Congressman Michael T. McCaul
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Last Friday tragedy struck the Santa Fe community and my heart goes out to the families along with my prayers as they begin to recover. I have five children of my own and I cannot imagine what these parents must be going through to have their children taken from them like this. I am thankful for the fast response by our incredible first responders especially school resource officer John Barnes who continues to recover at UTMB Galveston.
That night I joined Wolf Blitzer on CNNs The Situation Room to share my condolences and discuss the work Im doing in Congress to ensure tragedies like this never happen again. Wolf and I discussed my
Securing Our Schools Act which does just that by hardening our schools.
I also joined Dana Perino on Fox News The Briefing Room. You can click
here or on the image below to watch the full interview.
Latest on North Korea
I joined Fox News Happening Now to discuss the latest revelations surrounding the ongoing negotiations with North Korea. As opposed to what President Obama did by appeasing Iran to get them to the negotiating table I think the Trump administration is playing this out perfectly by putting maximum pressure on North Korea. I also think Kim Jong-un is simply testing President Moon of South Korea to see if he will concede on these routine military exercises. I would advise and caution not to give into their concessions before you get to the negotiating table; you want to negotiate out of strength not out of weakness.
You can click
here or on the image below to watch my full interview.
My Bill to Protect U.S. Diplomats Clears Committee
The legislation I introduced with Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX) passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The
Protecting Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act would account for location-tracking consumer devices in U.S. embassy and consulate security policies. U.S. diplomats advance our nations interests around the world often in areas where security is at risk. As technology advances and permeates our lives the proliferation of consumer devices that can track your location exposes our nations diplomatic corps and embassy blueprints to security risks. These frontline civilians risk their lives in service to our nation and we must do everything we can to ensure they are protected.
You can click
here or on the image below to watch my remarks in committee on this legislation.
National Police Week
Last week was National Police Week; a time we honor those brave men and women who faithfully serve our communties and remember those who have fallen in the line of duty. I had the privilege of meeting with police officers and their families from Austin and Pflugerville in Washington. Thank you again for all of the incredible work you do to keep our families and communities safe. I am proud to back the blue
Legislative Update
Last week the House was in session and voted on a number of important pieces of legislation. Below are a few that may interest you:
- R. 5698 the Protect and Serve Act of 2018. Anyone convicted of intentionally harming or killing or attempting to harm or kill a police officer would face 10 years to life in prison under this bill.
- 2372 the VA MISSION Act of 2018. This bill will streamline the departments duplicative community care programs into one cohesive program; create a non-partisan process for reviewing VAs assets to ensure veterans can access the care they have earned and expand the Department of Veterans Affairs Post-9/11 Caregiver Program.
- R. 4854 the School Resource Officer Assessment Act of 2018. This bill directs the U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of Education to gather data regarding the number and status of school resource officers assigned to each public school.
- Res. 285 This resolution states that Congress and the President should work to create police and community alliances designed to enhance and improve communication and collaboration between members of the law enforcement community and the public they serve.
This week the House is in session and will be voting on a number of important pieces of legislation. Below are a few:
- 292 the Childhood Cancer STAR Act. This is the Senate component to my bill I introduced in the House along with the other Childhood Cancer Caucus co-chairs. This bill is the most comprehensive childhood cancer bill ever considered before this House. It amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to collect the medical information of children adolescents and young adults with selected cancers that have the least effective treatments in order to achieve a better understanding of these cancers and the effects of treatment.
- R. 5515 the National Defense Authorization Act. This bill authorizes and prioritizes funding for the Department of Defense (DoD) and military activities and construction and prescribes military personnel strengths for Fiscal Year 2019. This includes: a 2.6 pay increase for our troops the largest in nine year; $717 billion in funding for our armed forces the largest defense budget since World War II; and key investments in military readiness such as training aviation maritime equipment repairs nuclear deterrence missile defense and more to ensure our men and women in uniform have the tools and resources they need to protect America from the threats of Iran North Korea Russia China and others.
- R. 3832 the Veterans Opioid Abuse Prevention Act. This bill requires medical providers at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who prescribe controlled substances to veterans to seek information regarding those veterans from state programs that monitor prescription drug use.
- 2155 the Economic Growth Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act. This bill would modify provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd Frank Act) and other laws governing regulation of the financial industry. The bill would change the regulatory framework for small depository institutions with assets under $10 billion (community banks) and for large banks with assets over $50 billion. The bill also would make changes to consumer mortgage and credit-reporting regulations and to the authorities of the agencies that regulate the financial industry.
- R. 4334 the Improving Oversight of Women Veterans Care Act of 2017. This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit reports to Congress on the availability of gender-specific services in the community to women veterans and environment of care standards for women veterans in VA medical facilities.
I encourage you to visit my website
www.mccaul.house.gov for more information on constituent services and legislative updates. Also follow me on
Facebook Twitter Instagram and
YouTube to get the latest updates on my work in Washington and the 10th District of Texas. It continues to be a great honor to represent you in the United States House of Representatives.
