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| Founders | James R. Leininger Fritz S. Steiger |
|---|---|
| Established | 1989; 36 years ago (1989) |
| Focus | Texas state government |
| Chief Executive Officer | Greg Sindelar |
| Staff | 100+[1] |
| Budget | Revenue: $24.3 million Expenses: $21.6 million (FYE December 2023)[2] |
| Address | 901 Congress Avenue Austin, Texas 78701 |
| Coordinates | 30°16′15″N97°44′29″W / 30.2709°N 97.7413°W /30.2709; -97.7413 |
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| Website | texaspolicy.com |
TheTexas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) is an Americanconservativethink tank based inAustin, Texas.[3] The organization was co-founded in 1989 byJames R. Leininger and Fritz S. Steiger, who sought intellectual support for his education reform ideas, including publicschool vouchers.[4] Projects of the organization includeRight on Crime, which is focused on criminal justice reform,[5] and Fueling Freedom, which seeks to "explain the forgotten moral case for fossil fuels."[6]
TPPF was initially co-founded in 1989 byJames R. Leininger, a physician, businessman and conservative activist fromSan Antonio, Texas, and Fritz S. Steiger, a businessman who had formerly worked forGeorge H. W. Bush andSam Walton. Leininger is notable for his school voucher and privatization activism.[7] The organization's board of directors includes 19 individuals.[8] Originally based inSan Antonio, it was relocated in 2003 toAustin, Texas, to be near the state capitol. In February 2015, TPPF moved into a new $20-million building two blocks from the Texas Capitol.[9]
In 2010, TPPF received funding fromKoch Industries as well as Geo Prison Group, aGEO Group company.[10] Donors to the organization have included energy companiesChevron,ExxonMobil, and otherfossil fuel interests.[11]
In January 2018, the organization announced that it had opened a new office inWashington, D.C. At the time, TPPF had more than 75 employees based in Texas; it announced plans to increase its D.C.-based staff from 5 to as many as 15 employees in 2018 in order to expand the group's work in the areas of environmental and health care policy and criminal justice reform.[12]
In February 2019, the organization hired former U.S. RepresentativeJohn Hostettler, a Republican from Indiana, to lead its state-based policy efforts. The Texas Public Policy Foundation States Trust initiative promotes policy ideas aimed at increasing states' rights and decreasing the role of the federal government in areas including energy regulation, spending, and health care.[13][14]
TPPF is organized into nine issue-area centers and a litigation arm.
During the year, TPPF hosts monthly policy events ("Policy Primers") covering a range of issues, and an annual conference ("Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature"). The 2015 policy orientation includedSteve Forbes,Newt Gingrich, andPhil Gramm.[9]
In 2013, TPPF publishedThe Texas Model: Prosperity in the Lone Star State and Lessons for America.[15] TPPF also publishes a quarterly journal titledVeritas.[16]
Current U.S. senatorTed Cruz formerly headed TPPF's Center forTenth Amendment Studies.[17]
The organization sponsors theRight on Crime initiative, an effort to reduce crime, restore victims, and replace mass incarceration with more cost-effective and humane sentencing and criminal punishment.[18][19]
In October 2017, the White House announced that PresidentDonald Trump had selectedKathleen Hartnett White to serve as chair of theCouncil on Environmental Quality. At the time, White was a fellow at TPPF. White had said thatclimate change does not exist and thatUnited Nations findings on climate change are "not validated and politically corrupt."[20][21] She argued that carbon dioxide levels are good for life on Earth, that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, and that "fossil fuels dissolved the economic justification for slavery."[22] In February 2018, the White House confirmed its intention to withdraw its nomination of Hartnett White as a senior advisor on environmental policy.[23][24]
TPPF has been described byNPR as "an influential think tank that opposes efforts to fight climate change and receives millions of dollars from fossil fuel interests."[25] A 2023 study by TPPF found that the total cost of fueling anelectric vehicle would equate to an electric vehicle owner "paying $17.33 per gallon of gasoline."[26]
TPPF lobbied for the Texas legislature to ban the prescription of puberty blockers and hormone treatments for minors.[27]
TPPF is a member of the advisory board ofProject 2025,[28] a collection ofconservative andright-wing policy proposals fromthe Heritage Foundation to reshape theUnited States federal government and consolidateexecutive power should theRepublican nominee win the2024 presidential election.[29]
Texas Public Policy Foundation, an influential think tank that opposes efforts to fight climate change and receives millions of dollars from fossil fuel interests.
Last month, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a think tank that Dunn serves on the board of, called on the legislature to ban the prescription of puberty blockers and hormone treatments for minors.
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