“Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza, Lance Corporal Juan Rodrigo Rodriguez, and Sergeant Roberto Arizola, Jr. all paid the ultimate sacrifice in preserving our freedom. Renaming the Del Mar Post Office in Laredo will forever memorialize these local heroes, and commemorate their selfless efforts,” said Cong. Henry Cuellar as his bill moved through the House Committee on Oversight & Accountability.

“What a fantastic package this is! There's one state voting on a record $18 billion Property Tax Relief Bill – and that is the State of Texas!” exclaimed State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who as author of the bills implementing the effort helped the State Senate pass the largest property tax cut in Texas history after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick & House Speaker Dade Phelan announced an agreement earlier this week.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on him to rescind discriminatory guidance issued by the State Department halting bilateral scientific and technological cooperation in certain Israeli-held territories.

“The Water Infrastructure Enhancement Act of 2023 will provide essential investments needed to improve our nation’s water infrastructure, particularly in rural & underserved communities. South Texas needs better water infrastructure, and I'm committed to making that happen,” said Cong. Henry Cuellar earlier today, introducing legislation to fund upgrades and new installations of public water systems.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced today that he will send Cities, Counties, Transit Systems and Special Purpose Taxing Districts a total of $1.1 billion in Local Sales Tax Allocations, indicating Texas' 2023 economy has seen growth of more than 7.5% since the same period of a year ago. The July distributions are based on sales and economic activity during the month of May.

The First Lady and Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson met with executives from Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, where they discussed the company's presence in Grapevine & Ft. Worth, Texas, and possible future collaborations. It is the first stop in their Texas Economic Development Corporation sponsored effort, which includes a delegation of Texas business partners.

​​​​​​​“Meeting the needs of Texas employers by providing a continued pipeline of workers with in-demand skills is paramount to ensuring economic opportunity in communities across the state. I'm proud Texas continues to connect more employers to work-ready Texans, and more Texans to in-demand skills training for higher-paying careers and career advancement," said Governor Abbott.

"In addition to her time in the Office of the Governor, Angela Colmenero served under me in the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and has firsthand experience on how the agency operates. Her record of experience in state government and expertise in litigation will help oversee the Texas Attorney General's Office and serve as our state’s top Law Enforcement Officer," said Gov. Abbott.

“There are two types of candidates – the ones who raise money, and the ones who lose. Well, I’ve never lost a race,” said South Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales, who represents a Congressional District that's larger than most states, and which includes two time zones and over 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico Border – far more than any other Member of Congress.

Texas' First Lady Cecilia Abbott and Secretary of State Jane Nelson are leading an economic development mission to Germany, the United Kingdom & France, organized by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and the Texas Economic Development Corporation. ​​​​​​​They will promote Texas’ world-class economy, and attract more global business investment to the Lone Star State.

The other day I joined Cheryl Casone on "Mornings with Maria" to discuss how "Bidenomics" is destroying the American economy, the SBA’s attempt to cover up a massive amount of fraud in their COVID Loan Programs, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's visit to China. Joe Biden’s continuous burdensome regulations have cost Americans an average of $10,000 per household.

"Joe Biden's reckless open border policies led to the release of a TERRORIST on the watch list. Biden is putting U.S. National Security at risk," said Gov. Greg Abbott, as Operation Lone Star continued to fill the dangerous gaps to secure the border. Every individual apprehended or arrested, and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas due to President Biden.

"The current Harris County appointed Elections Administrator has yet to provide a deposition in the November 2022 Elections so the public can finally know what actually happened. The fact that the first Harris County appointed Elections Administrator had to resign seems to escape the County Attorney and Commissioners Court in this lawsuit," said State Sen. Paul Bettencourt following today’s news conference.​​​

Employers are facing extraordinary challenges filling jobs. Statistics show there are approximately 6 million unemployed Americans, yet there are almost 10 million job openings in the United States. If every unemployed American filled an open spot, there still wouldn’t be enough workers to end the “Help Wanted” phenomenon that is limiting the U.S. economy.

"We're proud to bring the 2023 Governor's Small Business Summit to Arlington next week as we continue to build an even brighter future for Texas," said Gov. Greg Abbott earlier today, announcing the Thursday, July 13th summit. The Governor’s Summits help small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs reach new heights by connecting them with resources & information to start, strengthen and grow a business.

“Our nation’s state maritime academies play an unseen and often underappreciated role in protecting our country’s national security and economic interests," said Sen. Cruz, noting that the bill extends financial assistance to older cadets who attend the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, or one of the other five state maritime academies, and who commit to a post-graduation service obligation.

Joe Biden wants to tout his economic successes and is even using the slogan "Bidenomics" – which to most will be a term of derision, pain and failure. He keeps saying that unemployment is low and millions of jobs have been created over the past two years. But Reality Check: these jobs are simply the recovery of jobs that already existed but were lost during the COVID lockdowns.

 Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar today said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.92 billion in June 2023, which is 6.8% more than in June 2022. Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in June 2023 was up 5.9% compared with the same period a year ago. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the Texas State Budget, accounting for 56% of all tax collections.

The state governments of Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota & West Virginia have all cut state income tax rates. Even Connecticut – whose Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont had to deal with a Democrat legislature – succeeded with Republican support in cutting all income tax rates except for the top rate paid by the highest-income people. All of this matters for three reasons.

Plans were approved, funding was secured from the legislature, and then-Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock was the guest of honor at the groundbreaking of the Bullock Texas State History Museum shortly before his death in 1999. Opened in 2001, this weekend's Bullock Museum Birthday Bash will take place at the museum on Sunday, July 9th, activities are available from 10 am to 2 pm, and admission is free from 10 am to 5 pm.