Texas GOP Vote

Wednesday, the House unanimously passed H.R. 6364, the bipartisan Frank Buckles WWI Memorial Act. The bill was introduced by Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) along with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).

This legislation (1) establishes a commission to commemorate the centennial of World War I; (2) re-designates the Liberty Memorial of Kansas City as the “National World War I Museum and Memorial;” and (3) establishes a new, stand-alone World War I Memorial on the National Mall.   Read more »

Football is back, and that means the holidays will be here before we know it. As our families start to prepare and get excited, it’s easy to forget that many families will have an empty chair at the dinner table this year. At each table, they hold a spot for their loved one who is serving our country overseas in our military.   Read more »

After 10 years as an Army infantryman, Sgt. Anthony Weir had a difficult time finding a good job as he transitioned from service in Iraq to civilian life. Although he remained in the National Guard, Anthony worked as a jail guard, security guard, carpet cleaner, and most recently a pizza delivery driver to support his wife and four children.

As reported by the Amarillo Globe-News, Anthony’s job as a pizza delivery driver landed him on the wrong side of a gun, when a teenage customer held a semiautomatic pistol to his stomach. Fortunately, the Army veteran of Iraq made his way out of that

These are reflections from a recent trip to New York around Saint Patrick's Day.

Twice terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, the second being the attack on 9/11, but often forgotten is the first that occurred on February 26, 1993. That attack killed 6 people and injured a thousand more when an explosion erupted in a garage. The first attack was the first warning of what laid ahead. The 9/11 memorial venerates those who died in both attacks and reminds us of what happened so that this day should never be forgotten. Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, four new versions of the World Trade Center will surround the 8 acre ground featuring two waterfall ponds

When History is finally written about the Obama Administration, it may record how a President managed to lose two wars after inheriting one winning war and a strategy to win the other. Obama has one accomplishment, killing Osama Bin Laden, but that will be forgotten as American soldiers pull out amidst two countries in crisis and sacrifices made wasted with inept diplomacy abroad and a failure of the Obama Administration to make a case for his foreign policy at home. Obama never spent any of his political capital to defend his Afghanistan policy, and the American people have now abandoned their own support for a war that even President has given up on.   Read more »

Recent media reports on the difficulty returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan face in finding jobs as they transition to civilian life raise some important issues. How do you translate their military skills and experience to civilian workforce needs?

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is addressing that issue in a number of ways. Two examples of this are the Texas Veterans Leadership Program and the College Credit for Heroes initiative.

For 10 years, thousands of American troops have fought against terrorism and for the liberation of Iraq. Many have sacrificed their lives on the altar of freedom on behalf of people in a land halfway around the world, leaving their families with the memory of their fallen heroes. Meanwhile, American taxpayers have spent billions of dollars on the military equipment used during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now, the U.S. is withdrawing from Iraq and thousands of our desert warriors will soon be enthusiastically welcomed home.   Read more »

Wednesday, I with members of the Texas National Guard’s 36th Infantry Division, who recently returned from a year-long tour in Southern Iraq. Members of the division shared their observations on the current situation in Iraq and National Guard operations and deployments. Brigadier General William Smith, who serves as Commander of Domestic Operations for the Joint Forces Headquarter of Texas, is a constituent of mine in the 21st district.

The men and women of the Texas National Guard 36th Infantry Division deserve our deep gratitude for their service to our nation.

Will Obama lose Iraq? This is not an insignificant question, since Obama inherited a winning situation in Iraq, but now he is in danger of making our sacrifice in Iraq meaningless. The goal of the incoming Administration should have been to establish a relation with the new government while allowing a drawdown of our troops, but Obama simply failed to look at the long term strategic thinking in recruiting Iraq in becoming part of a bulwark against a resurgent Iran.

There is one word to describe Obama’s foreign policy, incomprehensible. No one can truly make sense of this policy other than to say, if it is the wrong move, it will be done. Case in point, Libya. Obama procrastinated when Gaddafi was on the rope and this delay allowed the Libyan dictator to regroup and consolidate his advantages over the Rebel forces. When Obama decided to intervene, he gave the leadership role to France and Great Britain and lead from behind; allowing a stalemate to occur. The only advantage that the NATO has is simply