August Recess Update

As the first weeks of August recess pass by, I’m thrilled to be back in the Eighth Congressional District of Texas. There’s no substitute for being home, traveling across my district and meeting with the great folks that I have the honor of representing. August recess is all about returning back to the great state of Texas and hearing first-hand from my constituents about the issues that concern them the most.

One thing that’s incredibly important to the success of Texans is passing a modern, updated trade agreement with our closest trade partners, Mexico and Canada. The United States Mexico Canada Agreement, or USMCA, is a trade deal that puts America – and Texas – first.

While in Navasota, I explained to the Texas Farm Bureau that as the nation’s number one exporter, Texas would benefit because USMCA preserves and expands the integration of our markets, enables more certainty, efficiency, and greater interregional investment, and supports higher paying jobs.

I also met with local healthcare practitioners and experts all across the district to hear from them what the most important healthcare issues facing our state are. In addition to protecting rural health and lowering drug prices, professionals from HCA Tomball, CHI St. Joseph, Encompass Health and Houston Methodist The Woodlands were all extremely concerned with the proposed socialist takeover known as Medicare For All.

If implemented, Medicare For All would kick more than 21 million Texans off their healthcare plans, including more than 600,000 people in District 8 alone. Plus, it poses a specific threat to rural areas. Not only would it increase wait times, but it would lead to an even greater shortage of doctors, which is already an epidemic in rural America. I know that the great folks living in these communities are the backbone of our nation, and they deserve access to affordable, quality healthcare.

While in Magnolia, I headed to the Magnolia Volunteer Fire Department, where we were joined by local teachers and police officers to discuss recent legislation I introduced, the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act. This act aims to repeal the unfair Windfall Elimination Provision, also known as WEP. Public servants like these have spent their working lives enriching our community, and it’s not fair that they aren’t receiving all of the retirement benefits that they’re entitled to. I’ll be meeting with more of our community’s retired public servants throughout August to hear their personal stories and get feedback on our plan to repeal WEP.

While discussing policy ideas is important and necessary to my responsibilities as an elected official, the best part of being home is always connecting with my neighbors and celebrating the communities we love. It’s events like the re-opening of TOMAGWA Magnolia, a healthcare ministry, that really encompass what I love so much about Texas – hardworking people doing what they can to make our state a better place to live.