Don't Miss Our Telephone Town Hall Next Tuesday

November 9, 2023

Dear john, 

Last week, our new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, immediately hit the ground running. He brought to the floor a resolution condemning the Hamas terror attack and supporting Israel, which passed with a large bipartisan vote.

The House also passed a supplemental appropriations bill to provide support for Israel’s military. This bill will reinforce Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems. Importantly, this bill does not call for deploying the United States military to Israel.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is horrible, and I stand with our ally, Israel, the only true democracy in the region. I will continue to support sending military aid to Israel in the form of weapons and supplies. Still, this is Israel’s fight to undertake, and there is no need to deploy American boots on the ground. 

Regardless, a government shutdown looms. Congress has until November 17 to either fully fund the government or pass a Concurrent Resolution (CR) to ensure funding until a later date. 

In order to avoid a shutdown, the House must pass all 12 of the separate appropriations bills. We have currently passed seven, and I expect we will pass more in the coming days. 

Among those already passed is the Defense Appropriations Act, which concerns everything related to the Department of Defense and therefore our military. As part of the final bill the House passed, I helped include $115 million for the Humvee retrofit upgrade program at Red River Army Depot within Texas’ Fourth District. This is a critical program that helps retrofit existing Humvees to prevent future rollover accidents that continue to claim the lives of American soldiers. Red River Army Depot is well equipped to retrofit the Army's Humvee fleet in an efficient manner and create and maintain jobs for Texas' Fourth District in the process.

For Texas and Liberty,

House Censures Member: You may have seen that the House passed a resolution censuring one of my colleagues. This is historic. I was proud to support this resolution, in response to the Member’s continued anti-Israel comments and actions regarding the war in Israel. You can find a video of my floor remarks HERE.

Insider Trading Prevention Act: Last week, I introduced a bill to hold bad actors responsible and prevent Members of Congress from getting rich through their positions of power. My bill would not only root out conflicts of interest, but it will also deter future violations through strong enforcement provisions. Specifically, my bill would:

• Prohibit members from trading any individually listed stocks and requires significant fines for noncompliance.
• Prohibit trading of a covered financial instrument by a Member of Congress or their spouse.
• Create fines equal to the price of the trade or $25,000, whichever is greater, per violation.

I will always demand more accountability and transparency from those who represent you, the American people in Washington, D.C.

TOMORROW - Veterans Commendation Program Award Ceremony: This Friday, November 10th, it's my honor to participate in an awards ceremony for the Congressional Veterans Commendation program. The 20 recipients will be honored at Plano Flags of Honor, part of the Rotary Club of Plano East’s weeklong Veterans Day program.

The Congressional Veteran Commendation (CVC) program is nominations-based, and designed to recognize the sacrifices and devotion to serving our country offered by veterans within Texas’ Fourth Congressional District.

Pictures from last year's ceremony--it was an honor!

Texas Veterans Resolution: In the lead up to Veterans Day 2023, I introduced a resolution that highlights the makeup of veterans in Texas, information relating to those who have served and died in the various wars, recognizes the countless VA medical and health facilities in the state, and acknowledges the challenges veterans are facing in housing, health, and transition to civilian life. Text of the resolution can be found, here. 

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to our offices for assistance with anything related to veterans benefits or the Department of Veterans Affairs.  

I want to extend my personal gratitude to all of Texas' veterans who have served our great nation. It is clear that there is nothing more important to the continued freedom, greatness, and prosperity of our country than our nation's veterans. You can count on me to continue to fight tooth and nail for our veterans, just like they fought for us.

Telephone Town Hall Next Tuesday: I'll be hosting a Telephone Town Hall next Tuesday, November 14, at 5:30 PM CT. I'll hit Congress' response to the war in Israel as well as what we can expect from our new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. I look forward to your questions about anything that Congress has on its plate. 

Dial-in info can be found below. I'll also be streaming the town hall video on Facebook and our website. 

Avoid a Surprise Next Year; Review Tax Witholding Now: With 2023 rapidly coming to a close, it’s critical that you review your withholding as soon as possible to avoid a potential surprise when you file your tax return next year. 

An adjustment made in even in the final weeks of this year could still help to avoid an unexpected result, such as a balance due, when filing your taxes next year.

The Tax Withholding Estimator, can help you determine if you have too much income tax withheld and how to adjust tax withholding.

Common and unforeseen life events can be a trigger to make withholding adjustments. Some of these include: 

• Life changes such as marriage or childbirth – Getting married or having a child are just a couple of life events that can affect your refund or how much you owe.
• Job Loss – IRS Publication 4128, Tax Impact of Job Loss explains how this unfortunate circumstance can create new tax issues, such as receiving unemployment compensation.
• Natural Disasters – Special tax law provisions may help you or your business recover financially from the impact of a disaster, especially if the federal government declares your location a major disaster area. 

No one likes paying taxes, but it doesn’t hurt to do a quick review to make sure you keep as much of your hard earned cash as you can!

My Floor Remarks: I took to the House floor this week to condemn my now censured colleague regarding her comments and actions in regards to the situation in Israel. Catch my remarks here.

Until Next Time: I will continue to work with my Republican colleagues on appropriations bills that cut unnecessary spending and advance conservative priorities. I'll also continue to monitor the situation in Israel, closely. I look forward to hearing from you at our Telephone Town Hall next Tuesday, November 14 at 5:30 PM CT! A link to the (video) call can be found on my Facebook page and website.