Dee on the Issues

TAXES

Dee Margo is committed to fiscally conservative policies and will work tirelessly to keep taxes and spending low. If additional state spending is deemed necessary, such funds should come from the existing surplus or from reduced spending in other areas – not tax increases.

He believes low taxes are invariably the best means – in both the long and short term – to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

Property Taxes

  • Dee will work to cut property taxes for all Texans. Such reductions will help everyone: homeowners, renters, and businesses.
  • Property Taxes are already too high, and growing. They currently account for over 40 percent of all state and local taxes in Texas. Only two states in the nation rely more on property taxes than we do. This hurts investment and discourages development.
  • Dee supports placing a lower cap on annual increases in property tax appraisals. The current 10 percent cap can allow an appraisal to double in only eight short years. This “appraisal creep” in Texas is rising far faster than population growth or salary increases.
  • Dee believes local Appraisers should be elected officials, accountable to taxpayers.

State Income Tax

  • A state income tax is not the answer for Texas, as some in the Legislature propose.
  • Texas is one of only seven states without a state income tax, and the overwhelming evidence shows that the states without are doing far better economically than the states with.
  • Dee Margo is vigorously opposed to a state income tax, which would reduce the money in your pocket, lead to increased government spending, and hurt the Texas economy.

Sales Taxes

  • Dee believes our economic strength comes from our state’s reliance on sales taxes, which fairly tax citizens at all income levels and allow for growth and investment.
  • He supports the current sales tax exemption on food and medicine, and is opposed to any effort to expand sales taxes to include these product categories in the future.

HEALTH CARE

“The well being of our families, especially our children, should be a given and not a variable. Primary health care is one path to self-determination and improving our community’s economic independence and global competitiveness.

I have met with many physicians and administrators from the Paul Foster Texas Tech Medical School, Thomason Hospital, doctors treating El Pasoans on a daily basis, and with health care leaders around the state. I’ve relied on these discussions and my 30 years of experience to develop a comprehensive health care plan for all El Pasoans.”

  • Medical Malpractice Liability

    Dee Margo believes that Texas should continue to protect its physicians and health care professionals from frivolous lawsuits, and he will file and support legislation that continues lawsuit reform, including annual evaluations of Texas’ medical malpractice liability insurance costs. By keeping costs under control and reducing frivolous lawsuits, more Texans will be covered by health insurance who would otherwise be uninsured.

  • Streamlining Physician and Health Care Licensing

    Dee Margo will support legislation that eliminates bureaucratic delays in order to enable physicians and health care professionals that have existing credentials and/or are transferring their credentials to receive their professional licenses within a reasonable period of time.

  • Dental School at the Four-Year Texas Tech Medical School

    Dee Margo believes Texas should support and fund a dental school at the Texas Tech Medical School in El Paso and enable the dental school to partner with the other institutions, such as the El Paso Community College, on the campus of the Medical Center of the Americas.

  • Medical Center of the Americas

    Dee Margo will ensure Texas continues its investment in the Medical Center of the Americas (MCA). Dee believes we have to enable this campus, which is comprised of numerous facilities, to fully develop into the 21st century epicenter for health research, delivery of health services, health education, and economic development for not only the El Paso region, but for the entirety of the Americas. The MCA is currently comprised of, but not limited to: R.E. Thomason Hospital; Texas Tech Health Science Center-Four Year Medical School; Psychiatric Center; Office of the Medical Examiner and Forensic Laboratory; Texas Department of Human Services; West Texas Regional Poison Center; Maxine L. Silva Magnet High School of Health Care Professions; and El Paso City/County Health Administration.

  • Centers of Excellence at the Four-Year Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine

    Dee Margo will make sure Texas continues its funding for the four-year medical school at Texas Tech’s El Paso campus, and enable the four-year medical school to establish centers of excellence for exponential expansion of the capital investment and the creation of jobs at the medical school’s campus. The medical school’s centers of excellence should focus on: research and expertise in Hispanic health care issues; a joint venture with William Beaumont Army Medical Center for advanced research and treatment of the Army’s service personnel and their dependents; and the establishment of globally competitive research facilities on infectious diseases and other diseases such as diabetes.

  • Hispanic Health Issues

    Dee Margo will work to ensure that the Medical Center of the Americas receives adequate funding to be the leader in researching and addressing health issues particular to Hispanics. The MCA, as a center of excellence and innovation focused on Hispanic health issues, will create jobs, increase the capital investment in our community, and provide specialty health care for our region and beyond.

  • Community Partners

    Dee Margo will support and help pass legislation that will encourage partnerships with the MCA and other regional institutions including: UTEP College of Health Sciences (School of Nursing) and Rehabilitation Sciences; El Paso Community College School of Nursing; VA Health Care System; University of Houston School of Public Health; Universidad Autónoma de Juarez, Facultad de Medicina; and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

  • Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

    Dee Margo will support legislation that will reduce barriers to CHIP and Medicaid enrollment, increase public outreach, and ensure that CHIP has greater transparency for taxpayers, legislators, and consumers. Furthermore, taxpayers must have the confidence that CHIP has instituted the highest financial controls to ensure that CHIP performs to the highest standards possible for the people it serves.

  • Affordable Health Insurance for Business

    Dee Margo will work to help create a less regulated market, and expand waivers for insurance carriers to develop flexible health plans for small employers. Furthermore, Dee believes we need to continue amending the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool and/or provide other opportunities to allow small employers to purchase health insurance through a pool.

  • Financial Aid Incentives for Students Enrolled in Health Care Programs at Texas Institutions of Higher Education

    Dee Margo believes our state should create scholarships and work-study partnerships for students at public colleges and universities who obtain their degrees in medical professions and agree to work in historically underserved areas and populations of Texas for a specific period of time.

  • Economic Incentives for Health Care Industry

    Dee Margo believes Texas should create a recruitment and retention program that would reduce interest rates for student loans for health care professionals who relocate and invest a specific period of time in historically underserved areas of the state.

STATE SPENDING

Dee Margo is committed to reining in out-of-control state spending. He is a proponent of a smaller, more efficient government.

  • He believes state leaders are responsible for setting clear priorities to decide where money should be spent. This includes evaluating the missions, benefits, and successes of current programs to determine whether continued expenditures are warranted.
  • Dee seeks to revise state expenditure limits so that our government bureaucracy does not automatically grow as the state experiences economic prosperity. Our current expenditures needlessly outpace both population growth and inflation.
  • Dee will fight for greater transparency and line item specificity in state budgets. He believes taxpayers deserve to see exactly where their money is going, and supports the recently-passed legislation to make state expenditures available online.

EDUCATION

Dee Margo will demand local control of schools and make sure our children are learning at grade level and prepared to succeed in life.

  • The Texas education system costs over $10,000 annually per student. Our education spending outpaces enrollment and inflation, and we must begin holding schools accountable for where and how money is spent. Dee will work hard to see more dollars reach the classroom, focused on student instruction rather than general and administrative costs.
  • He will fight for policies that produce greater student achievement in the crucial areas of math, reading, and science.
  • He will build up state curriculums and strengthen standards that effectively prepare students for college.
  • Dee will work toward an education system that leaves no child behind. He will work to ensure that all students who qualify for early childhood education (Pre-K) have access to it. He will strive to improve performance among students whose second language is English, and will support new and expanded high school dropout prevention programs.
  • Dee will work toward finding ways to compensate teachers based on performance and allow for more differentiated pay with an emphasis on results.

ENVIRONMENT

Dee Margo will work hard to protect our natural resources, encourage conservation, and ensure Texas remains a friendly state for sportsmen.

He is committed to protecting our water supply, pushing for more electricity from renewable sources, and offering local incentives for pollution reduction and clean energy.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Dee Margo will reduce illegal immigration by working closely with local and federal law enforcement to stop drugs and human traffickers from illegally crossing our borders.

  • While the federal government bears ultimate responsibility for border security, effective reforms will never be possible without the full support and cooperation of state and local entities. Illegal immigration affects all Americans, but it is a particularly relevant issue for those who live in border cities such as El Paso.
  • Dee understands the important role the Mexican border plays in the Texas economy. He will work to protect the substantial international trade resulting from imports and exports across the Rio Grande – while ensuring this vital source of commerce remains legal and safe.
  • He will encourage the federal government to pursue immigration policies that give equal treatment to visitors from Mexico and Canada. He will seek full parity in the granting of visas for those who wish to lawfully enter the United States from either of our neighboring countries.
  • Ending illegal immigration will benefit all El Pasoans by enhancing public safety, reducing the cost of health care, and cutting the cost of public education.