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THE FACTS, Nov. 17, 2018

Something magical is happening in Washington: It’s working.

Amid all the hysteria of the midterms, Russia, a Supreme Court nomination and general chaos, legislators from different parties have come together to push for reform of something that was seen by many as being broken.

And we have our senator, John Cornyn, to thank for some of that.

He is one of the senators spearheading First Step Act, a prison reform bill that passed through the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year.

After major revisions, which were based on some of Cornyn’s previous reform efforts, the bill would reduce mandatory sentencing for non-violent drug offenses and change the punishment for the three strikes policy down to 25 years. Currently, that punishment sits at life.

It would also allow judges to use more discretion to avoid mandatory sentencing.

Prison reform is something that has been needed for a long time, and mandatory sentences have sent many people to prison with severe sentences that might only have been levied because the judge’s hands were tied by law.

There is more to the bill, but basically it is aimed at cleaning up some of the mess the justice system has become over the years.

While that is admirable, what’s interesting is how things are coming together.

The sudden attention being placed on this bill was ignited by President Donald Trump after he told reporters he would put his support the legislation.

The lead sponsor of the Senate bill is Cornyn, but senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) have been pursuing changes for several years, and with the support of the president, it looks like it might have a spark of life still in it.

There are still hurdles. In order to be voted on, the legislation will need to be rushed through, requiring consent from senators to skip procedural hurdles. Congress will leave Washington for the year Dec. 14, and it will have new members when both chambers return in January.

“It’s going to take, basically, consent by 100 senators to proceed in some expedited fashion,” Cornyn told The Hill.

“Today’s announcement shows that true bipartisanship is possible and maybe it will be thriving,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “When Republicans and Democrats talk, debate and seek common ground, we can achieve breakthroughs that move our country forward and deliver for our citizens.”

And the president is right. In an era of hyper-partisanship, the country needs to stop bickering and find a way to come together in order to take care of the needs of its people, leaving petty fights about wedge issues and posturing for political gain on the sidelines.

After all, that’s what they are elected to do: write and pass bills, not win points for their next election.

It is also promising to see the president using the power of the office to push Congress when it is catching its breath from the midterms. Every day, people are affected by sentencing rules, and another day going by with what are seen as unfair laws by both sides is not justified.

Maybe this is the exception to the rule and there is another political blunder that will hog the headlines for the next few weeks, but to see the wheels of policy turning provides a glimmer of hope.

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This editorial was written by Alec Woolsey, assistant managing editor for The Facts.

THE FACTS, Nov. 29, 2018

When it’s a matter of when, not if, the next big storm heads for the Texas Coast, it is easy to get in a rush for solutions.

And its even easier when that solution has been trapped in the meeting room-stages for nearly a decade, but it sounds like action is actually going to happen soon after the Army Corps of Engineers released its proposal for a coastal spine project along the Texas Gulf Coast.

But Velasco Drainage officials pumped the brakes before signing off on an agreement for the project, saying they wanted time to consider the project.

Although it might be frustrating to people wanting solutions, this is likely the right path forward.

According to County Judge Matt Sebesta, the part of the project that would affect Brazoria County would focus on levees that currently help to protect Dow Chemical Co.

“It is modernizing the levee system that is pretty much the Velasco Drainage District. It would be improving their levee system,” he said.

The price tag on that has been reported as being in the ballpark of $4 billion, and that big “b” should give officials pause. Not because it’s unreasonable for a project of this magnitude, but because the local share is a lot of dollars to commit.

And for the district, that takes a bit of patience.

If the drainage district spends money before the memorandum of understanding is adopted, then they can’t accumulate costs related to the project to put toward its share, Kidwell told The Facts. If approved, the understanding would not decide any pending finances or project designs yet, he said.

“I can’t recommend approval on it the way we got it right now,” Kidwell said during the drainage board’s discussion of the agreement.

This may be holding up the design phase of the coastal spine project, but it’s necessary and other entities will likely do the same. The design phase of the project begins after agreements are made, and the construction won’t begin until two to three years after that phase is completed.

This is a long-term project that is going to take in billions from the federal government and millions from local entities to build, and it will require cooperation along the coast as the very nature of storm protection is reshaped.

That’s not something that should be rushed through a brief meeting, and not pushing a decision is a responsible move by the board.

Solutions will take years to be implemented, so let’s not take minutes to make a decision.

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This editorial was written by Alec Woolsey, assistant managing editor for The Facts.