With inflation remaining at a 40 year high, families will pay more for just about everything this Thanksgiving. A flight to visit family and friends will cost 43% more on average compared to last year. Grocery prices are up over 12%, leaving the chances of an affordable Thanksgiving dinner off the table for many Americans. Because of these skyrocketing costs, roughly a quarter of Americans are planning to skip Thanksgiving dinner altogether this year, according to a recent Personal Capital survey.

As of the October CPI report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, families across the country are still paying more for just about everything:

• Food at home is UP 12.4%
• Turkey is UP 23%
• Flour is UP 24.6%
• Chicken is UP 14.5%
• Eggs are UP 43%
• Milk is UP 14.5%
• Potatoes are UP 15.2%
• Canned fruit and vegetables are UP 18.7%
• Roasted coffee is UP 15.6%
• Butter is UP 26.7%
• Gasoline is UP 17.5%
• Airfares are UP 42.9%

Joe Biden’s historic border crisis continued with 230,678 illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border in October, according to a CBP report released on Tuesday. Sadly, this historic crisis is only about to get worse. Yesterday, a federal judge struck down Title 42, destroying one of our most powerful tools to quickly expel illegal immigrants and protect our communities. 

This week, Governor Greg Abbott declared an invasion at the Texas-Mexico border.He invoked the "invasion clauses" of the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution, giving him the power to take unprecedented measures to defend OUR state since the Biden Administration continues twiddling their thumbs instead of addressing the INVASION at our southern border. 

Texans are in imminent danger, and Texas leadership is right to use all powers under their authority to defend Texas' border and its citizens. Taxpayers in Texas are spending more than $3 billion on border security operations. Texans are being pummeled by a nearly two-yearlong border surge - left to defend their lives and their property against violent criminals and murderous cartels.

This week, I introduced the bipartisan Prison Staffing Reform Act to direct the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to review understaffing, devise a 3-year plan to fill vacancies, and implement the plan to submit yearly progress reports to Congress. The Bureau of Prisons oversees a system that includes 35,000 employees at 121 federal institutions containing over 125,000 inmates. When prisons are understaffed, everyone suffers, but especially the inmates. The crisis of chronic understaffing at the federal Bureau of Prisons is a major problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

• H.R. 9296 - To direct the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to conduct a comprehensive review of understaffing across the Bureau, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 9312 - To provide enhanced capabilities to combat transnational criminal cartels, and for other purposes. 
• H.J.Res. 95 - To provide for the resolution of issues in a railway labor-management dispute, and for other purposes.

It is a privilege to represent our district in Congress.  While we’ve faced many challenges in recent years, through strength and prayer, we have persevered. 

Please know that we are always a resource for you.  Call or stop by any of the offices (YOUR offices, we work for you), whenever you need assistance or want to talk about an issue before Congress.

For assistance or more information, please call or go online to visit us at weber.house.gov.

God Bless you and God Bless Texas!