Meeting with the Port of Corpus Christi

Last week, I met with the Port of Corpus Christi to discuss updates on some of their recent projects and priorities. As many of you know, our district is extremely proud to host multiple critical ports throughout the coast, and their impact on the global economy is significant.

The Port of Corpus Christ is working toward finalizing their Channel Improvement Project soon, with hopes of the channel being ready by 2024. As the nation's leading energy port, the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project is a critical investment in our security infrastructure both home and abroad. The project will allow for increased LNG exports to Europe, allowing our allies to become less reliant on Russia for their energy needs.

Since coming to Congress, my team and I have advocated the project’s funding and we’re thrilled to see it come to fruition. Some of the ways we’ve worked with the Port include:

Highlighting the importance of the project in a meeting with President Trump on an Air Force One flight;
Regular communication with the Army Corps of Engineers and OMB advocating for the project’s funding;
Annual requests to the House Appropriations Committee in support of funding for the Port of Corpus Christi; and
A request in the 2020 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that would adjust the cost estimate of the project, ensuring it remained eligible for federal funding.

The expansion of the port has been a top priority since I was first elected, and we are very excited to see its completion in sight. Thanks to so many great people who worked hard to make it happen.

Investigating the COVID-19 Cover-Up

Watch my questioning of the witnesses at the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Hearing.

Evidence continues to mount to what many — including respected scientist who were silenced — believed all along about the origin of COVID-19 — that it leaked from the Wuhan lab.

Ultimately we may never have a smoking gun, but we have plenty of evidence indicating a cover-up took place. That’s why the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a hearing last week to investigate more allegations to this effect, specifically those regarding the “trusted experts” and their questionable-at-best rationale for denying the lab leak theory.

In 2020 and 2021, the federal government frequently cited a Fauci-ordered hit piece against the lab leak theory as a justification to censor free speech on COVID-19. More recently though, this document has come under intense scrutiny, and while I don’t claim to be a scientist, it doesn’t take a scientist to know this piece wasn’t created based entirely on facts. Recently uncovered communications show that as little as two days prior to signing onto the draft downplaying the lab leak hypothesis, at least one of the authors was adamant that it was impossible for COVID-19 to have originated naturally. This is a stunning revelation that was hidden from the public.

The American people deserve answers and transparency about the origins of the pandemic. Our committee is determined to find the truth about COVID-19's origins and to hold the people who misled the public accountable.

Supporting Corpus Christi Army Depot

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is an important piece of legislation that supports our military and makes sure our Armed Forces are the best-trained, best-equipped military in the world. While no bill is perfect, we worked very hard to resolve some of the key issues and help create a product that will deliver.

I offered two amendments to the bill. The first amendment would allow Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) to immediately hire skilled veterans to meet their enduring workload. Previously, retired military would need to wait 180 days before they could get hired, which makes no sense - we should be giving veterans every tool they need to get back into the workforce if they choose to do so.

Our other amendment would provide needed transparency to ensure that CCAD and other military depots are receiving 50% of all maintenance work as required by law. There have been concerns that DOD is outsourcing maintenance to private contractors rather than doing the job they promised.

At a time when American leadership is on the decline due to the Biden administration's own blunders, one of our highest priorities in Congress has to be to strengthen our military. There is a reason why the United States military is facing one of its worst recruiting crises in our nation’s history — because of failed leadership, including diminishing core values, imposing woke culture on soldiers, and more.

The NDAA must get our military back to focusing on its core mission, and I’m happy to say the final product does a much-improved job of meeting that goal. It is for this reason I was proud to vote in favor of this year’s NDAA.

Securing the American Promise for Future Generations

The House Appropriations Committee is moving forward this week with bills appropriating funding for fiscal year 2024. Due to rules changes conservatives negotiated earlier this year, this is the first time Congress is working through a real appropriations process in over a decade. It is my hope that over the next few weeks, the House will debate and vote on these bills as our jobs call for, finally moving away from 1,000+ page omnibus bills that have been protocol for far too long.

Now, as we all know, Washington has a terrible spending problem. Over the past several years, Congress has been on a $6 trillion spending spree and left you with the bill. We simply have to look for savings for the American people as a means to help pay down our debt. It is for this reason that I am actively working with other Members to “audit the government” and identify targeted cuts to wasteful programs. We should be meeting the needs of our country responsibly, funding only effective and efficient government programs instead of carelessly spending taxpayer dollars to grow the government.

Please know I will always take our national debt seriously. It’s time that we all in Congress work towards building a prosperous future for the next generation, rather than saddling them with more unsustainable debt.

July 17th, 2023: Weekly Newsletter

Supporting Corpus Christi Army Depot

Securing the American Promise for Future Generations

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