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Irving, Texas – As we begin 2026, we reflect on the huge year in 2025 where I worked to advance our shared values and deliver for North Texans.
I wanted to take a moment to share some highlights from the last twelve months.
In January, I was honored to be sworn-in to the 119th Congress by Speaker Mike Johnson. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as your Representative in Congress, a responsibility I do not take lightly.
I was appointed Chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access. I look forward to continue to collaborate with the Trump-Vance Administration and Chairman Williams to advance pro-growth policies that cut taxes and expand access to capital.
As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, this year I was added to several key subcommittees, focusing on tax, trade, oversight, and work and welfare.
We hosted two roundtables this month, the first was a veteran-focused roundtable at our district office to discuss the most pressing issues facing North Texas veterans and how our office can continue to support them. The second was a healthcare roundtable at our district office with medical leaders to discuss challenges facing patients, the medical workforce, and providers.
The Ways and Means Committee met for our first full committee markup of the year, in February, where we advanced five strong bills that will modernize the IRS and combat fraud, saving taxpayers money and streamlining outdated IRS processes.
I enjoyed meeting with students participating in our Congressional Youth Advisory Summit! This is a leadership opportunity for high school students in Texas-24 to participate in an interactive learning experience and develop leadership skills. To learn more about the Summit visit my website here.
In March, we held a Small Business Committee hearing focused on restoring the Small Business Administration (SBA) to its core mission of supporting local job creators. As a committee, we met with SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, where I highlighted our annual North Texas Job Fair and the importance of connecting North Texans with job opportunities in our community.
In April we welcomed 360 North Texans to Washington, D.C. for our 2025 Family Fly-In for a unique experience in our nation’s capital – from nighttime tours of the Capitol, to visits at embassies, White House Tours, and much more! Our 2026 Fly-In is coming up in just 3 months, you can learn more and register by clicking here.
We had a Ways and Means Committee hearing with the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer. We discussed the Trump Administration Trade priorities to strengthen American businesses.
It was a pleasure having our 2025 Congressional App Challenge winner, Cody Li in D.C. – Cody created RehabAI, an impressive AI app designed to improve remote rehabilitation, inspired by his grandfather’s stroke recovery journey. This challenge is for middle and high school students, to learn more about our district-wide challenge, click here.
I met with my Small Business Committee colleagues for a markup, where we passed 7 bills, including two I introduced, The Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act of 2025 (H.R. 2965) and The American Entrepreneurs First Act (H.R. 2966) – both of these bills have now passed the House floor.
This May, we had the pleasure of celebrating the talented students who participated in our 2025 Congressional Art Competition at our annual reception. Congratulations to our Grand Prize Winner, Megan Li, whose artwork Reaching is currently hanging in the Capitol! Click here to learn more about this year’s Congressional Art Competition.
My Ways and Means colleagues and I met for a markup of our tax portion of the One Big, Beautiful Bill. After 18 hours, we passed the bill out of committee, delivering tax relief for American families, workers, seniors, and small businesses across the country.
The Small Business Committee hosted a Small Business Showcase, it was great to have BILT representing Texas-24!
In June, we launched the Congressional Creators Caucus, a bipartisan effort to recognize, support, and empower the rapidly expanding digital creator economy.
The House passed the American Entrepreneurs First Act of 2025, my common-sense legislation to ensure SBA funds go to American citizens, not to individuals or businesses with foreign or undocumented ownership.
Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, came to testify to the Ways and Means Committee. We discussed how Congress and the Trump Administration can continue working together to strengthen our economy and deliver results for the American people.
We hosted our annual Service Academy Potluck Breakfast to celebrate the newly appointed cadets and midshipmen from Texas-24 to the United States Military Academies. They are a bright group of young men and women eager to serve our country and represent North Texas.
On July 4th the Working Families Tax Cuts were signed into law - House and Senate Republicans united to pass this landmark legislation. This is a major step forward in securing our border, strengthening national security, and delivering historic tax relief for working families, seniors, and small businesses.
In August we hosted the fourth North Texas Job Fair at Globe Life Field in Arlington – this year was our biggest yet, over 35,000 North Texans came searching for new opportunities from over 500 employers offering more than 32,000 jobs and dozens of constituent service organizations ready to provide resources to North Texans!
It was great to join the Colleyville Rotary Club for one of their meetings. I was able to share updates on our work in Congress this year, including the benefits the Working Families Tax Cuts deliver to North Texas.
In September the House passed the Energy and Water FY26 Appropriations Bill which included two of my provisions to cut wasteful spending at the Department of Energy.
The Small Business Committee held a hearing on the role of SBA lending in supporting Main Street America. As the Co-Chair of the Franchise Caucus, I was able to talk about the great work already being done by this Administration to help franchisees find the financing they need to open or expand a business by bringing back the Franchise Directory, which was a vital financing tool discontinued by the previous administration.
The Ways and Means Committee met for a markup and advanced 9 bills out of committee. These bills were sent to the House floor and will help protect patients, families, seniors, and taxpayers – further improving the lives of Americans.
Our office hosted a special celebration for the students who completed Beth’s Bookworms. Each student was asked to track books they read over the summer, they all had to log at least 5, with many logging well over that! To learn more about this program, click here.
As you may remember, on October 1, government funding lapsed, resulting in a partial shutdown of federal services after Senate Democrats voted against a clean, non-partisan continuing resolution. Despite the shutdown, our offices in Washington, D.C., and Addison remained open, and we continued working every day to serve you and our community.
It was great to welcome SMU students to Capitol Hill during their Hilltop-on-the-Hill trip, where I gave them a behind-the-scenes tour of the U.S. Capitol and showed them a few spots you don’t always get to see!
In November, the FY26 Agriculture Appropriations bill included key provisions from my END Act, authorizing the FDA to destroy illegal and dangerous tobacco and vape products coming from foreign countries.
The Small Business Committee met for a full committee markup, where we passed the seven bills that were considered. These bills will help American small businesses thrive, by expanding access to AI, and removing burdensome regulations for our job creators.
December 3rd, my House colleagues voted to pass my bill, H.R. 2965 - Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act of 2025. This legislation will provide much-needed relief to America’s job creators after they have been burdened by years of overregulation. By prohibiting the SBA from taking any regulatory action that would increase compliance costs for small businesses, we will ensure small businesses keep more of what they earn to reinvest or hire new American workers!
The Ways and Means Committee had our last markup of 2025 where we advanced nine bipartisan bills that strengthen trade relationships with our allies, protect the rights of taxpayers, and ensure federal programs work the way they were intended.
I'm looking forward to another great year of delivering for Texas-24!! |
