Kay Hutchison

Kathryn Ann Bailey "Kay Bailey" Hutchison is the Senior Senator for the state of Texas. She is a Republican and was first elected in 1993.

Iraq War
Hutchison voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Oil Voting Record
Kay Bailey Hutchison has voted in favor of big oil companies on 100% of important oil-related bills, according to Oil Change International. These bills include Iraq War funding, climate change studies, clean energy, and oil import reductions. See below for oil money in politics.

Energy policy and companies
During the mid-1990s, whistleblowers and the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), filed suit against sixteen oil companies for failing to pay their required royalties. POGO eventually issued several reports finding hundreds of millions of dollars in uncollected royalties. The litigation and investigations by POGO and Congress prompted the Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) in 1998 to issue new rules for oil royalty collections which would end future underpayments. Hutchison prevented the new rule from being implemented year after year by putting spending riders on to annual appropriations bills. The rule was finally implemented in March 2000.

Weather modification
On March 3, 2005, Senator Hutchison introduced the Weather Modification Research and Technology Transfer Authorization Act of 2005 (S.517), 1st Session, 109th Congress, on the floor of the U.S. Senate. The bill would establish the Weather Modification Operations and Research Board to overlook weather modification research.

On December 8, 2005, the bill was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 319.

1993 alleged campaign misconduct
Shortly after the 1993 special election victory, Travis County authorities, led by district attorney Ronnie Earle, raided Hutchison's offices at the State Treasury looking for proof of allegations that Hutchison used state equipment and employees on state time to help with her campaign. She was indicted by a grand jury in September, 1993 for official misconduct and records tampering. Senator Hutchison was acquitted, as Earle did not have sufficient evidence to present. Time magazine reported, "Earle amassed thousands of documents as evidence and many thought the new Senator would lose her job. But at a pretrial hearing, the judge and Earle clashed over the admissibility of the documents; fearing he would lose, Earle declined to present a case. Hutchison was quickly acquitted and Earle was portrayed as a fool." (Time, July 14, 2003).

Term-limit pledge
Hutchison pledged to serve no more than two terms in the Senate during her initial campaign for a full-term in 1994. She broke the pledge, however, when she opted to seek a third term in 2006. 

(See Congresspedia page on term limits in Congress)

Budget
In early 2007, the House cut the budget for the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program as part of the FY2007 continuing resolution. $3.1 billion, which had previously been approved, was cut, leaving only $2.5 billion for the program. On February 7, twenty-five Republicans, along with Democratic Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), drafted a letter to Senate leaders arguing that the BRAC cut would obstruct troop movements and hurt local economies in military communities. Sen. Hutchison added that environmental cleanup of former military base sites would also be jeopardized by the BRAC cuts. She stated “Democrats have once again robbed from military funds and spread it to other areas.”

Background
Hutchison was born July 22, 1943 in Galveston, Texas and grew up in La Marque, Texas. She received her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1962 and her J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin Law School in 1967. Following her graduation from law school, she was the legal and political correspondent for KPRC-TV in Houston.

From 1972-76 Hutchison served in the Texas State House of Representatives. She was vice-chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board from 1976 to 1978. She was a candidate for election to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1982 for the Dallas-based 3rd District, but was defeated in the primary by Steve Bartlett. She temporarily left politics and became a bank executive and successful businesswoman.

Senate Career
Hutchison was elected Texas State Treasurer in 1990 and served until June 1993 when she ran against Senator Bob Krueger for the right to complete the last two years of Lloyd Bentsen's term. Bentsen had resigned in January 1993 to become Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration and Krueger was appointed to fill the seat by Texas Governor Ann Richards until an all-party primary was held in May 1993. Hutchison (29%) and Krueger (30%) emerged from the election and met in a run-off when no candidate had garnered 50% of the vote. Hutchison defeated Krueger in the June 1993 special election run-off with 67% of the vote. Hutchison became the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.

Hutchison was re-elected in 1994 (with 61%) and 2000 when she carried 237 of 254 counties (with 65%). More than four million Texans re-elected her to a second full term in 2000.

Starting in 2001, Hutchison was vice-chairwoman of the Senate Republican Conference. Following the 2006 elections, she was named Republican Policy Committee chairwoman. The position had been previously held by Jon Kyl (AZ), until he moved up to become Republican Conference chairman for the 110th Congress.

In February 2006, TheWhiteHouseProject.org named Kay Bailey Hutchison one of its "8 in '08", a group of eight female politicians who could possibly run and/or be elected president in 2008.

Hutchison is a member of The WISH List (Women In the Senate and House), the nation's largest fundraising network for pro-choice Republican women.

In June of 2000, she and her colleagues coauthored Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate, and she recently wrote her newest book in 2004 entitled, American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country.

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated Barbara Ann Radnofsky to face Hutchison in her November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Hutchison retained her seat. Following the elections, she was selected as the chairperson of the Senate Republican Policy Committee for the 110th Congress.

Retirement from senate
On October 16, 2007 Matt Mackowiak, a spokesman for Hutchison, said she would not seek re-election after her current Senate term and may leave before the term ends in 2012 to run for Texas governor. Hutchinson told Texas Monthly magazine that stepping down in two years “has to be considered.”

In the interview Hutchison said it is probably better for Texas for her to leave early and give someone else a chance to start building seniority before the class of 2013. However, Hutchison said she had not yet made a decision as to whether to run for the governorship. “It’s too early to be gearing up. I don’t want to peak in 2007 for a 2010 race. Would I like to do it? Yes. A lot of things have to happen to make it a reality. You can’t plan that far ahead with certainty,” Hutchison said.

Hutchison considered challenging Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) in 2006, but backed out. “It was not the right time for Texas and it was probably not the right time for the Republican Party to have that kind of challenge,” she told the magazine. However, she said now there was not anyone who could make a case that a run for the governorship would be divisive for the Republican Party in a way that would make her step back.

If Hutchison does run for governor and wins, once she would step down as senator a temporary appointment would be made by the governorto fill the Senate seat until an election would be held.

Money in politics
cid=N00005675&cycle=2008

Oil Money in Politics
Kay Bailey Hutchison has received received $127,400 in oil contributions during the 110th congress. $18,000 of those dollars were from industry PACS. In total, Hutchison has accepted $949,489 from oil companies since 2000, which makes her one of the top recipients of oil money in the Senate. See above for oil and energy voting record.

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * Senate Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Defense
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Water
 * Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
 * Subcommittee on Military Contruction and Veterans Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
 * Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
 * Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
 * Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related Sciences
 * Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation
 * Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
 * Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * Senate Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Commerce Justice and Science
 * Subcommittee on Defense
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Water
 * Subcommittee on Labor Health and Human Services Education and Related Agencies
 * Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs - Chair
 * Subcommittee on Transportation Treasury the Judiciary and Housing and Urban Development
 * Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Aviation
 * Subcommittee on National Ocean Policy Study
 * Subcommittee on Science and Space - Chair
 * Subcommittee on Technology Innovation and Competitiveness
 * Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine
 * Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
 * Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * Congressional Internet Caucus
 * Co-Chair, Congressional Oil and Gas Caucus, 108th Congress
 * National Republican Senatorial Committee
 * Regional Whip
 * Senate National Guard Caucus
 * Senate Rural Health Caucus
 * Vice Chair, Senate Republican Conference

Resources

 * Official website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * See how you compare to Kay Bailey Hutchison
 * Follow the Oil Money-Senate
 * Vote Tracker
 * Follow the Coal Money- Senate
 * Appalachian Voices

Articles

 * Jan Frel, "Kay Bailey, oh won't you retire?" AlterNet, April 14, 2006.
 * Daphne Retter, "Sen. Lott Returns to GOP Leadership with One-Vote Victory," CQPolitics, November 15, 2006.

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Fort Bend Democrats
 * Jobs Anger
 * Burnt Orange Report
 * Somervell County Salon