Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) bipartisan Source Code Harmonization And Reuse in Information Technology (SHARE IT) Act passed the Senate, and will head to President Biden’s desk for his signature. The SHARE IT Act, introduced with U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters (D-Mich.), would require government agencies to share custom-developed source code—thereby avoiding redundant government contracts to build software.
Texas’ civilian labor force achieved another new record high in November. In addition, Texas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment increased to 14,286,700 after 9,100 jobs were added over the month. Texas added 274,300 jobs from November 2023 to November 2024. Texas’ annual nonfarm growth rate reached 2.0 percent, outpacing the U.S. growth rate by 0.6 percentage points.
If the sections of the wall that are being sold were purchased with the funds that must be used to secure the border, then the Biden Administration would be in violation of the federal court order. President-Elect Donald Trump has called for the outgoing government to immediately halt the sale of any materials. Attorney General Paxton has now filed a motion with the court to intervene and prevent any sections of the wall from being sold illegally.
Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dade Phelan, Senate Finance Committee Chair Joan Huffman, and House Appropriations Chair Dr. Greg Bonnen today pledged to allocate funding to stabilize minimum unemployment insurance rates for businesses across the state during the 2025 legislative session. The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund managed by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is projected to need additional funding next year.
In the weeks before the 2016 Trump Electoral College victory, Donald Trump was polling between 35 and 40 percent. He would average only about 41% approval over his tumultuous four-year tenure. No one knows what lies ahead over the next four years. But for now, Trump already polls well over 50% approval. His inauguration in a few weeks will likely not resemble Trump's 2016 ceremony.
"As long as we provide taxpayer funded Social Services to illegal immigrants, there's no physical barrier or number of Border Patrol Agents that will stop them. To add insult to injury, we’re paying $9,000 per illegal immigrant – more than we spend on Medicaid for our most vulnerable Americans or military retirement benefits for soldiers,” said House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, introducing the "America 1st Act" to prevent illegal immigrants paroled into the U.S. from accessing billions of dollars intended for American families.
"I am proud of the accomplishments within this bill, and I will continue to advocate for accountability, readiness, and the strength of our armed forces,” said U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz following his securing passage of eight provisions in the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), securing critical wins for Texas military communities, service members, and national security. "This legislation also provides a long overdue salary increase for our servicemen and women," said Cruz.
Designed to help the Texas RRC continue to safeguard groundwater and surface water – while adapting to modern waste management practices such as recycling produced water, and recent advancements in production methods – the rules update requirements on the design, construction, operation, monitoring, and closure of waste management units, and will improve the RRC’s ability to track and collect data on oilfield waste transported throughout Texas, including geothermal, carbon sequestration, and brine mining wells.
"I made a promise to use every tool at my disposal to secure our border and protect Texans. That's why I've offered state leaders and President-Elect Trump the opportunity to store any wall panels his incoming administration may acquire on state land," said Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, announcing earlier today that the Texas General Land Office, the State of Texas, and the State of Missouri have asked a U.S. Dist. Court judge to investigate the Biden Admin’s decision to sell Border Wall Material as it prepares to leave the White House.
The media long ago crafted its narrative that the world would end if Congress ever allowed even a short "Government Shut-Down," or any type of reduction in Federal Spending. The media, the Left, and the D.C. Swamp may refer to it as a "government shutdown," but most Americans – as evidenced by the last election – want a smaller, more efficient and fiscally responsible Federal Government. Yet here we are, once again, with the United States Congress putting its inability to manage its pocketbook on display for the whole world to see.
After after a week of weak excuses, the Biden White House has finally confirmed actual drone sightings over U.S. Military Bases – something they downplayed or denied last week – while continuing to say they aren’t worried about the mysterious flights sparking increased levels of fear among the American public. “We have not identified anything anomalous, and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk,” read a statement from the FBI, the Homeland Security Department, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
First it was the immediate post-election surge in the Stock Market. Then is was record Thanksgiving Weekend shopping and a nationwide boom in Consumer Confidence. Now, Small Business optimism is shooting through the roof, soaring in the wake of the election and posting the largest one-month gain in the NFIB's 39-year history of Small Business Optimism Surveys. Why the spurt? Pent up demand shows Main Street's broken through a 34-month streak of record high uncertainty during four years of Joe Biden's presidency.
Over the past month, videos have surfaced of unidentified & unauthorized drones flying over the Eastern United States. It's unacceptable that the Biden Administration's Dept. of Defense is not protecting the sovereignty of American airspace. So as Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee on Counterterrorism, I led a hearing to examine the threats posed by drones to the U.S. homeland. In the wrong hands, drone technology could impact American national security – and disrupt our nation's critical infrastructure.
The world is on fire, our adversaries are on the move, and the United States cannot afford to fall behind. Last week, 1,000s gathered to commemorate the valor and sacrifices of the U.S. Soldiers who fought in the bitter cold during one of the greatest American battles of World War II, the Battle of the Bulge. House Republicans are committed to restoring the focus of our military back to lethality, giving our warfighters the tools they need to combat our adversaries, and counter the increased aggressions against the United States.
In case you missed it, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz and Elliston Berry, a 15-year-old high school student from Aledo, Texas – and a victim of deepfake pornography – last week urged the U.S. House to pass the bipartisan, bicameral "TAKE IT DOWN Act" which Sen. Cruz introduced with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN.) During a press conference, Ms. Berry and others spoke about the importance of ensuring that other women and girls don’t face the same horrific trauma.
The Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) today highlighted the many steps the industry is taking to prepare for winter weather events to ensure reliable oil and natural gas production and transportation no matter the weather, noting several positive policy developments designed to encourage investment in dispatchable electricity generation and expand electricity transmission infrastructure in the Permian Basin, both critical to meeting electricity needs in Texas.
One of the highest priorities for the incoming Trump Administration should be to end the Democrats' weaponization of powerful government agencies against taxpayers and businesses. Nowhere has this mission been more pernicious than funding the IRS with nearly $80 billion and hire tens of thousands of new tax snoops. The additional audits have so far raised less than $2 billion, far less than the additional expenditures. So how is this program "paying for itself"?
Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard continue to work together to secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal activity between ports of entry. Texas has decreased illegal crossings into the state by over 87% due to our historic border security mission.
