the state House of Representatives. He was first elected to statewide office in 1990, and served as Texas Commissioner of Agriculture for two terms. Between 1972 and 1977, Governor Perry served in the United States Air Force flying C-130 tactical airlift aircraft in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.
He is a 1972 graduate of Texas A&M University where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets, a junior and senior yell leader and an animal science major. The younger of Ray and Amelia Perry's two children, Governor Perry is an Eagle Scout and lifetime member of American Legion Post #75.
He first met Anita Thigpen at a piano recital during their elementary school years. They married in 1982 and are the proud parents of two grown children – Griffin and Sydney.