On Thursday, February 16, I attended the state of the Brownsville Police Department to hear the priorities and initiatives that our men and women in uniform are employing and working towards to make Brownsville an even safer place. 

I was heartened to hear some great ideas and learn about the successes the department has had in recent years. I am grateful for all of our officers’ bravery and service. 

On Thursday, February 16, I sat down with Mayor of Harlingen, Norma Sepulveda, to talk about what I'm doing in Congress to better our infrastructure and strengthen our local economy. It takes collaboration with our cities to ensure we are able to adequately address the needs of our community. I am excited to continue building upon the projects that are in the works to address draining infrastructure and grow the Valley International Airport. 

On Wednesday, January 25, I introduced a bicameral, bipartisan piece of legislation H.R. 513, the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act with U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), U.S. Representatives Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13), Pete Sessions (R-TX-17), and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-7). 

This bill would add the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and protect America’s agricultural supply chain from improper foreign investment, especially by the Chinese Communist Party. 

We have a responsibility to protect American supply chains and industries. I will continue fighting to protect our economy and the livelihoods of South Texans. 

On Saturday, February 18, I was honored to celebrate the grand opening of the City of Sen Benito’s new Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum. 

From Narciso Martinez to Tony De La Rosa, we are home to a music scene like no other. I am glad to see San Benito honoring South Texas legends and preserving our culture. 

In January, I put out a call to our community asking for Valentine cards for our Veterans. This event has been successful in the past, but this year exceeded expectations. I was blown away by the amount of cards that arrived at my offices, and I am extremely grateful to everyone who participated in showing our love for our heroes. 

My office was busy ensuring our South Texas Veterans received their beautiful Valentine cards. Check out a few places they stopped by! 

On Tuesday, February 7, I joined 60 of my colleagues in urging the Biden Administration to disrupt Iran’s relationship with Russia and end the flow of Iranian-made drones containing U.S.-made parts from being sent to Russia. 

These drones have been used on Ukranian civilians in Russia’s egregious attack on a democratic country. We must prevent American made technology from falling into the hands of our adversaries ever again. 

You can read the letter here. 

On Thursday, February 9, I voted for H. Res. 104, Condemning the Chinese Communist Party’s use of a high-altitude surveillance balloon over United States territory as a brazen violation of United States sovereignty.  

The Chinese surveillance balloon and subsequent other unidentified objects over our country is dangerous. These items are actively targeting Americans and gathering intelligence on our soil. Our military should do everything it can to stop this blatant abuse of power by the Chinese Communist Party and make it clear that we will not tolerate this breach. 

On Thursday, February 9, I announced a grant of $15,361,194 for the Community Action Corportation of South Texas (CACOST) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

This grant will support CACOST Head Start programs throughout the 34th District of Texas in Kleberg, Kenedy, Willacy, Cameron, and Hidalgo County. The Head Start program provides families with kids ages 0-5 years with support for early childhood development and family well-being and engagement to ensure our kids have the tools they need to succeed in and out of school. 

I have no doubt that this grant will be put to good use and further CACOST’s mission to provide community and early education resources to South Texas. 

Read my press release here.