Texas Travel

Statement

The recent August work period allowed me to travel to all corners of our great state, visiting with Texans in El Paso, Wichita Falls, Amarillo, Dallas, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and McAllen. During my trip to Corpus Christi I visited Helix Subsea Construction, a small business that fabricates pipes for undersea drilling. The employees at Helix expressed their concerns about the impact the drilling moratorium is having on their business and livelihoods, including reduced hours and potential layoffs. On a later trip to the Corpus region I addressed the Bay Area Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, where I shared a legislative update and stressed the continued need for federal tort reform similar to successful reforms Texas already has in place. In Wichita Falls I gave an update on what's going on in Washington to the mayors, county judges, community leaders and residents there, while in El Paso I visited the new medical school and was briefed by community leaders on local projects. At both stops we discussed some of the issues that Texans are most concerned about, including job creation, border security, and health care. In Amarillo I toured the V-22 Osprey production facility at Bell Helicopter, a first-rate facility that provides quality jobs, pumps revenue into the local economy, and produces a second-to-none aircraft that has greatly assisted in the Global War on Terror.

I also visited with school children at Woodlawn Elementary in San Antonio, where I highlighted the dangers of childhood obesity. A recent study found that 30% of children ages 8 -- 10 in San Antonio were obese, and I announced my intention to offer new legislation in the future that will help combat this growing epidemic. Finally I traveled to South Texas where I made stops in McAllen, Hidalgo, and Edinburg. Here I visited one of the busiest ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border, and took an aerial tour of the levee-fence and Anzalduas Dam along the Rio Grande. This important infrastructure is in serious need of updates, and I assured local leaders I will continue to push for passage of my legislation that would reimburse local governments so they can make immediate repairs. I met with officials from Border Patrol and the International Water & Boundary Commission (IWBC), as well as mayors and law enforcement from neighboring cities. We also discussed my bill to improve security and reduce congestion at our ports of entry and the importance of continuing our partnership to meet both national security and local flood control needs.

Source