Perry, Rick
Gardasil
King of Texas, is he the victim of
mistakes or bad judgment?
By Cynthia A.
Janak
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/janak/110829
I really, really wanted to stay out of the political arena but when the "King of
Texas" Gov. Perry said it was a "mistake" to mandate the HPV vaccine in Texas
back in February of 2007 I could not keep silent.
The article goes on to give this quote. "I'm one of the first to say we didn't
approach this issue right at all," Perry said Monday in an interview with Des
Moines- based WHO radio. "We shouldn't have done it with an executive order.
We should have worked with the legislature." (1)
Then there is this choice piece from the same article. "There was a break in
Gov. Rick Perry's Texas swagger this week as he dialed back his previously
unwavering support for the vaccine Gardasil, which protects against the
human papillomavirus, or HPV." (1)
"The legislature quickly overturned order, preventing it from being
enacted, but prior to this week Perry had defended his decision. Perry said he "didn't
do [his] research well enough" on the before signing the executive order and
that he has learned his lesson." (1)
There is one more fact that is not being mentioned and that is the lawsuit that
was filed. "Texas Families File Lawsuit to Block Governor Perry's HPV Vaccine
Order" Excerpt: "It also upset many state lawmakers in his own party and
a bill to override the order is working its way through the state House of
Representatives." (3)
His own party was upset over the actions that he took and was doing their due
diligence to stop this travesty of his executive order.
Let us look at the facts here.
It is my opinion that we have a presidential hopeful here who now says he made a
mistake by overstepping his executive authority right after
announcing his candidacy for president. He also stated that he "didn't do
his research well enough." Until this point he unwaveringly supported
all girls and boys getting the HPV vaccination. (1)
I am sorry but I find this a bit odd so I wanted to see what else he mandated.
Well, well, well, look at what we have here. He rescinded several executive
orders while he was debating his candidacy.
RP74 — Relating to Rescinding Certain Previous Executive Orders. (2)
Thursday, February 17, 2011 • Austin, Texas • Executive Order
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF TEXAS
Executive Department
Austin, Texas — February 10, 2011
Relating to Rescinding Certain Previous Executive Orders
WHEREAS, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the
Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, I have previously issued Executive
Orders Nos. RP 19, RP 24, RP 61, RP 63, RP 65, and RP 66; and
WHEREAS, each of these executive orders, by virtue of its own terms,
remains in effect and in full force until modified, amended, rescinded, or
superseded by me or by a succeeding Governor; and
WHEREAS, I have now determined that these executive orders are no longer
essential to the organization or operation of the executive branch of
government; now
THEREFORE, I, RICK PERRY, Governor of Texas, by virtue of the
power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of
Texas do hereby rescind Executive Orders Nos. RP 19, RP 24, RP 61, RP 63, RP 65,
and RP 66.
Given under my hand this the 10th day of February, 2011.
RICK PERRY (Signature)
Governor
Attested by:
ESPERANZA "HOPE" ANDRADE (Signature)
Secretary of State
Let's see what they were.
RP 19 — Relating to the current appeal for blood donations in Texas, "Each
state agency in Texas is encouraged to allow their employees to take one hour of
compensatory or vacation time to donate blood to address this current shortage."
(4)
RP24 — Relating to the creation of a study committee to advise the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality on issues related to the regulation and
permitting of rock crushers and quarries. "WHEREASit is in the interest of
all citizens of this state that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality be
authorized to consider an appropriate range of issues concerning authorizations
for rock crushers, including rock crushers operating in association with
quarries;" (5)
2. Composition. The joint committee shall consist of members appointed by
the governor. The committee shall be made up of three members of the senate,
three members of the house, and three members of the public. The governor
may designate a member to serve as chair of the committee.
3. Support. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall provide
staff support for the study.
RP61 — Relating to the creation, composition, and operation of the Governor's
Health System Integrity Partnership for the State of Texas. (6)
"do hereby issue the following order: Creation of Partnership. The
Texas Health Care System Integrity Partnership ("Partnership")" "The
Partnership shall consist of 11 members appointed by the Governor and
include representatives of employers, physicians, hospitals, health plans,
pharmacies, clinical laboratories, pharmacy benefit managers, and
consumers." "All appointees serve at the pleasure of the Governor."
"Administrative Support. The staff of the Texas Health Care Policy
Council within the Office of the Governor and state agencies may provide
staff to assist the Partnership as necessary"
RP63 — Relating to the creation of the Texas Southern University Advisory
Committee. (7)
Creation.The Texas Southern University Advisory Committee
("Committee")
Composition and Organization.The Committee shall consist of members
appointed by the governor. All appointees serve at the pleasure of the
governor.
Administrative Support.The Office of the Governor, Texas Southern
University, the Higher Education Coordinating Board, and other state
agencies may provide staff and funding to assist the Committee as necessary.
RP65 — Relating to the immunization of young women from the cancer-causing
Human Papillomavirus. (8)
Vaccine.The Department of State Health Services shall make the HPV
vaccine available through the Texas Vaccines for Children program for
eligible young females up to age 18, and the Health and Human Services
Commission shall make the vaccine available to Medicaid-eligible young
females from age 19 to 21.
Rules.The Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner shall
adopt rules that mandate the age appropriate vaccination of all female
children for HPV prior to admission to the sixth grade.
RP67 — Relating to the Task Force on Higher Education Incentive Funding.
(9)
WHEREAS, it is imperative that the State of Texas increase the number
and quality of graduates, especially those in critical fields; and increase
the number of community college students who transfer to universities and
then earn baccalaureate degrees; and
WHEREAS, establishing an innovative incentive-based performance
funding system is essential to furthering the goal of having institutions of
higher education prepare students for the 21st century marketplace; and
Out of all these that Perry rescinded I think the first and last one were
appropriate. The only problem I see is that all this should have gone through
the legislature for a vote because of funding and/or the additional personnel
required for each.
Each one of these bills takes the hard earned money out of the pockets of the
Texas citizen and those citizens are not being represented by their elected
officials.
Is this what I want my president to do? I think not. I want my president to put
the power back into the hands of the states and the people of this great nation.
Now, I wonder if these executive orders were all a mistake or just bad judgment.
The interesting thing here is that only recently did Gov. Perry rescind the
order on HPV mandates. Why now and not back in early 2007? I wonder what else
might be going on in the back room with his presidential campaign advisors.
I want all to know that ABC News has more about this and other topics with
regards to Gov. Perry listed on the web link that I provided. I suggest that you
check those stories out also.
Here is a list.
More from ABC News
(1) ABC News/Politics, Rick Perry Changes Tune on HPV Vaccine After Announcing
White House Bid,
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rick-perry-walks-back-support-mandating-hpv-vaccine/story?id=14333931
(2) Office of the Governor, Rick Perry, Governor's Executive Orders,
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/executive-order
(3) Fox News, Texas Families File Lawsuit to Block Governor Perry's HPV Vaccine
Order,
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,255242,00.html
(4) RP 19 —
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/executive-order/4422
(5) RP 24 —
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/executive-order/4414
(6) RP 61 —
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/executive-order/3595
(7) RP 63 —
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/executive-order/3468
(8) RP 65 —
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/executive-order/3455
(9) RP 67 —
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/executive-order/3454
© Cynthia A. Janak