Kay Bailey Hutchison
U.S. Senator, Texas

As the New Year begins, the U.S. Census Bureau projected that our nation’s population has soared to 303.1 million, up 2.8 million from its estimate in early 2007. From July 2006 to July 2007, Texas gained almost 500,000 new residents.

Former Texas demographer Dr. Steven Murdock, who was recently approved by Congress to head the Census Bureau, quipped, “Growth is a double-edged sword. With challenges come opportunities. The key is to have the opportunities be greater than the challenges.”

In Texas, a rapid and widespread growth trend continues to gain momentum. Since 1994 Texas has been the second most populous state in the country, surpassing New York. The Census Bureau estimates place three Texas cities among the top ten numeric gainers between 2000 and 2006, with Houston showing the third-largest increase in population, San Antonio the fifth, and Fort Worth the sixth. Among cities with a population of more than 100,000, McKinney was the fastest growing community in the country, with a 97.6 percent population growth rate between April 2000 and July 2006.

San Antonio, now the second-largest city in Texas, has become widely known as “Military City, U.S.A.” for being home to more active duty military personnel than any other city. Since the Base Realignment and Closure process ended, we have worked very closely to ensure San Antonio’s future role in our military and have established it as one of the great places in America for veterans’ health care.

In September, I joined with local officials to announce that a new $67 million Level One Polytrauma Center will be built at the Audie Murphy VA Hospital campus, the fifth of its kind in the country. It will be one of the most advanced hospitals for veterans, charged with addressing the specific needs of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Looking forward, the state of Texas will face major challenges, including addressing the more than 5.5 million uninsured, increasing the state’s use of available Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding, improving our public education system, working to create new tier one institutions among our public colleges and universities, ensuring that Texas leads the nation in meeting our domestic energy needs, and securing our long international border with Mexico.

Kay Bailey Hutchison is the senior U.S. senator from the state of Texas. Contact her local offices at 145 Duncan Drive, Suite 120, San Antonio, Texas 78226 or by telephone at 340-2885.