Flood Damage

Heavy rains have led to devastating flooding in eastern portions of the 19th District during the past week.  Over the weekend I had the opportunity to visit the affected areas. During my visit, I took aerial and ground tours of Eastland and Stephens counties so that I could get a close look at the damage caused by the flooding.  From the air, I was able to get an overview of the entire situation and see homes that are under water and not accessible from the ground.  During the ground tour, I got a look at the damage to the roads, homes, and businesses as well as see the condition of important facilities such as the water sewage plant.

In addition, I have written to both President Bush and Governor Perry, urging them to provide any assistance possible.  Governor Perry has declared several Texas counties as disasters, including the 19th District counties of Archer, Callahan, Eastland, Stephens, and Young.  This declaration opens the door to financial and emergency assistance from the state government. 

Senate Immigration Bill Dies

This week’s update on the Senate immigration bill appears to be the last one for a while.  Last week the Senate rejected the legislation and put what is likely the final nail in the coffin of current efforts to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants.  Amnesty is bad policy and sends the message that immigrants are better off breaking our laws rather than respecting them.  The federal government should now renew its focus on enforcing current laws and securing the borders.  And Congress needs to do all it can to provide law enforcement with the tools and resources necessary to get the job done.

Celebrating Freedom

Americans gather together each year on July 4th for celebrations.  These celebrations provide not only a day off from work.  They also provide an opportunity to reflect on the freedoms we are blessed with and the sacrifices made to defend them.  Our Constitution guarantees that we have the political freedom to voice our opinions and campaign to shape public policies.  Our Founding Fathers also strongly believed that we have the religious freedom to worship our God according to our beliefs without fear of persecution.  In addition, sound tax policies can increase the economic freedom we possess by allowing the people, rather than the government, to spend their money as they choose.

We cannot take these freedoms for granted.  These freedoms were not easily obtained, and there have been forces throughout our history that have tried to take those freedoms away.  On this July 4th, I want to express my gratitude to all of the brave Americans who have protected those freedoms and ensured our independence.

--Randy