December 18, 2023: Weekly Newsletter

Congressman Cloud speaks on the House Floor about opposing this year's NDAA.

The House closed out the 2023 session last week with a vote on the NDAA — the National Defense Authorization Act. There is no greater Constitutional priority for Congress than ensuring our military has all the tools, resources, and support needed to be the indisputable premier fighting force in the world. 

As you may remember, back in July we worked very hard to resolve some of the key issues facing our military, and I voted in favor of the House’s NDAA as it passed. Last week after weeks of negotiations, the Senate and House Armed Services Committee released their final draft of the NDAA. 

The version that came to the floor was disappointing on a number of levels:

• It maintains Biden’s woke policies that have led to low recruitment — continuing to fund DEI priorities, tax-payer funded abortion travel & gender surgeries and more.

• It extends — with no corrections or protections for Americans — the FISA 702 authority that our politically-weaponized intelligence service has misused over 270,000 times. Including this provision ignored Constitutional protections against warrantless searches of Americans as well as the House rules regarding germaneness and single-subject bills that Republicans have championed. 

• In passing the original NDAA out of the House, members had selected “conferees” who we voted on to represent us in negotiations with the Senate. These “Conference Committee” negotiations never happened and instead the compromise version was shaped by four members of Congress. This meant that important provisions we had worked on were removed from the bill including…

• A provision was removed to allow retiring veterans to work at military depots immediately following their service in uniform.

• A provision was removed that ensured depots like Corpus Christi’s Army Depot receive the contracts they, by-law, should be receiving. 

We're experiencing a massive recruiting crisis – meanwhile growing threats like China, North Korea, and a nuclear Iran are on the horizon. We can not afford to have a military distracted by political agendas vs. war-fighting readiness. This year’s NDAA does not make the course-corrections needed to reinvigorate our military while it also treads on the Constitutional civil liberties of Americans. I voted no.

NOTICE: Offices Closed in Observance of Christmas and New Years

In observance of Christmas and New Years, our offices will be closed Thursday, December 21st through Tuesday, January 2nd. If you have an urgent matter, please call (361) 884-2222. We look forward to serving you in the new year!

Congressman Cloud on Fox & Friends First to Discuss Impeachment Inquiry and Hunter Biden Deposition.

As many of you have seen by now, the evidence suggesting Joe Biden was corruptly involved in his son Hunter’s business dealings continues to mount in an overwhelming fashion. Calls, texts, emails, bank records, and more all point to Joe Biden’s direct involvement — and even suggest he may have used the office of the Vice President to profit and change U.S. policy based on bribes.

While the Oversight Committee has been seeking documents looking to answer key questions about Joe Biden’s involvement, the Biden Administration has gone to great lengths to stonewall and block access to information. Because of the overwhelming evidence suggesting a crime, as well as the White House’s insistence on hiding information, Republicans really had no choice but to pursue a formal impeachment inquiry. I voted in favor of it and support the effort 100%.

You may have also seen on the news that Hunter Biden made a public show out of his refusal to comply with lawful subpoenas. This further justifies the need for the impeachment inquiry, in my opinion. Recall that Nancy Pelosi and Democrats were ruthless in pursuit of conservatives when they sought to impeach President Trump – based on significantly weaker evidence than we see here today – so it is my view that we should hold them to account in the same way. 

Watch my interview above on Fox and Friends First discussing Hunter Biden’s failure to appear for his deposition and the impeachment inquiry. 

As you may know, Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas, after Governor Abbott stepped in to secure the southern border by placing floating buoys along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass. The DOJ claims that Governor Abbott did not seek (or receive) a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to construct the buoys. For context, Biden is using something called “the Rivers and Harbors Act” to justify his lawsuit. 

First of all, Governor Abbott and the Texas National Guard should be commended for their efforts in securing our border – not politically prosecuted by the DOJ. Remember, none of this would even be necessary if the Biden administration did their jobs to begin with. It is wrong.

In response, I introduced a bill called the “Prevent Aliens Through Rivers or Land Act” (PATROL Act), which would block Biden’s lawsuit and prevent the DOJ from using the Rivers and Harbors Act to sue states over building barriers to secure the border. The PATROL Act makes it clear that if a President like Joe Biden won’t do his job, states are well within their rights to step in and protect their residents. 

This administration has clearly pursued an open border agenda with lackluster enforcement regulations – choosing to legally prosecute Governor Abbott rather than fix the problem. It is absurd to expect Texas to bear the brunt of this crisis on our own, but if Joe Biden and his administration won’t secure the border, Texas will. 

We will keep you updated on the progress of the bill.

Our community received devastating news when Lizbeth Medina, a 16 year old student from Edna, Texas, was murdered in her home. Police reports have stated Lizbeth was killed by a migrant here in the U.S. illegally. 

In times like this, there are truly no words to express the kind of grief, anger, and agony Lizbeth’s loved ones feel. Lizbeth was a bright student with dreams of becoming a nurse one day. She was active in the community, cheered for the Edna High School football team, and was beloved by her family. As a father myself, I can’t imagine the pain of her family, friends, and neighbors. Please pray for them.

Psalm 34:18 tells us “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” In our worst moments – the ones that bring unfathomable grief – it is the Lord who can provide us the strength to make it through. He can comfort those who are crushed in spirit. My prayer is that He would wrap Lizbeth’s family in that peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding, and grant them the grace they need during this time.

It’s important to be clear that Lizbeth’s death should have NEVER happened. It’s on every policy maker who continues enabling soft on crime, open border policies to know there are real-world consequences for these kinds of decisions. Lizbeth should be alive today with a bright future ahead. It has to change.

Please continue to pray for her family.

Thank you to our fantastic D.C. intern, Sarah Relph, for serving the people of South Texas over the past few months! Sarah was instrumental in helping our D.C. team in day-to-day operations. Additionally, she led tours of the Capitol for many of you that came up to Washington D.C. this fall. 

 If you know someone who would be interested in an opportunity to work on behalf of Texas’ 27th Congressional District, they can apply for an internship HERE.

God Bless,

Rep. Michael Cloud

Member of Congress

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