Last night, Joe Biden delivered hopefully his last State of the Union Address. It was nothing short of empty promises, more blame, and more excuses for why the greatest nation on earth is crumbling under our feet. Contrary to what President Biden tried to convince the American people of last night, it is not the reality we are living in. The reality is our nation is $34 trillion in debt, inflation is still slamming the budgets of Americans across the nation hard, crime is running rampant in our cities, there is an invasion at our southern border, and we are being perceived as weak by foreign adversaries across the world. While President Biden was campaigning for another term, he forgot to address how we are going get our nation back on solid ground. This speech was a slap in the face for every single American. He refused to face the reality of his failed administration. 

Like Katie Britt said during the Republican Address, “Our Commander in Chief is not in command. The free world deserves better than a dithering and diminished leader. America deserves leaders who recognize that secure borders, stable prices, safe streets, and a strong defense are the cornerstones of a great nation. There is no doubt we’re at a crossroads. We all feel it. But here’s the good news: We, ThePeople, are still in the driver’s seat. We get to decide whether our future will grow brighter or whether we settle for an America in decline. Well, I know which choice our children deserve – and the choice the Republican Party is fighting for.”

I released a video before the SOTU to discuss what I thought the speech would be, and I hit the nail on the head on head. Watch the video above or click here. 

This week, I introduced introduced a resolution to condemn any effort by the federal government to connect Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to other major electric grids. ERCOT is currently under the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature.

In Texas, we proudly maintain our own electric grid—overseen by Texans, not the federal government—and we intend to keep it that way. Last month, Rep. Greg Casar of Texas and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York filed a bill called "Connect the Grid Act." It would require ERCOT to connect to the U.S. major electric grids. 

Some of my Democrat colleagues had a brilliant idea to lasso the state into the national electric grid, filled with its own challenges and failures. I will continue to fight to ensure that Texas' grid stays in the hands of Texans and not bureaucrats sitting in Washington."

Read the resolution here.

On the same day that Joe Biden delivered his final State of the Union address, House Republicans passed the Laken Riley Act, which will address another crisis that Biden's failed Far Left open border policies created and honor the memory of Laken Hope Riley who was tragically murdered by a 26 year old illegal immigrant.

The Laken Riley Act introduced by Mike Collins (R-GA) makes it crystal clear that an illegal immigrant who commits a theft offense, as Laken Riley's alleged killer did, will be a priority for arrest and must be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) until the illegal immigrant is removed from the country. This bill also ensures the Biden Administration can be held accountable for its Far Left immigration enforcement and open-borders policies—policies that directly resulted in Laken Riley's senseless murder—by providing states standing to sue Executive Branch officials for their refusal to enforce the immigration laws, as written by Congress.

Laken Riley would still be alive if the Biden Administration had done its job. Laken Riley is just one example, and I pray for her and her family. No family should have to go through what Laken Riley's family has, still grieving today. But unfortunately, this is not even an isolated incident. It's been happening over and over again in communities all across America ever since Joe Biden opened our southern border, allowing millions of unvetted people to come in. You're seeing countries emptying prisons to send people here – people on the terrorist watch list; over 140 that we know of on the terrorist watch list have been detained.

It is despicable that 170 Democrats voted against this bill. They prioritize politics over your safety

This week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously passedH.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, bipartisan legislation to protect our country and prevent foreign adversaries, such as China, from targeting, surveilling, and manipulating the American people through online applications like TikTok. 

H.R. 7521 is not a bill to ban TikTok. It is a bill that protects our country from the serious national security threat that applications owned by foreign adversaries pose. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controls TikTok. They are exploiting and weaponizing Americans’ data for their gain. If the CCP is no longer controlling the application, TikTok can continue to operate in the United States.   

TikTok has clear choice to make. If TikTok sides with the CCP and refuses to divest from their parent company, ByteDance, then they will then face a prohibition in the U.S.

Next week, the House will vote on this bill.

This week, Team Weber attended the Texas City - La Marque Chamber of Commerce State of the Cities luncheon to hear an update from Mayor Dedrick Johnson and Mayor Keith Bell. We celebrated the 80th Birthday of the SS Cavalla, a submarine, at the Galveston Naval Museum. Team Weber ended the week by attending the Sweeny ISD Education Foundation event and a Community in School event to highlight Brenda George and Gloria Gallegos's work in our community to change how children in need are provided for. In Washington, I got to visit with a great group of high school students from Texas City with the Institute for Civility in Government. They asked great questions about how the government works. What a bright future these students have!

Legislation sponsored:

• H.R. 7556 - To establish a working group to coordinate regulatory oversight of liquefied natural gas facilities, and for other purposes.
• H.Res. 1064 - Recognizing the role and responsibilities of Texas operating the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and condemning any action to federalize the Texas electricity markets.

Legislation cosponsored:

• H.R. 7551 - To prohibit any Federal law from making the manufacturer of a COVID-19 vaccine immune from suit or liability, or limiting the liability of such a manufacturer, with respect to claims for loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the administration to or the use by an individual of a COVID-19 vaccine, and for other purposes. 
• H.R. 7552 - To prohibit the use of materials that use the term "West Bank", and for other purposes. 
• H.Res. 1057 - Denouncing calls for a cease-fire in Gaza.