August 22nd, 2023: Weekly Newsletter

YOU’RE INVITED! This upcoming Friday I’ll be in Victoria to host a Veterans Townhall. If you’re a veteran in Texas’ 27th Congressional District, please join me to hear about the different services and opportunities offered to veterans in our community. My team and I will be at the address below to assist and answer any questions you may have.

To all of our veterans: thank you for your service to our nation. We hope to see you at the event, and the details are below. 

When: Friday, August 25, 2023 from 10 am to 11 am 

Location: UHV Northwest Campus

Address: 1604 E Airline Rd, Victoria, TX 77901

It’s great to be back home in Texas, and we are still off and running on our district tour for the month of August. Last week, I visited the Matagorda Ship Channel to receive an update from Captain David Adrian and the Calhoun Port Authority on their Deepening and Widening Project. Congress authorized the Matagorda Ship Channel Deepening and Widening Project in 2020. This is a project that is critically important for safety – it will deepen and widen the Matagorda Ship Channel to allow larger vessels to safely travel in and out of the channel, which is very difficult under the present infrastructure because of the currents. 

Before Congress authorizes such projects, the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies conduct several reviews of a proposed project, including an environmental impact statement (EIS). Unfortunately, even though the EIS for the Matagorda Ship Channel was already completed ahead of the project’s authorization in 2020, the Army Corps rescinded the Record of Decision for the project and claimed that the EIS needed to be reworked. To rescind the Record of Decision will place this critical project on hold for several years.   

I have repeatedly pressed the Army Corps about their decision, as well as pushed for included language in the FY 2024 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill that would require the Army Corps to provide an update on the deepening and widening project and next steps on the project within 60 days. 

Widening and deepening the Matagorda Ship Channel is essential to job growth and prosperity in Texas’ 27th district. But more importantly, to delay this project is to put many of the men and women who work for the port at a serious safety risk - and that is not acceptable, especially over needless bureaucratic red tape. The community of Port Lavaca should not have to take the heat for the federal government’s mistakes. The expansion of the channel has been a top priority since I was first elected, and I will continue working to resume construction of this critical project.

NOTICE: Offices Closed in Observance of Labor Day

In observance of Labor Day, our offices will be closed on Monday, September 4th. We will reopen at 9 am on Tuesday, September 5th.

One of the best parts of the August district work period is getting together with friends in law enforcement. Jackson County Sheriff Kelly Janica is one of those friends. Sheriff Janica updated me on the ways the southern border crisis is impacting their county and our district. What is occurring at our southern border is completely unacceptable – not least of all because it puts a tremendous strain on local law enforcement who we should be supporting. 

While in Port Lavaca, I also met with Port Lavaca Police Chief Colin Rangnow. During our discussion, we talked about the challenges they’ve faced this year, including staffing shortages, funding, the ongoing mental health crisis, and the drug crisis - in part because of poor border security. We also discussed how my office can assist their team. 

President Biden continues to tout “Bidenomics,” while many small businesses continue to feel the pain, with inflation rising in July to 3.2%, more than twice as high as when Biden took office. While Texas remains one of the strongest states in the country for business, local leaders have still been struggling the past several years with high inflation, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions inflicted by Joe Biden’s policies. 

Last week, I toured small businesses in Port Lavaca to give an update on what’s happening in Congress, as well as hear ideas on how we can ease some of the burden from the last two years. 

Small businesses, and the entrepreneurs behind them, are the backbone of our nation, and I want to acknowledge their resilience during these hard economic times. We have seen small businesses face unprecedented economic challenges, high taxes, and unnecessary regulatory burdens. That is unacceptable. These businesses are essential to our local communities and I’m committed to finding solutions that encourage economic freedom and growth.

Thank you to the World Council Affairs of South Texas for inviting me to speak and give an update on issues that are important to our nation. I spoke on the importance of maintaining American hegemony, current internal and external threats to the US, and what we can do as a nation to return to a position of strength on the world stage.

We also discussed the pivotal role of our region’s ports in America’s economic growth and energy supply. I look forward to helping expedite port development projects to expand and improve their capabilities for years to come.

Last Tuesday, I had the opportunity to speak with students at W.B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi! They brought excellent questions and showed insight into the issues facing our country.

We talked about the nation's economy and how the ports in their community are vital to our national security and economic well-being. Thanks to W.B. Ray High School for having me! 

Last week, I joined the Wade and Carter Show to discuss some of the issues that our nation is facing. You can watch the episode HERE. 

I also joined Bob Jones on 1440 Keys to share more about what I have been doing across TX-27 during the August district work period and give an update on a few issues going on in Washington D.C. I enjoyed taking questions from those who called in and discussed ways my office is working to better represent the people of our district. You can listen to the interview HERE. 

I heard the vision and report from Mayor Paulette Guajardo during her State of the City address last week. It is wonderful to see all the great things Corpus Christi has accomplished, from repairing roads city wide, to the city being awarded one of the best police departments in the nation.

Corpus Christi remains one of the most vital cities for the health of our state and nation and I’m proud to represent you in Congress!

God Bless,

Rep. Michael Cloud

Member of Congress

Sign up for my newsletter to get updates on this issue and others!

Visit my website to learn more!
www.cloud.house.gov

Contact Me