If you want to know the state of our political class, just review what has transpired over the past four weeks. First there is the John Boehner confessions in which he discovered that Barack Obama is not all that serious about cutting spending and the President's view that our present fiscal crisis as merely a revenue problem. The problem with Boehner's discovery is that this was self-evident for a long time that Obama's goal was always to grow government and transform America. Why is this so hard to believe for many beltway Republicans and a few conservatives to accept
This past Tuesday, the 83rd Legislative Session of Texas began in Austin at the Capitol building. The morning before the State Representatives and State Senators took their oath of office, I attended a Tex Mex breakfast for Republican Hispanic freshman State Representative Jason Villalba (HD-114) at the restaurant Juan in a Million. At the breakfast, Jason Villalba, who is the only Republican Hispanic freshman in the Texas Legislature, thoroughly thanked his family
The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Chairman Steve Munisteri has sent an open letter to U.S. Congress Speaker Boehner, expressing Texas’ GOP grassroots’ extreme disappointment with the recent tax-and-spend-but-no-spending-cuts “deal” cut with the White House. He also encourages the GOP Washington leadership to stand stronger against further “fiscal irresponsibility”, referring to the debt ceiling and tax debate starting already.
Please take a few moments to call your Congressman, Senator, and Speaker Boehner to encourage them to stand strong for free market solutions and bona fide
The common outcry on behalf of human rights … is false and illusory if the right to life … is not defended with maximum determination. - Blessed John Paul II, Christifideles Laici
After a two hour drive in the rain, and at times, hard rain and with low visibility, we managed to arrive on time. The Texas Capitol was filled with people waiting for the Senate and House to convene at 12:00 noon. I was looking forward to seeing Dr. Donna Campbell being sworn in as the Senator of Senate District 25 on the First Day of the 83rd Texas Session.
The following came in from NRA Spokeswoman Jacqueline Otto:
Fairfax, Va. – The National Rifle Association of America is made up of over 4 million moms and dads, daughters and sons, who are involved in the national conversation about how to prevent a tragedy like Newtown from ever happening again. We attended today's White House meeting to discuss how to keep our children safe and were prepared to have a
Georgetown Constitutional Law Professor Michael Seidman’s January 2nd, 2013 New York Times Op-Ed “Let’s Give Up on the Constitution” has created a stir. While some dismiss his op-ed as a rant based on frustration that House Republicans are raising mild protest to the President’s tax agenda, Seidman’s proposal carries monumental consequences for America and should be roundly rejected.
Seidman argues that America should abandon the Constitution because (1) America hasn’t historically
I received an email today from Illinois Senator Dick Durbin about gun control. Like most libs at this point, he is frothing at the mouth like a rabid dog on the issue of stealing your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Never letting a good crisis go to waste, Durbin and the extreme leftist wing of the Democrat party are jumping with joy at the thought
As the Texas Legislature begins its 2013 regular session, employers across the state are looking at proposed legislation to place tighter controls on preventing employee misclassification. Misclassification is a practice used by many unscrupulous companies where they take people who should be classified as hourly employees and instead classify them as 1099 subcontractors. This gives them an unfair competitive advantage over companies who properly classify their employees and cheats the state and taxpayers on many levels as
When I joined the Texas Workforce Commission in 2008, I was stunned by the lack of appreciation for vocational education -- even here in Texas. State educational policy had become more of a “one size fits all” approach to education, oriented towards making every student “college-ready.”
This elitist-designed educational policy, which viewed vocational education as a stepchild, had the unfortunate effect of choking off the pipeline of skilled workers both in Texas and nationally. Read more about Rediscovering Vocational Education
This past week, I was sworn in as the Representative for the new 10th Congressional District of Ohio. The newly created District is comprised of all of Montgomery and Greene counties, as well as a portion of Fayette County. Together they form a region with a tremendous amount of opportunity for growth and innovation - from downtown Dayton, to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, to the family farms and small businesses between downtown and the eastern line of Fayette County. However, it is up to the 113th Congress to tackle many difficult issues to ensure that growth is strong in the coming years. This includes putting our nation on a path
If you want to know the state of our political class, just review what has transpired over the past four weeks. First there is the John Boehner confessions in which he discovered that Barack Obama is not all that serious about cutting spending and the President's view that our present fiscal crisis as merely a revenue problem. The problem with Boehner's discovery is that this was self-evident for a long time that Obama's goal was always to grow government and transform America. Why is this so hard to believe for many beltway Republicans and a few conservatives to accept 
This past Tuesday, the 83rd Legislative Session of Texas began in Austin at the Capitol building. The morning before the State Representatives and State Senators took their oath of office, I attended a Tex Mex breakfast for 
The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Chairman Steve Munisteri has sent an open letter to U.S. Congress Speaker Boehner, expressing Texas’ GOP grassroots’ extreme disappointment with the recent tax-and-spend-but-no-spending-cuts “deal” cut with the White House. He also encourages the GOP Washington leadership to stand stronger against further “fiscal irresponsibility”, referring to the debt ceiling and tax debate starting already.
The following came in from NRA Spokeswoman Jacqueline Otto:
Georgetown Constitutional Law Professor Michael Seidman’s January 2nd, 2013 
I received an email today from Illinois Senator Dick Durbin about gun control. Like most libs at this point, he is frothing at the mouth like a rabid dog on the issue of stealing your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Never letting a good crisis go to waste, Durbin and the extreme leftist wing of the Democrat party are jumping with joy at the thought 
As the Texas Legislature begins its 2013 regular session, employers across the state are looking at proposed legislation to place tighter controls on preventing employee misclassification. Misclassification is a practice used by many unscrupulous companies where they take people who should be classified as hourly employees and instead classify them as 1099 subcontractors. This gives them an unfair competitive advantage over companies who properly classify their employees and cheats the state and taxpayers on many levels as 
What a difference four years makes!
This past week, I was sworn in as the Representative for the new 10th Congressional District of Ohio. The newly created District is comprised of all of Montgomery and Greene counties, as well as a portion of Fayette County. Together they form a region with a tremendous amount of opportunity for growth and innovation - from downtown Dayton, to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, to the family farms and small businesses between downtown and the eastern line of Fayette County. However, it is up to the 113th Congress to tackle many difficult issues to ensure that growth is strong in the coming years. This includes putting our nation on a path 
