Washington D.C. - Before heading back to Washington for a busy week, I was glad to attend the 2023 USA Pickleball Championship in Farmers Branch. I want to congratulate Mayor Terry Lynne and the North Texas community for their spectacular hospitality throughout this amazing event! As the fastest growing sport in America, this was a huge economic boost for North Texas.

Later, I had the opportunity to attend an event sponsored by the Haley Foundation where they brought 200 Dallas ISD students to experience a Cowboys practice. Thank you to Charles Haley, Stephen Jones, and Tackle Tomorrow for giving back to our community in creative and impactful ways.

After returning to Washington, on Tuesday, I joined my House Committee on Small Business colleagues to continue our oversight of the Small Business Administration. We're working to empower our nation's job creators and shrink the bloated bureaucracy. You can find the entire hearing by clicking here.

Then, our office joined nearly 300,000 Americans at the March for Israel, showing our strong support for Israel and demanding an immediate release of the hostages. I'm grateful for the hundreds of North Texans who traveled to D.C. to show their solidarity!

Later in the day, I spoke on the House floor to urge my colleagues to support my amendment to end overburdensome vaccine reporting requirements for Ambulatory Surgical Centers. I was first made aware of this issue when I toured a local outpatient facility in North Texas. I'm pleased to share that my amendment was approved - I'm glad my colleagues agreed about the need to fix this arbitrary mandate.

On Wednesday, I met with the North Texas Commission to discuss their priorities going forward. We're blessed to enjoy extraordinary economic growth and development in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and the North Texas Commission is helping drive that growth!

Afterwards, I joined my Ways and Means colleagues for a hearing on the role of tax-exempt universities in fueling rampant antisemitism and their connections to terrorism abroad. It was an honor to speak with Talia Dror, a student at my alma mater, Cornell.

It should be easy to condemn antisemitism and the barbaric acts committed by Hamas. I'm ashamed that my alma mater and other elite universities have professors teaching students to hate, even threatening their Jewish peers. I'm working with my colleagues to stop the taxpayer subsidization of this hatred.

You can watch the entire hearing by clicking here.

This week, I introduced legislation to repeal Biden’s $15 billion chemical tax, which targets materials used to produce household goods like soap, lightbulbs, and electronics.

You can read more about my bill by clicking here.

Our Texas-24 Hometown Hero is Southlake resident and future Olympian, Sam Watson. Congratulations, Sam, on all your achievements. I’m excited to cheer you on in Paris next year!

Texas-24 Veteran Commendation

Starting this week, I'm announcing the Veterans who will be receiving a Congressional Commendation in 2024.

Our first recipient is Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Campbell of Colleyville. We thank you for your service and sacrifices and we're honored to extend you this recognition.

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, 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)