Dear John,

Recent News

On September 15th, I, along with House Leader Kevin McCarthy and my Republican colleagues, announce our Commitment to America. Our promise is to create an economy that’s strong, a country that’s safe, a future that is built on freedom, and a government that’s accountable. 

I am proud of this new direction for our country. These last two years have been some of the most difficult times in recent history. It's time to stop reckless spending and get inflation under control. Just two years ago, we were energy independent under Republican leadership and under our new plan, we will get there again. 

I encourage everyone to visit the Commitment to America and call my office with any questions you have.

Border Update

Since President Biden took office and Democrats came into control two years ago, over 3.5 million illegal immigrants have been apprehended crossing our border. In 2021, there were 1,734,686 encounters at our border. Now a little over halfway through 2022, we have already reached 2,150,639. Of these encounters, 1,501,102 were single adults and 140,186 unaccompanied minors.

The lack of border security allows this crisis to continue and enables the suffering of thousands of innocent children. In FY2021, drug seizures on our border increased 134%, and Customs and Border Protection seized 11,201 pounds of fentanyl. This is just what was seized. In 2021, U.S. drug overdoses due to fentanyl have skyrocketed. Last year has been the deadliest, with over 100,000 overdose deaths, and is now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45.
 
What is happening on our southern border is impacting every American. It affects our homes, our communities, and our families. It's time for the federal government to do its job. Come January, I look forward to standing alongside my colleagues in honoring our Commitment to America and creating a nation that's safe.

D.C. Update

S. 1098 – Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act. Republicans had a sensible, more tailored alternative to S. 1098 that Democrats did not allow to be voted upon. I voted against S. 1098 because it will add authorities to the executive branch that will potentially expand the number of individuals eligible for President Biden's student loan debt transfers. I oppose Biden's student debt scheme that inappropriately transfers to the backs of all taxpayers the debt voluntarily agreed to by individual students – at a cost to taxpayers of over $500 billion.

H.R. 6448, the Invest to Protect Act of 2022, is a bill for which I voted YES, and passed the House with bi-partisan support. This bill creates a new grant program exclusively for law enforcement agencies with fewer than 125 officers. The grants will support efforts to improve the recruitment and retention of local law enforcement officers. With rising crime across the country, it is imperative that our local law enforcement agencies have the resources to make our communities safer.

H.R. 8542, the Mental Health Justice Act of 2022, is pushed by "Defund the Police" Democrats, whose actions have resulted in increased crime and made our communities less safe. This bill "reimagines" the role of law enforcement by creating a federal funding source to help replace law enforcement with mental health professionals when responding to an emergency involving a mental health concern. This "reimaging" idea endangers the lives of health professionals and makes our community less safe. Therefore, I voted NO on this bill.

H.R. 6833 is the Continuing Resolution to temporarily fund the federal government. I voted NO on this bill. Democrats in Washington have failed to address the most basic duty of funding the government. Democrats have spent several months causing and exacerbating crippling inflation and a recession by increasing taxes and spending billions we don't have. This bill to continue funding the federal government does not address the border crisis, runaway inflation, the supply chain crisis, or the opioid deaths associated with drugs like fentanyl coming across our open southern border. With the passage of H.R. 6833, Democrats have set up another government funding showdown during the unaccountable lame-duck period prior to the beginning of the next Congress.

District Update

This past month I've spent a considerable amount of time in Washington D.C., but I'm glad to be headed back home to spend time in the district catching up with my constituents and participating in some local community events. I look forward to celebrating the fall festivities with everybody!

If you haven't been to a high school football game in a while – go cheer the team on, it's always fun to be out supporting our local community team, and I know our players love the support. I had the wonderful opportunity to do the coin toss at the Battle of 287. There is nothing quite like Texas football games. It's important we spend time together as a community, and what best way to do so than at a Football game, baseball, soccer, or volleyball game, and other student activities? Take time to visit the harvest festivals, attend city and chamber events, take classes, start volunteering, find a church…get to know all that the community has to offer you and your family.

In September, I did have the opportunity to visit with the City of Midlothian leaders and speak at a Legislative Series for the Midlothian Chamber. It's important to me to understand the needs of the cities in our area and how I can help during this time, especially as inflation drastically affects our communities. These are important conversations that allow me to open vital dialogues with local, area, state, and federal leaders and agencies. It was also great to visit Daymark Living in Waxahachie and meet many of the residents and staff and tour this wonderful facility for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

I have a full calendar of upcoming engagements for October, and I hope you can join me at one or several events happening in our community. Contact my office if you need help with any casework, and we will be happy to provide assistance. You might see our district team out and about, so be sure to say hello to them and introduce yourself. They are here to be a resource for you.

There is no better time than FALL and no better place to live than TX-06.

Every day, I try to begin my day with scripture and not social media or the news.  Scripture gets my day started and headed in the right direction. 

Ecclesiastics 3:1 - There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens

Constituent Highlight

This month for our Constituent Highlight, I want to recognize Waxahachie Police Chief Wade Goolsby and congratulate him on his retirement after serving our community for 42 years in law enforcement.

Wade Goolsby has faithfully served our community for 42 years as a law enforcement agent and currently serves as the Waxahachie Chief of Police. Wade started his career with the Arlington Police Department, where he worked in Patrol, Investigations, and Professional Standards. After obtaining the rank of Sergeant, he went to work for the Coppell Police Department as Deputy Chief and stayed ten years before accepting the position of Police Chief for the Southlake Department of Public Safety. After approximately three years in Southlake, Wade subsequently accepted the position of Assistant Chief with the Seguin Police Department and, after six years with Seguin, was selected as the Chief of Police in Waxahachie. He has been with the Waxahachie Police Department for over seven years. Chief Goolsby has many accomplishments in his career, but he has said that he is most proud of the positive, engaging culture that has been developed in the Waxahachie Police Department. Throughout his career, he challenged himself to leave every department better than it was when he started there. After 42 years, he is leaving the profession with the satisfaction that he did his part to make it better. 

Walk with Jake

Walk with Jake content

Sincerely,





Jake Ellzey
Member of Congress