Washington, D.C. - I hope you all had a great week and are staying cool in Texas!

On Monday, I had a great meeting with the President of Palau. We discussed opportunities for collaboration to support Taiwan and counter China.

On Tuesday, my bill to provide regulatory relief for small businesses was voted on, and advanced, by the House Committee on Small Business during our markup! You can read more about my bill, the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act, in my "Work of the Week" section below.

I also voted for a resolution to condemn antisemitism and express my support for our close friend, and strongest ally in the Middle East, Israel. At a time where antisemitism is at an all-time high, we must denounce the hate and hold those who spread it accountable!

Later in the day, I held a telephone town hall with Keller Mayor Armin Mizani and Grapevine Chamber of Commerce CEO RaDonna Hessel. We talked about the upcoming 2023 North Texas Job Fair (you can sign up HERE) and I answered questions from many North Texans. If you didn't have a chance to join us or to ask your question, you can always call our office or submit your question online.

I was honored to receive the Conservative Excellence Award from CPAC for my strong, conservative voting record!

As you may know, I’m the Chairman of the House Small Business oversight subcommittee. On Wednesday morning, I led a hearing on Small Business oversight subcommittee hearing the overregulation of health care and its harmful impacts on small businesses. I was grateful that Dr. Punzi, of Carrollton’s Punzi Medical Center, took the time to join us in D.C. and serve as a witness at our hearing!

Next, I was able to see some friends of mine! It was wonderful to have Michael Hurst in town to attend Israeli President Herzong’s address, and it was nice to see Denton Mayor Gerard Hudspeth as well. Thanks for coming to our DC office!

After, I headed to our Ways and Means subcommittee hearing where we grilled witnesses, including a treasury official, over Biden's global tax surrender. He chose to hand over the keys over to tax writers in Paris but my Republican colleagues and I are fighting back! This is why I helped introduce the Unfair Tax Prevention Act to protect American workers and businesses from being targeted by unfair taxation by foreign countries.

To finish off Wednesday, I met with Ron Fulenchek of McKinney, Fred Sloan from Dallas, and Colby Hoffer from Dallas to talk about issues facing fuel marketers and chain retailers. We discussed renewable fuels, a year-round solution for E15, and credit card fees.

Thursday, I had the opportunity to meet with Allison McDougald, a student at Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Worth. She was visiting for the National Youth Correspondent at the Washington Journalism and Media Conference held at George Mason University.

Later that day, I was honored to receive a helmet from SMU Football!

After another busy week in Washington, it's great to be back in North Texas today, meeting with members of our community and finding opportunities to help them.

REMINDER: We have more than 250 employers and dozens of elected officials confirmed for our upcoming 2023 North Texas Job Fair! Be sure to join us on August 7th at the Irving Convention Center.

Our 2021 job fair brought together more than 200 businesses and thousands of job seekers and we’re set to top that this year! Some of our participants are Amazon, TxDOT, FC Dallas, CHRISTUS Health, AT&T, Cook Children’s Health, Bell Textron, and Parkland Health.

If you're a job seeker or you're looking to hire, please click here to RSVP, view the full list of businesses, or to reserve a booth for your company!

*NOTE: Please submit your business registration forms as soon as possible as there are a set number of booths to reserve.*

Small businesses are drowning in regulatory red tape. This week my bill, H.R. 3995, The Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act, was voted on and PASSED by the House Committee on Small Business.

My bill will stop the unnecessary burdens on small businesses and directs the SBA to conduct annual reporting on how small businesses are being impacted by burdensome regulations. Small businesses are the great assets to our communities, and they have enough on their plate in today's economic environment. Adding additional costs on top of rising prices, labor shortages, and record inflation will only further set our small businesses on a path beyond recovery.

TX-24 Veteran Commendation

The Congressional Veteran Commendation has been created to honor the distinguished veterans of the 24th Congressional District of Texas and to preserve their stories for future generations of Americans.

Veterans who are nominated must be currently residing in the 24th District of Texas and have served our nation with honor consistent with the finest traditions of military service. The nominated veterans must also have served their community.

Click here to complete and submit the nomination packet no later than October 13, 2023 at 5pm.

This week’s Texas-24 Hometown Hero is 9-year-old Bennet Hills, from North Richland Hills.

Bennett is a fourth grader at Liberty Elementary, and was just named a finalist in LEGOLAND’s 2023 North American Mini Master Model Builder contest! He was tasked with creating an original LEGOscape that depicted his hometown through the LEGOLAND Discovery Center of Dallas/Fort Worth. He chose to proudly fill it with Dallas’ Reunion Tower, Fort Worth’s famous Stockyards, cowboys, longhorns, oil rigs, and even construction cranes to represent the growing Dallas/Fort Worth area.

He is now one of 13 Mini Master Model Builders from around the U.S. who will represent Dallas/Fort Worth in LEGOLAND’s nationwide competition, in hopes of claiming the national title.

I want to congratulate Bennett on his hard work and wish him the best of luck at the national competition!

Do you know someone who goes above and beyond for our community? Nominate a Texas-24 Hometown Hero here.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your voice in Washington. To stay up to date on what's happening each week, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, GETTR, Parler, Rumble, and YouTube. 

Please do not hesitate to contact our office if we can ever be of service to you. 

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (TX-24)