Category Archives: TaxPayers

Administration Agenda, Better Laws, Good Parenting, Indifference, TaxPayers, TX AG

FEDERAL JUDGE SIDES WITH TXAG AND 12 OTHER PLAINTIFF STATES, ISSUES PERMANENT INJUNCTION AGAINST BIDEN ADMIN ILLEGAL MORATORIUM ON OIL, GAS LEASING ON FED PUBLIC LANDS AND OFFSHORE

.jpg photo of Texas Attorney General LogoPaxton Defeats Biden Administration’s Oil and Gas Leasing Moratorium on Public Lands, Marking Major Win for American Energy.

August 29, 2022

AUSTIN, TX  –  A federal judge in Louisiana sided with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 12 other plaintiff states in a Louisiana-led lawsuit, issuing a permanent injunction against the Biden Administration’s illegal moratorium on oil and gas leasing on federal public lands and offshore waters.

The permanent injunction comes after Attorney General Paxton joined the lawsuit in 2021 and successfully obtained a preliminary injunction last year.

As high energy costs and skyrocketing inflation continue to crush American families, the Biden Administration’s moratorium would only have increased the suffering.

This all-out assault against oil and natural gas production would have killed good-paying jobs and increased consumer energy costs, all while decreasing funds that could be used for the restoration of state coastlines.

“Joe Biden may have declared war on American energy independence, but we’re fighting back and we’re winning in court,” said Attorney General Paxton.  “The executive order was a clear example of unconstitutional federal overreach, and I’m pleased to see the court make the right decision in issuing a permanent injunction to prevent it from taking effect.”

In recognizing the damage done by the Biden Administration’s actions, the court stated: “Millions and possibly billions of dollars are at stake. Local government funding, jobs for Plaintiff States’ workers, and funds for the restoration of . . . Coastline[s] are at stake.

Plaintiff States have a reliance interest in the proceeds derived from offshore and onshore oil and gas lease sales.  Additionally, the public interest is served when the law is followed.  The public will be served if Government Defendants are enjoined from taking actions contrary to law.  In a time of high gas and oil prices, draining of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and looking to other nations to supply the United States’ oil and gas needs, the public interest would be served by a permanent injunction.”

Read the full court order here.

Administration Agenda, Better Laws, Good Parenting, Indifference, TaxPayers, TX AG

Our Country Needs Jobs And Cheaper Oil And Gas

.jpg photo of Texas Attorney General LogoAG Paxton Pushes Back Against Biden EPA’s War Against Texas Oil & Gas

AUSTIN, TX  –  “At a time when American gas prices are skyrocketing at the pump, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict shows again the absolute need for energy independence, Biden chooses to go to war against fossil fuels,” said Attorney General Paxton.  “These severe new rules proposed by the EPA are not only unnecessary, but they will create a deliberate disadvantage to Texas and all states who are involved in the production of oil and gas.  I will not allow this federal overreach to wreak havoc on our economy or the livelihoods of hard-working Texans.”

To that end, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading a 14-state coalition challenging the Biden Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on vehicle emissions.  Biden’s bureaucratic decrees micromanage greenhouse gas emissions for cars and trucks, far exceeding EPA’s authority and violating the U.S. Constitution’s separation-of-powers principles.

The new rule seeks to promote the Biden Administration’s radical climate change agenda by promoting electric vehicle usage over other, superior means of transportation that use abundant fossil fuels.  If left in place, the regulations will impose major economic harms on Texas by stressing its electric grid and decreasing the need for gasoline by billions of gallons, effectively destroying Texas’s robust energy industry.  Other states that would have benefitted from increased production in renewable fuels will also be negatively impacted.

To read the challenge click here.

BigPharma, Good Parenting, Medicaid Fraud, TaxPayers, TX AG

TX Attorney General Still Fighting‎ Medicaid Fraud

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.jpg photo of Texas Attorney General Logo
Big Pharma pays price for reporting inflated drug prices.

Paxton Recovers $26 Million for the State of Texas, Medicaid Program

AUSTIN, TX  –  Attorney General Ken Paxton resolved an enforcement action against pharmaceutical manufacturer Apotex for reporting inflated drug prices to the Texas Medicaid program.  Under the agreement, Apotex will pay Texas $26 million to resolve claims against it.

This settlement is the latest recovery in price reporting cases the Attorney General has brought under the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act since 1999, resulting in a cumulative recovery for Texas taxpayers of over $2.3 billion.

“Thanks to our Civil Medicaid Fraud Division’s commitment to Texas taxpayers, identifying and preventing Medicaid fraud continues to be a top priority in my office,” Attorney General Paxton said.  “We will not allow pharmaceutical companies to take advantage of vulnerable Texans, and we will continue to be vigilant in cracking down on any abuse of this important program.”

Read the agreement here.