Praying Through Tragedy

Camille and I are completely gutted by the tragic act of evil in Uvalde, Texas, and are sending our sincere condolences to the loved ones of the victims and the entire grieving community. No parent should fear sending their children to school, and no child should have to endure these atrocities. This moment is beyond heartbreaking and speaks to the broken human condition of our world.

I am examining ideas to secure our schools. Roughly $113 Billion in federal COVID-relief funds sent to schools have yet to be spent. I believe school districts and local leaders should be allowed to use these funds to secure our schools and enhance student safety. I think this could be a starting point in a successful bipartisan effort to enact into law.

Thank you to all teachers, school administrators, security personnel, police officers, and first responders in Uvalde and across the State of Texas.

We will remember and honor the victims and continue to lift the Uvalde community and our State in prayer.

Sounding the Border Alarm Bells

This week, we learned that an ISIS plot to assassinate President George W. Bush has been foiled by the FBI. We now know that an ISIS-linked operative in the United States was plotting to smuggle a team of terrorists across the U.S.-Mexico border and murder President Bush in Dallas. Thankfully, the scheme was uncovered, and the suspect is in custody, but this story underscores how our failure to secure the southern border puts American lives and livelihoods at risk. 

I am very worried about the possibility of another terrorist attack in our country. After the tragic attack on September 11, 2001, the 9/11 Commission was set up to investigate the tragedy and discover what went wrong. After they concluded their study, they reported that the system was “blinking red” in the months leading up to 9/11. The signs of a pending terrorist attack went unchecked. It only took 19 terrorists to carry out the most tragic terror attack on U.S. soil in history.

I believe we could be in a pre-9/11 moment today.

Just in the month of April, CBP had 234,088 migrant encounters along the southwest border, a 31% increase from April ’21 and a 1,268% increase from April ’20. April was also the 14th straight month with more than 150,000 encounters.

Just this week, we discovered that the Department of Homeland Security waited two weeks to arrest a suspected terrorist after releasing him into the United States when he illegally crossed the southern border. This year alone, dozens of operatives on the known and suspected terrorist watch list have been caught along our southern border. In fact, there have been more encounters with known or suspected terrorists in this fiscal year than in the last five years combined.

Learning this number took over a year of pressure from myself on the Biden Administration to release the number of Known and Suspected Terrorists crossing our southern border. I was proud to lead the effort to ensure the American people have transparency on who and what is crossing our border. Because of these efforts, we know that at least 35 people whose names appear on the terror watch list were stopped trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry this fiscal year.

It is important to note that this number does not include the known ‘got-aways’ who have entered our country unchecked. Since President Biden took office, there have been over 620,000 ‘got-aways.’ This means a group of people nearly the size of our entire Congressional District is living in the shadows in the United States. We know nothing about them or how many potential terrorists could be among them.

I sincerely hope that the news breaking about the plot to kill President Bush shakes the country and wakes up this Administration. They are asleep at the wheel and ignoring the blinking red lights.

I will continue sounding the alarm bells, introducing legislation to secure the border, and applying pressure on the Democrats who refuse to acknowledge the severe threat an open border poses to our National Security. It is long past time for them to work with us on common-sense measures that will protect our country.

Watch my discussion on Fox News’ Evening Edit this past week, discussing the current Administration’s failing border crises and the dangers that come with a porous border.

Click here or below to watch.

Protecting our Education from Communist China

American taxpayer dollars should never be used to enrich the Chinese Communist Party. My bill to prevent DHS grants from going to universities that host Confucius Institutes is a critical step in confronting China’s threats to our national security.

I wrote an op-ed detailing the threat of Confucius Institutes in America right now, and how my legislation will prevent taxpayer dollars from funding Chinese espionage and IP theft.

Read more about my legislation in my Op-Ed, originally published in The Hill.

Honoring Our Heroes on Memorial Day Weekend

During this Memorial Day weekend, we set aside the time to honor all those who have served our country. Let us remember that freedom is not free, and on Memorial Day we honor the men and women who have lost their lives defending our country.

Our district is home to numerous heroes who have given their all to our country. Notably, Odessa native Chris Kyle, who served this country with honor and courage and dedicated his life to serving his fellow service members on and off the battlefield.

Another hero from our district is Staff Sgt. George Dennis Keathley of Lamesa. Sgt. Keathley enlisted into the Army during World War II, losing his life during the battle. For acts of extraordinary valor and heroism, Sgt. Keathley was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

This week, I had the honor of placing remarks into the Congressional Record recognizing the service, life, and ultimate sacrifice of Staff Sgt. Keathley. My Deputy Chief Evan Thomas and Regional Director Corbette Padilla had the honor of presenting a copy of the Congressional Record and a flag flown over the United States Capitol to Sgt. Keathley’s granddaughter, Mrs. Brenda Seaton.

We remember all those Medal of Honor recipients, who’s love of country inspired their incredible service. We also pay tribute to every Gold Star family member who has lost someone in service to our flag.

Our nation owes all of these heroes, and the many more who we have lost, an enormous debt that can never be repaid. Because of all them, we are able to live in the best country in the world.

God bless our service members, God bless our military, God bless those we have lost and their families, and God bless America.

Thank you to our interns!

We recently said “thank you and goodbye” to our spring interns, Madelon Clark and Emmaline DiCarlo. Madelon is from Menard, Texas, and is studying Ag Communications at Texas Tech. Emmaline is from the District and currently attends University of Virginia.

Both Madelon and Emmaline were huge assets to our office—answering hundreds of phone calls, helping with research projects, and supporting the work our staff does on behalf of our district.

Thank you to Madelon and Emmaline for all that you did in your time with our office. Our district is a better place because of you!