In an article for the Capitol Inside, Mike Hailey discusses Texas Senate District 4 Special Election candidate Rep. Brandon Creighton's perceived upcoming endorsement of Senator Ken Paxton for Texas Attorney General. Brandon Creighton, as well as Ken Paxton's run-off opponent Rep. Dan Branch, are both represented by seasoned political consultant Ted Delisi, which could turn into quite the predicament for Delisi. However, as an establishment Republican and a key lieutenant on House Speaker Joe Straus' leadership team, there is speculation that Creighton is simply using this endorsement to make inroads with tea party activists. Read more about Brandon Creighton and Dan Branch: Key Lieutenants for Straus Leadership Team

"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Would you tend to agree with that statement? Then let me ask you this: do people really care anymore? Do people really care for others and go the second mile for them when there is really nothing in it for them, other than being blessed by blessing others? I would say yes, and I can do even one better than that, I can give you an example. Read more about National Latino Peace Officers Association Hosts 2nd Annual Magnolia Youth Baseball Golf Tournament

Next weekend, I will be joining my North Texas congressional colleagues as well as Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz in hosting the North Texas U.S. Service Academy Forum. The forum is for North Texas middle and high school students who are interested in learning more about Academy opportunities.

On Thursday, Congressman Jim Bridenstine and I introduced complementary legislation, S. 2170 and H.R. 4286, to empower the private sector to create good-paying, American jobs and spur economic growth by harnessing our nation’s energy resources and removing federal impediments to energy exploration, development and trade. These bills will also provide a real reset of our foreign policy so we are no longer beholden to unfriendly nations for our energy needs, and can use our own resources to exert our influence around the globe, notably in Ukraine. Read more about The American Energy Renaissance Act

This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby case. The case addresses whether the ObamaCare “contraceptive mandate” infringes on Americans’ rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Currently, ObamaCare requires that employers provide health insurance for their employees that includes coverage for contraception and abortifacients.

I know that most of you know me as a political blogger, and I am. Not only do I love to write, I also like to read other blogs, mostly about exercising, cooking and some other political blogs. One food blog in particular that I love is a blog called Iowa Girl Eats. I found it completely by accident a few years ago and I fell in love

Today, I issued the following statement on H.R. 4278, the Ukraine Support Act, which passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support. This legislation includes both sanctions against Russia and support measures for Ukraine. H.R. 4278 also includes the Poe Amendment, which requires the State Department to produce a report on the potential short, medium and long-term impacts of increased U.S. natural gas and oil exports on Russia’s economic and political influence over Ukraine and other European countries. Read more about Passage of Ukraine Support Act

I joined with colleagues Thursday in sending a letter to President Obama, calling for sanctions on the Russian arms dealer Rosoboronexport. The letter outlines the egregious human rights violations that Rosoboronexport has engaged in, and calls for a ban on contracts with the company as a consequence of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

The letter is signed by Senators Cornyn (R-TX), Coats (R-IN), Blumenthal (D-CT), Murphy (D-CT), Boozman (R-AR), Risch (R-ID), Vitter (R-LA), Wicker (R-MS), Ayotte (R-NH) and Kirk (R-IL). The full text of the letter is below:

March 27, 2014 Read more about Cornyn, Colleagues Call on the President to Cancel All Contracts with Russian Arms Firm

As Chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, I held a hearing with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Jr. today to examine the Obama administration’s fiscal year 2015 (FY15) budget and its priorities. Members on both sides of the aisle raised numerous concerns with the priorities represented in the President’s proposal that cuts NASA’s funding by $185 million.

The President’s budget again seeks to fund an Asteroid Retrieval Mission (ARM), a mission that experts and Congress have sharply criticized. Congressman Smith highlighted testimony before the Committee

According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, two out of three Americans believe our country is on the wrong track and nearly six in 10 say that the economy has not even started to recover. Under President Obama, 20 million Americans are out of work, underemployed, or given up looking for a job.

Another recent poll found that a majority of Americans believe that the United States should “continue to be a world leader in manned space exploration.”

These two polls — one about Americans’ sense of our country being on the wrong track and the other about American leadership in space — have more in common than you might think.