On July 8, 2024, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) addressed Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall in Texas as a Category One Hurricane earlier in the day. The storm has affected millions of homes and businesses across the southeastern and eastern parts of the state.
As President Biden revealed new rules regarding Title IX protections in April of 2024, which redefined “sex” to include “gender-identity,” an analysis by Austin News shows that Texas is one of 25 states that ban boys from playing in girls’ high school sports.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bill to establish a new Air Force Technical Training Center of Excellence (COE) at Sheppard Air Force Base (AFB) in Wichita Falls, Texas. The establishment of the Technical Training COE at Sheppard AFB aims to enhance Air Force readiness by centralizing and improving its technical training capabilities. Representative Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the Updating National Flag Use to Reaffirm Liberty (UNFURL) Act to amend the U.S. Flag Code, allowing uniformed military servicemembers to participate in the ceremonial unfurling of large American flags. This legislation also rescinds a recent Department of Defense (DOD) policy that interprets the U.S. Flag Code as prohibiting servicemembers from participating in such displays of the American flag at sporting events and patriotic observances.
On July 2, 2024, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) led a letter with 31 of his Senate Republican colleagues to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, voicing their objection to a California climate change regulation targeting railroads. The new restriction would significantly burden commerce and threaten one of America’s cleanest and most efficient modes of transportation—rail.
U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Jerry Moran (R-KS), alongside 18 other Senate GOP colleagues, have sent a letter urging U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough to address policy initiatives that they argue are making it more difficult for veterans to receive care, including oncology, emergency, and mental health services.
On July 2, 2024, a bipartisan coalition of Texas lawmakers, led by U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), urged Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to allocate San Antonio International Airport (SAT) one of the new long-haul, round-trip flights to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). This request follows the enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which secured five new round-trip flights to and from DCA from locations previously excluded from direct flights.
As of June 2024, Texas experienced a 20.6% increase in prices of goods and services since January 2021, compared to the nationwide trend of a 20.1% increase.
Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard continue to collaborate in securing the border, aiming to halt the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas. They also seek to prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal activity between ports of entry.
Governor Greg Abbott has amended and renewed a disaster proclamation initially issued on July 8, 2022, due to exceptional drought conditions in several Texas counties. The proclamation, confirmed by the Texas Division of Emergency Management, acknowledges that these drought conditions persist in many counties across the state, excluding Bexar County.