Washington, D.C. - Over the weekend I attended the Reagan National Defense Forum which brings together leaders and key stakeholders in the defense community to review and assess policies that strengthen America's national security.

Monday evening, I enjoyed attending the White House Holiday Ball with my colleagues to see the lighting of the National Christmas Tree and holiday performances. This beautiful Christmas tradition goes all the way back to the 1800s when President John Adams was in office.

On Tuesday, I joined my colleagues in asking President Trump to end the Internal Revenue Service's wasteful, invasive, and unauthorized "Direct File" scheme. I'm working to stop the power-hungry bureaucrats trying to extend their control over the American people. You can read more by clicking here.

Later that day, I voted for the SHIELD Against CCP Act to counter the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party by bolstering efforts to counter espionage, intellectual property theft, and other activity that undermines our national security.

Wednesday morning, I sat down with Semafor to preview House Republicans' priorities for the the new year including securing our border, holding foreign nations accountable, and extending our pro-growth tax policies that help working families and job creators.

As you may know, Texas is the #1 state for franchise growth with more than 80,000 franchise establishments. I was glad to visit with the International Franchise Association, including President and CEO Matt Haller. As co-chair of the Congressional Franchise Caucus, I’m working to address workforce challenges and regulatory burdens facing small business franchises in Texas-24 and across our nation.

Later that day, I met with leaders of Plains All American Pipeline, a Texas-based company that provides extensive energy infrastructure to our state. We discussed opportunities to strengthen American energy independence through permitting and tax reform. 

This week, the House passed the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act to refocus our military's priorities. You can read more about it in my Work of the Week Section!

I helped pass the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act to fully fund our military, address threats from our adversaries, prioritize the well-being of servicemembers and their families, and bring lethality back to our armed forces.

This week’s Texas-24 Hometown Hero is Blake Lindsay. Blake served North Texans for 15 years with Envision Dallas before fighting a battle with cancer. I’m grateful to have worked closely with him over the years and witnessed his dedication to serving our community.

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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)