Email from Rep. Nehls Rep. Nehls' Bill Passes the House   Greetings! I wanted to take a moment to share with you a recap on what happened last week in Texas' 22nd District and the United States House of Representatives. This Week in Washington, D.C. Chairman Troy E. Nehls' Bill Passes U.S. House of Representatives I'm proud to announce that my bill, the Amtrak Transparency and Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayers Act, passed the United States House of Representatives and now awaits action in the United States Senate. My legislation would require Amtrak to be subject to the same requirements of the Government in Sunshine Act, also known as the Sunshine Act, as other federal agencies and government-sponsored style entities. The Sunshine Act requires meetings of certain federal agencies to be open to public observation. Under the Sunshine Act, there are ten exemptions to open meeting requirements. While Amtrak is not deemed a federal agency, Amtrak is considered a government entity and receives funding from American taxpayers. Despite receiving funding from American taxpayers, meetings of the Amtrak Board of Directors (“the Board”) are often conducted without any opportunity for the American public or stakeholders to observe or comment. Simply put, this legislation would require Amtrak to notify the public of the time, place, and location of pending meetings and allow for public observations unless closed under an exemption of the Sunshine Act. If a meeting is closed for observation, Amtrak would be required to produce a set of minutes providing a full and accurate summary of matters discussed and actions taken to the public. It's often said that sunshine is the best disinfectant. Opening up Amtrak’s Board meetings to the American public will better ensure that their decisions are made in the best interest of the People. I encourage the Senate to swiftly consider my legislation, which ensures transparency and accountability for the American people. Watch my remarks on the House Floor HERE. 2025 Presidential Inauguration Information The 60th Presidential Inauguration will take place on Monday, January 20, 2025, in Washington, DC, on the west front of the U.S. Capitol. Each member of Congress receives a limited allotment of tickets to share with their constituents. My office will disburse tickets to constituents through a lottery based on all of the requests received. Tickets are not guaranteed as demand may exceed the number of allocated tickets. We will do our best to help those attending secure a ticket. To request tickets for the 2025 presidential inauguration, please fill out the form on my website HERE. The form must be completed in its entirety and include the full name of each person requesting a ticket. Forms not fully completed will not be considered in the lottery. Please note that these tickets are solely for attending the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Swearing-In Ceremonies. This does not include access to any of the inaugural balls or other ancillary events. Tickets to the inaugural balls are provided through the Presidential Inaugural Committee in consultation with the President-Elect. My office also does not receive seated tickets to the Inaugural Parade following the swearing-in. However, tickets to observe the Inaugural Parade route on-foot are not required. Please note the names of each guest in your party in the "Special Requests" box in the form on my website. Only one form per household/group will be accepted. For more information, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-5951. Form for 2025 Presidential Inauguration Ticket Requests Rep. Troy E. Nehls Applauds the Passage of the JUDGES Act This week, the United States House of Representatives voted on and overwhelmingly passed S. 4199, the bipartisan Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act of 2024. I proudly voted "YES" to pass this crucial legislation. I am proud to have co-led the companion version of this bill in the House, which was introduced in September by my friend and colleague, Congressman Darell Issa, who represents the 48th Congressional District of California. The bipartisan JUDGES Act would: Create 63 permanent judgeships in six phases from 2025-2035 so that no party has an appointment advantage Addresses the widespread backlog of over 700,000 cases that has effectively denied the swift administration of justice for American citizens across the country and has led to a severely overworked judicial bench Task Government Accountability Office (GAO) with evaluating the efficiency of federal courts and assessing detention space needs Require the Judicial Conference to publicly release its judicial seat recommendations and methodology Authorize additional federal case locations in Utah, Texas, and California to improve access for larger districts Unfortunately, President Joe Biden has threatened to veto this commonsense legislation that would address a widespread issue that affects millions of Americans across the country, including the Southern District of Texas, which is located in the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. I strongly encourage President Biden to stop playing political games and sign this bill into law. Watch my remarks on the House Floor on the JUDGES Act HERE. Rep. Troy E. Nehls Votes YES on FY25 NDAA This week, I voted "YES" to pass the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. This bill supports a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers and supports a 4.5% raise for all other servicemembers. Additionally, this legislation combats the Left’s woke and radical ideology by banning our defense department from providing transgender medical treatments for children. This legislation prohibits critical race theory in military academies. Further, the bill increases oversight and accountability of the Department of Defense (DOD) and cuts $31 billion in outdated and ineffective weapons systems. The FY25 NDAA will improve the quality of life for our nation's brave servicemembers and their families, as well as remedy military recruiting and build the lethal fighting force we need to deter our foreign adversaries like China, Iran, and Russia. Rep. Troy E. Nehls Applauds House Passage of H.R. 8753 H.R. 8753 would direct the United States Postal Service to designate single, unique ZIP Codes for certain communities across the country, including Sargent, Texas. I am a proud original cosponsor of this legislation. Communities, such as Sargent, Texas, do not have their own unique zip codes and can experience a wide variety of associated problems, including inconsistent postal deliveries, longer emergency response times, loss of economic development, and loss of sales tax, to name just a few. This bill is a simple, essential, and commonsense solution to help our cities and towns across the country that currently do not have unique zip codes. I'm proud to announce that H.R. 8753 passed the United States House of Representatives. Watch my remarks on the House Floor HERE. This Week in TX-22 Casework Highlight: Internal Revenue Service Has the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) still not released your refund for your tax return? Has your amendment been pending for an excessive amount of time? My office can assist. You can check the status of your refund here and the status of your amended return here. The IRS asks that we allow returns to process for 10 weeks and amendments to process for 20 weeks. If you are outside of that timeframe, my staff is happy to help. Please note that there is a backlog in cases, so the processing times are subject to change. We can also help with general IRS questions or any other issues you may have with the agency. We will need a privacy release form filled out by the filers. Our release form can be found here. Please contact my District Office at 346-762-6600 if you have any questions. USPS: 2024 Holiday Shipping Dates for Contiguous U.S. If you're shipping holiday cards and gifts for Hanukkah (Dec. 25–Jan. 2), Christmas (Dec. 25), Kwanzaa (Dec. 26–Jan. 1), or other holiday traditions, find the United States Postal Service (USPS) recommended domestic, international, and military deadlines in these tables. The earlier you send, the better: Don’t delay, mail and ship today! Do you support President Biden's pardon of his son, Hunter?  YES 15.2% NO 84.8% Follow Us We Want to Hear From You I always appreciate learning about the issues that are important to you. If you have a concern, please contact me HERE. Use this QR code to follow my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts and join my Newsletter for updates. It's an honor to represent you and the great state of Texas in the United States House of Representatives. Do you support eliminating Daylight Savings Time? Let me know below Yes No Sincerely, Troy E. Nehls Member of Congress By participating in the survey, you are opting into further communication from Rep. Nehls Rep. Nehls | 1104 Longworth House Office Building | Washington, DC 20515 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice