According to the Texas Workforce Commission’s (TWC) Labor Market Information Department, the number of job listings in Texas for "Middle Skills Occupations" exceeded 1 million in 2023. And, by 2030 at least 6.7 million Texans — approximately 43.8% of Total Texas Employment — will be employed in such occupations. The "Lone Star Workforce of the Future" Fund will expand TWC’s resources for addressing employer demands in these skills and occupations. Learn more and download an application in the article below.

Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program (PSOB) provides crucial support – including death & education benefits to survivors of fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other first responders, as well as disability benefits to officers catastrophically injured in the line of duty. However, despite applying for these benefits, Officer Barnes and his family experienced an excruciating wait for a determination from the Dept. of Justice since the 2018 shooting. This is unacceptable, and no officer should have to endure such bureaucratic hurdles.

"Last week, I led a bi-partisan Congressional Delegation to India – the world’s largest democracy and an important partner of the United States. On this trip, I was honored to meet with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Over 70 years ago, the Chinese Communist Party annexed their democratic territory, and slaughtered 10s of 1,000s of innocent Tibetans. To save his people, the Dalai Lama led his followers on a journey through the Himalayas," began Cong. McCaul.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, Texas' multi-agency effort has led to over 514,500 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 44,300 criminal arrests – with more than 38,700 felony charges. In the fight against the fentanyl crisis, Texas Law Enforcement has now seized over 504 million lethal doses of fentanyl – enough to kill every man, woman and child in the United States and Mexico combined during this Border Mission.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued this statement today after making the following appointments to the Sunset Advisory Commission: Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, as a presiding officer, Sen. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, Sen. Kevin Sparks, R-Midland, and Roger Elswick, of Houston. The Sunset Advisory Commission conducts regular reviews of state agencies that are scheduled to be abolished by the Texas Sunset Act.

For the 10th consecutive month, the state of Texas has set a record-high level for jobs, while the number of employed Texans and the state’s civilian labor force have each reached new highs for the last five months. Texas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment increased to 14,195,600 after 41,800 jobs were added over the month in May, reflecting monthly growth in 47 of the last 49 months and annual growth for 38 consecutive months.

“Democrats are out of touch with the American people. They have given up trying to persuade American citizens that their ideas are rational and good for the country, and are instead importing illegal aliens. Make no mistake: Joe Biden views every illegal alien as a future Democrat voter. This amnesty program allows illegal aliens to get citizenship and vote in future elections – he views the American people’s suffering as an acceptable price to pay to gain future Democrat voters," said Sen. Cruz.

"President Biden needs to stop rewriting immigration law and start enforcing it. He's allowed over 11 million illegal immigrants into America – including dangerous criminals, gang members & terrorists – and our country can’t survive four more years of these dangerous open borders. This new mass amnesty proposal, like President Obama's DACA proposal, will be stricken down by the courts for a simple reason: It is Congress, not the President, that has authority to make or change our nation's Immigration Laws,” said Abbott.

"The Biden White House’s decision to ban LNG export permits is at the expense of the American people, their jobs, and economic prosperity," said Cong. Randy Weber. "Hardworking families and critical energy infrastructure should not be sacrificed for political agendas. This outrageous ban directly harms Southeast Texas, threatens our national security, and will devastate our local communities. We will fight to protect American jobs, our energy independence, and the communities that rely on a thriving LNG industry."

Because the court struck down the Biden Administration’s unlawful rule, Texas schools do not and should not adopt or enforce any of the policy changes contained in the rule. Texas students are now safe from losing their Title IX protections and the school districts are protected from the threat of the loss of federal funding.

In order to provide a pay raise for our troops, improve military housing, supporting employment for military spouses & equipping our nation's Armed Services to defend against America's adversaries, South Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 that includes several of his defense priorities for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas.

“In America, we pride ourselves on supporting those who risk their lives to protect our communities – yet burdensome delays in our Federal Government have left officers like John Barnes waiting in limbo for over 6 years. This is unacceptable, and our law enforcement heroes deserve assistance without unnecessary obstacles hindering their access to vital benefits.” said Cong. Randy Weber.

Governor Greg Abbott today celebrated the grand opening of Vehicle Accessory Group’s new corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility at a ribbon cutting ceremony in Mesquite. The Governor was joined at the ribbon cutting ceremony by Vehicle Accessory Group Chairman J. Pearson, Executive Vice President and Chief Quality Officer for Toyota North America Chris Nielsen, City of Mesquite Mayor Daniel Aleman Jr., and City of Mesquite City Manager Cliff Keheley.

Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D. is pleased to announce the implementation of a one hour Texas Real Estate Commission-approved Continuing Education course that counts towards a REALTOR’s required training. The elective course, which will be taught by VLB Marketing and Outreach Staff, will be available online via Zoom and in-person and will cover VLB's home and land loan programs and common issues of which REALTORs should be aware

Immediately after the burnings, rapes, mutilations and murders of Jews on Oct. 7, I was not alone in noting the one moral difference between Hamas and the Nazis: The Nazis tried to hide their crimes against the Jews from the German people (and the world) while Hamas proudly publicized their crimes against the Jews to the Palestinian people (and didn't mind that the world would inevitably see them bragging about killing Jews). In addition to videoing their atrocities, Hamas paraded captured Jews -- dead and alive, clothed and naked -- in front of cheering Palestinian crowds in Gaza.

They also deserve the best medical care possible. That’s why I was so alarmed to hear of incidents involving dirty surgical instruments at military hospitals — including one in Texas — that threatened the lives of servicemembers on the operating table. I introduced and passed an amendment in this year’s bill that requires a study to be carried out to get to the bottom of these tragedies and implement solutions to ensure they do not happen again.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 513,700 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 44,000 criminal arrests, with more than 38,600 felony charges. In the fight against the fentanyl crisis, Texas law enforcement has seized over 489 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States and Mexico combined during this border mission. 

Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14) voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, which strengthens our national security by deterring China, restoring lethality, funding troops at our border, and cracking down on inefficient uses of funds, while also supporting our servicemembers by taking meaningful steps to improve their quality of life

Texas’ production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs), refinery activity and exports have achieved new record highs, according to the most recent monthly energy economic analysis by Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) Chief Economist Dean Foreman, Ph.D. By TXOGA’s estimates for May 2024, Texas produced a record-high 5.7 mb/d of crude oil, plus 32.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas marketed production and 3.5 mb/d of NGLs.

"Today, Democrats staged a show vote in an effort to fearmonger over IVF. Let’s be clear: No one is trying to ban IVF. Not one senator. I voted against this legislation because it goes far beyond IVF. It is designed to be a backdoor to federalize abortion and other issues that are best debated and considered on their own merits, not hidden in a bill that purportedly addresses IVF," said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.