Greetings!

I wanted to take a moment to share with you a recap of what happened last week in Texas' 22nd District and the United States House of Representatives.

This Week in Washington, D.C.

Rep. Troy E. Nehls and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan Reintroduce the Trucker Bathroom Access Act

Our nation's hardworking truckers keep our country moving and should have access to bathroom facilities while they are on the road.

That's why this week, I joined Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06) in reintroducing the Trucker Bathroom Access Act. My bill would ensure truckers have access to bathroom facilities while they are on the road delivering or picking up cargo across the United States. The Trucker Bathroom Access Act would not require businesses to construct new restroom facilities. However, it would mandate that truckers have the same access if a business has a bathroom available to their customers or employees. 

Read more about the legislation HERE.

Rep. Troy E. Nehls' Bill to Increase Transparency Within Amtrak Passes House T&I Committee

I'm happy to share that my bill, the Amtrak Transparency and Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayer Act, passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

While Amtrak isn't 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. My bill 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 Government in 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.

Folks often say that sunshine is the best disinfectant, and I agree. The board meetings of Amtrak should be open to the American public. Thank you to my colleagues who supported my common-sense legislation.

Are you interested in a tour of the White House?

With President Donald J. Trump in office, requests for a tour of the White House are higher than ever. To ensure that you and your family can get a tour, please contact my office at least 90 days prior to your desired tour date. If you and your family are ever in Washington, D.C., and would like to schedule a tour, please call my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-5951 or visit my website HERE.  

If you are unable to schedule a tour of the White House on your desired dates, consider visiting The People's House: A White House Experience. Located just one block from the White House, The People's House is open to the public from 9 AM to 5 PM, seven days a week. To plan your visit or reserve passes, visit their official website HERE.

Rep. Troy E. Nehls Introduces the AFRIKANER Act

This week, I introduced the Asylum for Farmers and Refugees in Crisis and Necessary Emigration Resettlement (AFRIKANER) Act, which would give Priority-2 refugee status to residents of South Africa who are members of the Afrikaner ethnic minority group that have suffered persecution or have a well-founded fear of persecution, on account of their race, ethnicity, or ancestry. My bill would also give Priority-2 refugee status to the spouses, children, and parents of these individuals so long as they are residents of South Africa. 

Recently, the Republic of South Africa (South Africa) enacted the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024, which enables the government to forcefully confiscate Afrikaners' private property without compensation. In response to the enactment of the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024, on February 7, 2025, President Trump took action to cut off all aid and assistance to South Africa and directed the United States to “promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.” 

The Afrikaner population in South Africa has been experiencing unjust racial discrimination, and the situation continues to get worse by the day. How they are being treated is a massive human rights violation. The AFRIKANER Act offers Afrikaners a pathway to the United States to flee the persecution they've lived through initiated by their own government.

This Week in Texas' 22nd District

Rep. Troy E. Nehls Announces 2025 Congressional Art Competition

My office is now accepting Congressional Art Competition submissions through April 25, 2025, at 11:59 PM CST. 

The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 650,000 high school students have participated in the nationwide competition. 

The Congressional Art Competition is sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and is open to all high school students in the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. The winning artwork of our district's competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol, and the winner will receive two plane tickets to our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. 

The rules, regulations, application, and checklist can be found HERE on my website. 

The theme for 2025 is American Patriotism. The winner of this year’s Congressional Art Competition will be announced in early May 2025. 

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call my Fulshear District Office at (346) 762-6600.

Rep. Troy E. Nehls' Fulshear District Office Hosts Service Academy Day

I'm hosting a Service Academy Day on Saturday, May 31, 2025. This event would allow all TX-22 to learn how to attend one of the United States Service Academies.

One of the privileges of serving in the United States House of Representatives is the opportunity to nominate outstanding young people from the 22nd Congressional District of Texas to be considered for appointment to our nation’s service academies.

Admission to a service academy is a two-tiered process. First, the candidate must apply and meet the minimum standards set by the individual academy. Second, the candidate must complete the congressional application to be considered for an interview with the nomination review board in our office. Please note that the ultimate selection of appointees rests solely with academy officials and is based on their competitive evaluation of all nominees.

In addition to staff from my office, representatives from all five academies (U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and U.S. Coast Guard Academy) and current academy cadets and midshipmen will be on hand to answer questions. Students, parents, and educators will be able to hear from and meet with representatives on a one-on-one basis to become informed about the excellent opportunities associated with attending these premier educational institutions and the careers they generate. 

This forum is free; however, pre-registration is required and can be found on my website HERE. It will be held from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at the Rosenberg Civic Center. 

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call my district office at (346) 762-6600.

Update on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expects more than 40 million individual tax returns for the tax year 2024 to be filed ahead of the Tuesday, April 15 deadline. Taxpayers residing in a federally declared disaster area may have additional time to file and pay federal taxes.

Get free help preparing and filing taxes electronically. Taxpayers can visit IRS.gov to get answers to tax questions. IRS.gov is the quickest way for taxpayers to get help. The Interactive Tax Assistant (ITA) is a tool that provides answers to several tax law questions specific to individual circumstances.

Free tax filing options. The IRS offers free online and in-person tax preparation options for eligible taxpayers through IRS Free File, IRS Direct File and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs.

Most refunds issued in less than 21 days: EITC refunds for many available by March 3. The easiest way to check a refund's status is by using “Where's My Refund?” on IRS.gov or the IRS2Go app. 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.

Report taxable income; don’t file before receiving key documents. People should report all taxable income on their tax return and wait to file until they receive all of their income and informational documents.

Choose a trusted tax professional. Taxpayers should review the tips for choosing a tax preparer and learn how to avoid unethical “ghost” return preparers who don’t sign or include a valid preparer tax identification number (PTIN) on every tax return they prepare. 

Be aware of tax scams. Be aware of scammers, who can become more active during tax season. They will attempt to mislead people about tax refunds, credits and payments.

Know the signs of ID Theft. Check out the latest consumer alerts and read more about the most recent tax related scams identified by the IRS.

More help is now available. The IRS also provides taxpayers help in-person at Taxpayer Assistance Centers nationwide. Some improvements taxpayers will see during the 2025 filing season are:

• IRS Individual Online Account. Individuals can create or access their IRS Online Account at Online account for individuals.
• New scam alert. There’s a new banner on the Online Account homepage that alerts taxpayers of potential scams and schemes, along with a link to their Digital Notices and Letters page to view correspondence from the IRS.
• Redesigned notices. The IRS redesigned 200 notices and an additional 84 redesigned notices are in line to be deployed in 2025.
• Mobile-adaptive tax forms. Taxpayers can now access 67 forms on cell phones and tablets.
• Virtual assistants to help with refunds and other questions. The IRS will offer voicebot services to all taxpayers calling the IRS for refund information. The voicebot is available in English and Spanish.



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. The release form can be found HERE. Please contact my district office at 346-762-6600 if you have any questions. 

Should people be allowed to buy junk food like candy bars and sodas with food stamps?



YES 17.6%

NO 83.3%

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