In the News
Swearing in for the 117th Congress was held on Jan. 3.
Although Republicans picked up some seats in the U.S. House after the Nov. 3 general elections, they remain in the minority (222-211). U.S. Rep. Roger Williams was elected to his fifth term in Congress. The Republican represents Texas District 25, which includes Lampasas County.
"If you take aside the presidential race, I think that [Nov. 3] was a real good day for Republicans and conservatives … we really closed the gap," Williams said.
A bipartisan piece of federal legislation introduced by Congressman Roger Williams will hopefully pave the way for all city and county residents to have access to high-speed internet in the future.
Recently, Congressman Williams met in Copperas Cove with local city and county leaders to talk about the Eliminate the Digital Divide Act.
The bill would create a $10 billion state broadband program that would allow governors to direct federal dollars to unserved and low-income areas so they can carry out individual broadband networks and receive low-cost broadband services.
City, county, and school officials throughout central Texas agree that improved access to high-speed broadband internet is critical to education, economic growth and overall quality of life, and rural areas are particularly vulnerable to a lack of adequate service.
The challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remain, but U.S. Rep. Roger Williams predicts better days ahead.
"I'm talking about getting back to normal," Williams said. "Because I'm telling you, masks and all that is not a new normal. We're going to get back to normal."
Local leaders and business owners shared their pandemic recovery success stories at a media conference with U.S. Rep. Roger Williams on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Burnet County Sheriff's Office in Burnet. They praised the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program, and other relief for those suffering financial stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Political and musical voices came together Thursday at a hallowed Austin landmark with a shared message: Don't let the music stop.
U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, held a morning news conference at historic country dance hall the Broken Spoke in support of the federal Save Our Stages Act, which seeks to earmark $10 billion to help independent music venues survive the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, called Plaza Theatre Co. an important and impressive Cleburne institution Tuesday as he stood on the empty stage addressing a small group of Plaza officials, board directors and supporters.
"I'm visualizing what this is like full, filled with children and families," Williams said. "And we're going to get that back. Because I don't believe this is the new normal for us. We're going to get back to normal."
During a Tuesday news conference in Gatesville, U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, said he has been proud to fight to deliver needed resources for front-line workers in health care to fight COVID-19 in Coryell County.
Rep. Roger Williams (R-Austin) has announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded a $1.8 million grant to Texas DPS to use in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The funding is intended to be used for the distribution of test kits, deployment of personnel to complete various tasks, and testing coordination statewide. The funding will also help provide medical care and transportation by aircraft of COVID test samples to provide test results.
Williams was joined by tourism and entertainment industry leaders in Fort Worth at a press conference at Billy Bob's Texas on Friday highlighting the proposed measure. Venue shutdowns have been tough on the business owners themselves and it directly affects artists and crews who would be performing on their stages, North Texas native and country singer Casey Donahew said.