Howdy Texan –

I hope you had a blessed Easter. I wanted to give you an update on my work for Texas' 31st district.

ON THE DOCKET:

Career and Technical Education Awards
Constituent Services
What do you think?
Congressional Art Competition

THE BRIEF:

A stunning celestial event is visible across the country Monday, when the moon crosses directly in front of the sun: a total solar eclipse. For those in the path of totality, there will be a few brief moments when the moon completely covers the sun and the world becomes dark.
A person in Texas has been diagnosed with a highly virulent strain of bird flu, the first such case since the virus was detected in a handful of dairy cattle in several states across the country last week.
A federal appeals court heard arguments Wednesday from Texas and the federal government about whether it should continue blocking a new Texas law that would let state police arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally.

CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION AWARDS

I hosted the TX-31 Career and Technical Education (CTE) Awards to celebrate our outstanding CTE students. Career and technical education has long been a passion for me in Congress, because it opens doors for students to find a successful career without a traditional four-year college degree. I created the CTE awards several years ago to give vocational students an outlet to be celebrated and to promote CTE as an alternative to the traditional education path.

Congratulations to this year's winner, Dakota Branch, a senior at Lake Belton High School. Dakota's CTE training included child development, principles of education and training, and counseling classes through Belton ISD's CTE programming. I'm proud of all of our nominees and their devotion to learning new skills.

CONSTITUENT SERVICES

In March, my office helped 215 Central Texans with issues involving a federal agency, including veteran benefits, passports, and Social Security. We also returned $123,183 back to constituents whose money was trapped behind bureaucratic red tape. For more information about the casework process and issues we can assist with, click here.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

China now controls an estimated 350,000 acres of American farmland. I think this is extremely dangerous and the United States should ban any purchase of American farmland by an entity tied to the Chinese government. I want to know what you think.

Should America ban the sale of any USA farmland to any entity with ties to China?

Yes

CONGRESSIONAL ART COMPETITION DEADLINE COMING UP

The Congressional Art Competition deadline is April 15, 2024. If you know a talented high school art student, be sure to share the TX-31 Art Competition with them. The grand prize winner will have the opportunity to visit Washington, DC and see their artwork hung in the United States Capitol for millions of visitors to see. To learn more about the Congressional Art Competition, click here.