A Month in Review: January 2024 Congressional Update

Dear john,

I hope you and your family are well. The month of January absolutely flew by, so I wanted to reach out with updates about my work on your behalf in Congress.

Fixing our broken immigration system remains a top priority for me as I diligently continue gathering support for the Dignity Act, my comprehensive, bipartisan, immigration reform bill. As of today, we have 31 co-sponsors in Congress. While the progress is slowly taking place behind the scenes, my staff and I continue to exhaust every avenue.

Some big news I also wanted to share was that the National Science Foundation (NSF) selected UTEP this month as a lead organization of the first-ever NSF Regional Innovation Engines and will be receiving up to $15 million! I'm incredibly proud that I was the only federal elected official in our region to vote for the legislation that made that funding possible, the Chips and Science Act This funding will continue to advance critical technology development, stimulate economic growth and job creation, and counter the ‘brain drain’ in our community. You can read more about the announcement here.

As always, please subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to ensure you never miss any of my updates and stay in the loop on what I’ve been doing for El Paso.

Thank you to Veterans at Breakfast for allowing me to join you for a congressional update!

It is a privilege to advocate on your behalf in Congress. If you ever need assistance with a federal agency like the VA, my office is always here to help.

In the face of global unrest, great power competition, and domestic challenges such as recruitment and retention, our armed forces must preserve the readiness and capabilities required today while investing in and modernizing the future force.

I was thrilled to host my fellow El Pasoan and US Army Under Secretary Camarillo for a briefing on the Army’s plans for Fort Bliss.

I appreciate that the American Association of Nurse Practitioners stopped by my DC office to discuss their priorities.

Our healthcare workers are already facing historic shortages, and that means even longer wait times for patients who need timely and high-quality healthcare.

or possessing firearms.

Thank you to everyone who came to my meeting this month with CBP, GSA, and the International Boundary and Water Commission to discuss the Bridge of the Americas Modernization Project.

As the project moves forward, I'm committed to ensuring those directly impacted can continue to voice their opinions and remain informed.

Did you know that before being the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers as they won the 2023 World Series, Mike Maddux played baseball at UTEP?

While he was back in El Paso, Team Escobar honored him with a Congressional Recognition for his role in bringing the Rangers their first World Series!

From congressional internships and my youth council to the App Challenge and Congressional Art Competition, there are plenty of ways to get involved in my office.

Thank you to Eastwood High School for having me to talk about these opportunities!

As our community's representative, I'll take every opportunity to bring federal investments back home.

That's why I'm grateful to organizations like the Aspen Institute and Supply El Paso that serve to help local businesses secure more of these federal dollars.

The UTEP Aerospace Center is molding the next generation of energy engineers, maintaining our city as a national leader in sustainable development.

I was proud to join them to celebrate their $1.5 million grant from the Department of Energy.

It was my pleasure to award the longtime President of United Way of El Paso County and native El Pasoan, Deborah Zuloaga, a Congressional Record in honor of her many years of dedicated service to our community.

Wishing you the best on a well-deserved retirement!

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