This has been a year of rousing success for the Texas General Land Office (GLO). I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished in 2024, and I wanted to take a moment to provide you this year in review. The GLO has had an accomplished year of supporting public education, stewarding state land, coordinating the restoration of the Alamo, honoring our veterans, securing the border, protecting Texas's coast, and facilitating disaster recovery and mitigation.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar last week said state sales tax revenue totaled $4.1 billion in December, 1 percent more than in December 2023. The majority of December sales tax revenue is based on sales made in November and remitted to the agency in December. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 58 percent of all tax collections.

For more than a month the Railroad Commission of Texas has taken important steps to help ensure adequate natural gas supply for winter weather, including this week’s wintry conditions. Starting in the first week of December, RRC’s Critical Infrastructure Division (CID) began weatherization inspections of critical natural gas facilities in the state’s electricity supply chain.

It is one of my greatest honors to serve the people of Texas' 10th Congressional District, and 2024 was another successful year! My team and I have worked diligently to serve my constituents, and as we enter 2025, I want to highlight some of the things we have accomplished over the past 12 months. Over the past year, my team and I have conducted 576 meetings in my district — and hundreds more in D.C.

Last Friday, I took the oath of office to represent the incredible people of Texas’ 11th Congressional District. It is truly the honor of a lifetime to represent you in Congress and fight to protect our Texas way of life. Texas is the best place to live and raise a family, and it is truly humbling to serve this remarkable district. I was delighted to be joined by my wife Camille, our three girls, and other close family members during the swearing-in proceedings.

After learning that the Texas Medical Board has a Planned Parenthood employee as it’s Medical Director, today Rep. Brian Harrison sent the attached letter to Governor Abbott asking that the employee be removed and that all state agencies are directed to ensure there are no other Planned Parenthood officials employed by any state agency, including in advisory roles.

Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) for engaging in false, deceptive, and misleading practices by marketing sporting events as “women’s” competitions only to then provide consumers with mixed sex competitions where biological males compete against biological females. That only biological women will compete in the events is an important reason consumers choose to support women’s sports.

At age 100, President Carter was the oldest former president in history, and he left a legacy of honorable military and public service.  His decades-long dedication to building homes for those in need was truly remarkable. Our hearts and prayers are with the Carter family during this difficult time.

This year, I visited with business leaders and government officials in India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom to showcase the booming Texas economy and attract more businesses to invest in our great state. As Texas looks toward growing our economy even more in 2025, we will continue to provide leading businesses from across the nation and the world with the opportunities they need to thrive in Texas.”

Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a victory for President-elect Donald Trump’s border-security agenda during a hearing today before a federal judge. The hearing was called at Attorney General Paxton’s request to uncover potential legal violations committed by the Biden Administration after recent reports that segments of the border wall were auctioned off for pennies on the dollar. 

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.

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.

"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.

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.