Newsletters
As this year comes to an end and we enter into the new decade, I want to share with you some of our milestones from 2019. I was proud to participate in 112 events in all 13 counties of the 25th District, including public town halls, coffees and round-tables. I was also grateful for the opportunity to tour some of our small businesses and manufacturing headquarters, meet with local law enforcement and emergency first responders, host recognition events for our veterans, and honor our service members at Fort Hood and across central Texas.
Wednesday's vote to impeach the duly-elected President of the United States was truly historical.
However, its unique place in history is not for the reasons the Democratic party is so desperately trying to convey.
It will be remembered as the day that the Democrats, claiming a false moral supremacy over the desire of the American people, executed a deliberate and orchestrated plan to overturn a Presidential election.
As we head into the final legislative week of the year, not only will we be voting on the USMCA and government funding, we'll be taking up the Democrats' baseless articles of impeachment against President Trump.
While Democrats remain fixated on impeachment in Washington, November's newly-released Jobs Report shows that 266,000 jobs were added to our economy last month and our national unemployment rate still remains at its lowest level in five decades.
As we gather together with our loved ones today, I want to take a moment to reflect with gratitude on the great blessing we have living the United States of America.
We are, and always will be, the land of opportunity and a beacon of hope to the rest of the world. Though we may sometimes disagree on the finer points of policy or vision, we are immeasurably blessed with the guaranteed virtue of freedom. We have a responsibility to steward it well, and I pray we never forget it came at a precious cost.
True bipartisan victories are rare on Capitol Hill, and we happen to be staring at one right in front of us: the USMCA. Instead of accepting this win for Texas and our nation, House Democrats are more interested in pursuing political theater in the hallowed halls of Congress. Each of the Democrats' star witnesses testifying during this week's impeachment hearings failed to produce any evidence of "high crimes or misdemeanors" committed by President Trump. Their baseless inquiry continues at the expense of passing legislation that benefits the American people.
While Democrats continue wasting valuable time with bogus impeachment hearings, the clock on our legislative calendar is ticking down. We have yet to pass a budget that responsibly funds our government, which means next week we must vote on a short-term continuing resolution that kicks the can down the road and continues the cycle of wasteful spending. Our national debt just reached $23 trillion, taxes will be automatically increasing for families and businesses soon, and we still have not passed USMCA.
Today marks an important day for our country as we pause to honor the men and women who committed their lives in service to our nation. It is a day to reflect on the blessings of freedom and liberty, bought and paid for by those who answered the call to arms.
On November 5, 2009, many of us remember exactly where we were when we heard about the unspeakable evil unfolding at Fort Hood. Fourteen innocent Americans lost their lives that day, including an unborn baby who never had a chance at life. Since then, our community has come together to heal and we have shown the world the very best of America. Our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day to protect our freedom and we will never forget the stories of our fallen brothers and sisters.
It was a tremendous privilege today to present Filipino World War II veteran Jose Monzano Somera with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award bestowed by Congress on a civilian. Mr. Somera served from 1944-1946 with units of the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East against Japanese Imperial Forces, and enlisted in the Philippine Scouts, a regular Army unit, from August 1946 until April 1949. He later became a U.S. citizen in the 1950s.