Senate Democrats have blocked Sen. Ted Cruz's Amendment to the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which would have provided remedies to servicemembers who were separated from the military based solely on their COVID-19 vaccine status. It would have allowed these individuals to return to military service and adjust their discharge status from “general” to “honorable” to restore lost GI Bill & VA Benefits.
Since day one, my platform has been to stand with Israel. I am proud to announce that House Republicans passed my cosponsored legislation H. Con. Res. 57 by a vote of 412-9. This bill rejects all forms of antisemitism and ensures that the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel, one of our closest friends and allies. In Case You Missed It, watch here!
On Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) introduced legislation to increase the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour and eliminate the tip credit. The Employment Policies Institute is warning lawmakers and the public that the proposal would cost 337,088 Texas jobs, and 1.7 million jobs nationwide, according to a new EPI report.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is reminding shoppers they can save money on clothes and school supplies during the state’s sales tax holiday on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 11-13. State law exempts sales tax on qualified items — such as clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks — priced below $100, saving shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend.
The Department of Justice has announced it is suing Texas Republican Governor Gregg Abbott for using floating barriers in the Rio Grande river to stop migrants who are breaking U.S. law by illegally crossing the Southern border. . .Gov. Abbot's response to the lawsuit was a terse, "I'll see you in court, Mr. President."
Texas' Operation Lone Star has led to 394,200+ Illegal Immigrant Apprehensions, 31,300+ Criminal Arrests, with 29,100+ Felony Charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, Texas Law Enforcement has seized over 422 million lethal doses during the mission. "We will see you in court, Mr. President," said Gov. Greg Abbott, after the Biden White House sued Texas over its deployment of Floating Marine Barriers in the Rio Grande River.
Senator Chuck Grassley has now shared the FBI's unclassified 1023 document with the public — it reveals the Biden Family was paid $10 million dollars by a Ukrainian oil company when now-President Joe Biden served as Vice President. Thanks to the leadership of Sen. Grassley – and House Oversight & Accountability Committee Chair James Comer – the American people can now read the report for themselves... and here it is.
Texas broke three more records again with the number of total jobs, the number of people employed, and the size of the state’s civilian labor force. Since June 2022, Lone Star State employment grew by 542,500 positions — the largest annual increase in the nation. Texas’ employment growth rate continued to outperform with a 4.0% annual June to June 2023 rate — outpacing every other state, as well as the nation’s more modest 2.5%.
A July 20th Pew Research Poll found that 70% of Democrats think the government should restrict what appears on Social Media. But just ask the Iranians, Russians or Chinese – Democracy cannot survive if one of the nation's two major political parties wants to put blinders on the public, limiting their access to information and canceling political opponents. Democrats need a refresher course on the Constitution & American history.
As Governor Greg Abbott today defended Texas’ right to secure the Texas Border through the deployment of floating marine barriers in the Rio Grande River as part of the state's unprecedented response to the ongoing border crisis, he's now been forced to send a letter to Biden after threats that the president's Dept. of Justice will sue.
In advance of Israeli President Isaac Herzog's address to Congress, I introduced a resolution supporting the State of Israel that passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The resolution clearly states that: The State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state; Congress rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia; and the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.
U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) have introduced a bill to name a United States Postal Service (USPS) office in McAllen, Texas, in honor of Border Patrol Agent Raul Gonzalez, Jr., who died in the line of duty last year.
The project involved removing surface casings on four wells that had been plugged in the Neches River by operators in the 1970’s and early 80’s. The tall surface casings were starting to get exposed over the decades as river depths changed, posing a risk in recent years to boaters passing through the national preserve.
We had multiple ice ages and heat waves long before we had coal mines, gas-guzzling automobiles and air conditioning. Or human-made CO2 emissions. Or human-made anything. The biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions has been Mother Nature. Forest fires and volcano eruptions have been some of the leading causes of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. . . Instead of outlawing cars, how about better forest management?
The last thing our kids need is for their place of learning to be turned into a shelter for illegal immigrants – they're struggling to recover from devastating pandemic-era learning loss. Last week House Republicans passed the "Schools Not Shelters Act," sending a message to Sanctuary Cities that schools should not be used to house illegal aliens. Students shouldn't have to pay the price for Joe Biden's failed border policies.
Last Friday, Governor Greg Abbot joined First Lady Cecilia Abbott & Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson for the final stop of an Economic Development Mission to Germany, the United Kingdom & France – meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sign Economic Development Statements of Intent with French Minister Olivier Becht.
Secretary of State Mayorkas' dereliction of duty is clear – implementing reckless policies & failing to enforce the laws passed by Congress. And because of his reckless open border policies, cartels are running a criminal enterprise here in the United States. He's created our historic crisis, and this was proved further last week by the testimonies of expert witnesses who've worked at our Southern Border.
Despite a falling Texas rig count, newly-released data from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) shows that upstream oil and natural gas employment in the state continued to grow in June, with industry adding an additional 2,500 jobs. Last month, oil and natural gas employment rose above 200,000 for the first time in over three years.