Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to request officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) join state and local partners to conduct joint preliminary damage assessments in Southeast Texas communities impacted by recent severe storms and tornadoes. These assessments will help determine if Texas meets the threshold for federal disaster assistance. The federal teams are expected to arrive this week.
Receipts from the sectors primarily affected by business spending were generally up last month, with the mining sector showing the strongest monthly year-over-year growth in two years. Remittances from the construction and manufacturing sectors were up compared with last year, while collections from the wholesale trade sector were down following a very strong gain the previous month.
Following a district court injunction that halted the implementation of Texas’s congressional map, Attorney General Paxton filed an appeal with the Supreme Court and sought an emergency stay of the injunction on November 21. Within hours of the filing, Justice Alito issued an administrative stay temporarily halting the district court’s injunction. The liberal plaintiffs then filed responses to Attorney General Paxton in SCOTUS.
Why are they so financially stressed out? One reason things seem so unaffordable to young people is that too many aren't working hard -- they are hardly working. The latest Labor Department data indicate that fewer and fewer males between the ages of 16 and 24 are in the labor force. It used to be that more than 70% had a job; now, less than 60% do. Labor force participation for men, even into their 30s, is at or near an all-time low.
"Americans deserve assurance that their Retirement Savings are being invested in the most fiscally responsible ways – but instead investment fund managers are using retirement savings to push ESG and DEI agendas that conflict with their investors’ interests," said Sen. Ted Cruz, introducing his 2-page "Stop TSP ESG Act" bill to prevent professional asset managers from pushing Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG,) and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) policies.
Texas citrus producers ship nationwide, fuel local economies, and help anchor the entire Gulf Coast fruit industry. When Texas growers are supported, it strengthens the entire national supply chain. Texas is one of the largest citrus-producing states in the nation, and Texas growers have weathered hurricanes, freezes, drought, price swings, and federal overreach, all while producing the sweetest, freshest citrus to be found anywhere in America.
Fall is a special time to honor our Service Members & Veterans who have sacrificed everything for the benefit of our Nation. These past two months included Veterans Day, as well as the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy, which recently celebrated its 250th birthday. Last week, I was proud to see two of my bills pass the House, which involved standing up for our veterans, and strengthening our national security. Here is a rundown.
Under the new rules, students enrolling in accredited private schools participating in the program, or certain at-risk pre-kindergarten students, may be eligible to receive more than $10,000 annually – or up to $30,000 for students with various disabilities. All other participating students, including homeschool students, may be eligible to receive up to $2,000 annually following the Education Choice Initiative passed by the Texas Legislature earlier this year.
Republicans and the White House can’t convince people that things could be worse just because of what Democrats would do does not override what is, even if it’s true. Some form of affordability is the top issue in every poll – and if they don’t address that, nothing else will matter. Then things will get exponentially worse. Reinstalling the people who caused a problem is never the key to fixing it, and Socialist-Democrats won’t care about making things worse.
“Texas leads the nation in energy production, providing nearly one-fourth of the country's domestically produced energy,” said Gov. Greg Abbott. “This new 455 MW power plant investment by NRG in Harris County – the 5th largest Metropolitan Area in America – will add more power to Texas' energy infrastructure, and will ensure every Texas home has affordable, reliable power for decades to come.” It marks the 6th loan agreement approved.
As a recent Washington Post investigation found, “U.S. utilities haven’t been on top of replacing power poles and lines in the past, and are now trying to catch up.” That catch-up is proving expensive — and the costs are being passed directly onto consumers. In fact, over the past two decades, while the cost of power generation has fallen by about 35%, the costs of transmitting that electricity across an aging grid have nearly tripled, and distribution costs have more than doubled. These infrastructure shortfalls are what’s really driving up Electricity Bills.
As part of its continuing effort to engage with students and educators across Texas, the Texas Railroad Commission and UT's Dept. of Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering participated at the Convention for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST) held in Dallas November 13–15 to engage with educators and continue to build lasting partnerships that support classroom learning. The event provided the RRC with the opportunity to speak with over 3,000 STEM K-12 teachers from all over the Lone Star State.
We have a lot of problems in this country, as we always have. But just for a minute, imagine if we had a Political Class interested in addressing problems in a way that benefited as many Americans as chose to avail themselves of the opportunity to improve their lot in life? Republicans, at least, do try to get good things done every once in a while. Democrats, on the other hand, would be happy to bring the whole thing crashing down on anyone who refuses to bow to their will. But imagine if Democrats loved the country as much as they love illegal aliens or violent criminals.
Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) demand Mexico immediately address their failure to meet the minimum delivery obligations to the United States under the 1944 Water Treaty. Preliminary data indicates Mexico has a remaining delivery deficit of over 800,000 acre-feet of water—equivalent to roughly two and a half years of required deliveries.
Last week, the UN Security Council finally did something right: They endorsed President Trump's plan for Gaza. President Trump's 20-point plan offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance at peace in the Middle East. I'm encouraged so many other nations agree and hope their endorsement will put more pressure on Hamas to disarm, end its oppression of the Palestinian people, and allow peace to prevail.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is observing National Rural Health Day today by highlighting initiatives that strengthen health care in rural communities. Since its establishment in September 2023, the HHSC Office of Rural Hospital Finance has distributed $50 million in grant funding to rural hospitals to reduce debt and improve services, including labor and delivery. HHSC will announce new grant opportunities in early 2026.
When President Biden refused to enforce our immigration laws at the border, Texas bore the heaviest burden. In March 2021, Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star to help secure the border when the federal government would not – an operation that was vital to ensuring the safety and security of all Americans. Texas played its part in keeping this country safe, and it’s time for the Lone Star State to be paid back.
With new revelations coming out that the Biden administration coordinated with county and state prosecutors to target President Donald Trump and his associates for questioning the results of the 2020 election, Trump is not taking the news lightly. “Arctic Frost” targeted over 430 Republicans, including Trump campaign committees, the RNC and Turning Point USA, and secretly subpoenaed phone records and metadata from Trump and at least 10 Republican senators.
