President Biden's disastrous open border policies have encouraged the unprecedented surge of illegal immigrants and enabled drug traffickers to flood our streets with fentanyl – and that was before Title 42 ended. The border crisis is only going to get worse, with around 10,000 migrants expected to cross every day with Title 42 no longer in place. 

As of this February, encounters at the southern border already surpassed one million for Fiscal Year 2023. Around 80 individuals on the terrorist watchlist have been stopped attempting to cross into the United States between southwest ports of entry since October 2022 – that we know of. In 2022, the DEA seized over 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl, but officials say CBP only seizes just 5% to 10% of illegal drugs smuggled across the southwest border. 

President Biden could fix the border crisis today by re-implementing the successful policies under President Trump, but he won't. Thankfully, House Republicans are taking action and fulfilling our Commitment to America to secure our borders and keep our communities safe, bringing forward the strongest border bill ever.

Yesterday, House Republicans passed the Secure the Border Act of 2023. This bill would fix our broken asylum system, hire more Border Patrol agents and provide them with resources they need, reinstate Trump-era policies like Remain in Mexico, and force the Biden Administration to resume building the border wall. Not to mention, this is the most comprehensive, aggressive, commonsense border bill that Congress has ever seen. 

We are done sitting on the sidelines. We passed a bill to get back to the rule of law. Give our Border Patrol agents the tools they need so that when somebody has an asylum claim, they can see asylum the legal way. You want to come to America? We're the most generous nation in the world. Legal immigration works. Opening the border and bringing five million people in two years undermines the entire legal system and breaks down communities – not just at the border but all across America. 

We have seen chaos, lawlessness, and wide-open borders that have compromised our nation's sovereignty. Due to President Biden's dereliction of duty, our communities have all become border cities, and human smugglers, drug traffickers, and terrorists endanger every American. To salvage our great nation, we must secure our border.

As Mother’s Day approaches, I introduced a resolution recognizing the significance of motherhood and the impact mothers have on raising the next generation. The definition of "mother" has come under attack in recent years with terms like birthing person, gestational parent, chest feeder, menstruating people, pregnant people, and people with a capacity for pregnancy. 

We should never change the fundamental concept of motherhood to fit some new woke ideals. This distortion of language is not only disrespectful to the millions of mothers who have devoted their lives to raising their children, but it also erodes the very foundation of our society. The term ‘mother’ has a special meaning that gender-neutral terms cannot replace. On this Mother's Day, we are reaffirming our commitment to honor and celebrate the true meaning of motherhood. Attempts to—quite literally—neutralize the meaning of motherhood are beyond absurd.  Instead, we should uplift the countless mothers who make our world a better place.

I want to wish all of our mothers, grandmothers, step mothers, adoptive mothers, mothers-to-be, and single mothers a Happy Mother's Day. Pray for mothers and children that can’t be together. Pray for those grieving the mothers that are no longer with us. Pray for those longing to have children. Pray for those who can’t conceive and pray for the mothers who have lost children.

If you are lucky enough to have your mother, call her today and tell her how much you love her. Nothing is stronger than a mother’s love for her child. Wishing everyone a Blessed and Happy Mother’s Day.

This week, I introduced the Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act, which would revise locality pay rates for federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees. The Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act would address staffing and retention problems facing BOP facilities by allowing for competitive pay that considers factors such as cost-of-living, commute times, and the hard work and dedication of our correctional officers.  Specifically, BOP facilities located within 200 miles of the nearest General Schedule (GS) locality pay area would be eligible to pay their staff higher, more competitive wages. Our correctional officers work to keep our communities safe, and the value they add to civil society must be adequately reciprocated.

Our correctional officers put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe and our prisons secure. They deserve to be compensated fairly for their tireless service. This bill would provide a much-needed pay increase to federal correctional officers, including those at the Beaumont Federal Prison in my district and facilities nationwide. It's a common-sense measure that will help us retain and recruit highly qualified officers and show our appreciation for their hard work and dedication.

I wanted to share the 2023 Art Competition Winner, Soobin Lim's artwork! Soobin is a senior at Friendswood High School. Her piece, titled "Shoemaker," is an acrylic painting inspired by a man at a street market in Korea. Her artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol as part of this year's national exhibit. I thank every student who submitted artwork this year. The talent was outstanding.

2nd Place “Starving Artist” by J Dynne Illa from Port Neches-Groves High School.

3rd Place “Three Chicks” by Amorette Garcia from Friendswood High School.

4th Place “Precision” by Remy Keller from Lutheran South Academy.

Thank you to the students who submitted artwork this year!

Legislation sponsored:

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• H.R. 3199 - To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide increased locality pay rates to certain Bureau of Prisons employees whose duty stations are located in the pay locality designated as "Rest of U.S.", and for other purposes.
• H.Res. 396 - In honor of mothers, recognizing the significance of motherhood and the impact mothers have on raising the next generation, on the occasion of Mother's Day.

Legislation cosponsored:

• H.R. 3175 - To require agencies to repeal existing regulations before issuing a new regulation, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 3212 - To repeal each gun control measure enacted by the 117th Congress, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 3256 - To provide that Executive Order 14096 shall have no force or effect.
• H.R. 3142 - To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide an affirmative defense for certain criminal violations, and for other purposes.
• H.Res. 382 - Recognizing the significance of Jewish American Heritage Month as a time to celebrate the contributions of Jewish Americans to the society and culture of the United States.

It is a privilege to represent our district in Congress.  While we’ve faced many challenges in recent years, through strength and prayer, we have persevered. 

Please know that we are always a resource for you.  Call or stop by any of the offices (YOUR offices, we work for you), whenever you need assistance or want to talk about an issue before Congress.

For assistance or more information, please call or go online to visit us at weber.house.gov.

God Bless you and God Bless Texas!