Highlights from our interview with Greg Sindelar, CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Q: Lone Star Standard
How was the TPPF annual policy summit and what stood out for you?
A: Greg Sindelar
I thought it was our best event ever. Kudos goes to our events team who put it all together and our staff who run and manage all the panels and get all the speakers. I thought there were a lot of outstanding panels. We also made several announcements of our own that we have been working on, including issues related to Mexico and Texas policy, energy policy, family policies, and our work in other states. We laid out some of that during the event.
Obviously, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor’s speeches made headlines. In fact, I think Fox News picked up most of the Governor’s speech. It was a really good speech. Both of their speeches were really good. Senator Cruz was fantastic, as always, even though he had joined us virtually. He was stuck in D.C. for votes.
On the panel side, I thought our border security panel with Tom Homan, Mike Banks, former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott, and Chairman Guillen was just really phenomenal. Not only did they outline some of the issues, but also outlined what Texan can continue to do and what we hope to see for the current administration in DC to change its tactics so we can actually get control of what’s happening at the border.
Q: Lone Star Standard
What does Texas need to be doing about the cartel and border crisis?
A: Greg Sindelar
That’s a great question. Obviously, Texas is kind of stepping into the breach. The state has never really had to do that before, spending billions and billions of dollars on the border, the wall, and handling the migrants that come across the border.
There is a lot going on there to unpack but we’re very supportive of SB4 which created a state felony for illegal entry across the border. We’re watching that as it goes through the courts. Last week was a little setback but they will have the Fifth Circuit hearing. Who knows. They might even go to an en banc hearing and they’ll go to the Supreme Court. So we’ll see how that goes. They’ve been very supportive of the barriers and the buoys and the razor wire that Texas is putting up because we’re trying everything we can to stem the flow and force the feds into more action. We know, at the end of the day, the feds have a greater ability than even Texas does to manage the border.
So we want to continue to move that program in the right direction. But we also need to hold Mexico accountable. We did a whole thread on Twitter about the President’s 60 Minutes interview. A lot of this is being driven by his administration. So, I think, whether it’s designating these cartels as terrorist organizations, allowing for more military action along the border to deal with them or creating our own border force.
Q: Lone Star Standard
Will school choice pass during the next legislative session?
A: Greg Sindelar
I think now is the time. I think if you saw what happened in the primary, where the Governor is and Lieutenant Governor, you listen to those House members. They recognize this is an important issue. I tell a lot of media, this is not a fringe issue. School choice is not just a fringe issue on the right.
This is a bread and butter conservative issue now, Republican issue. People believe in this and it polls extremely well. And it polls extremely well across the ideological spectrum. Democrats are in favor of this. Independents are in favor of this. So, we have a moral obligation to do something to ensure that we’re reaching the potential and realizing the potential of every child in the state.
When school choice passes, it isn’t a panacea that’s going to fix all the issues we have in education. It is something that will greatly help us improve the educational system in Texas and make sure we’re realizing the full potential of more kids. I think it is going to be top of mind. And, it is the Governors number one issue. That and the border are probably his two biggest issues.
Greg Sindelar is the Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He joined the Foundation in August of 2007, having served as the Director of Operations, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Director, managing the Foundation’s incredible growth averaging more than 25% per year, while overseeing policy, the opening of the Washington D.C. office and implementation of new strategies before his promotion to CEO in 2021.
This interview transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Listen to the full discussion here: https://texas-talks.simplecast.com/episodes/ep-13-greg-sindelar.
