Wishing you and your family a Blessed Good Friday and a Happy Easter weekend!

On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, I joined fellow members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) in hosting a roundtable with key stakeholders across the energy supply chain.  The goal of the roundtable was for these key leaders to share with T&I members what the stakeholders see as the major challenges affecting their industry and ability to safely and efficiently move American energy. 

Those pictured here include:  Rep. Weber (on the left), between Reps. Sam Graves (R-MO) and Bob Gibbs (R-OH);  Randy Reese (2^nd from right, with glasses), Executive Director of the Sabine-Neches Navigation District, and Roger Guenther (right), Executive Director of the Port of Houston.  Other participants included representatives of:  EQT Corporation, Trinity Industries, the Association of Oil and Gas Pipelines, and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.

Today I, along with several colleagues, introduced the No Aid for Abetting Illegal Immigration Act. The No Aid for Abetting Illegal Immigration Act would prohibit any U.S. foreign assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua until their governments develop and implement laws and policies that will cease the flow of illegal migrants through their countries into the U.S.

This much-needed legislation comes after a record year of illegal border crossings in FY 2021 (1,734,686), unfortunately we are on pace to shatter that in FY 2022 (838,685 to date).  Many of these illegal immigrants are coming from and through the Northern Triangle countries in Central America.  While the Administration—led by “Border Czar” Vice President Kamala Harris—is sending hundreds of millions of dollars to these countries in assistance, we are repaid by an influx of illegal immigrants.

We unequivocally believe that we should not be funding countries that directly contribute to our unprecedented border crisis.

Legislation cosponsored:

• H.R. 7492 - To prohibit the Department of Education from punishing States, local educational agencies, or elementary schools for failure to implement or carry out certain Federal policies relating to sex education in elementary schools, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 7493 - To amend title 11 of the United States Code to include firearms in the types of property allowable under the alternative provision for exempting property from the estate.

In honor of National Public Safety Telecommunications Week, I visited with Angleton Police Department dispatchers this week. They are so important to the safety of our communities and I appreciate the time they took from their day to share more about the critical work they do

Friends,

With Steve Dettelbach’s nomination to Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Joe Biden has chosen to put an anti-Second Amendment advocate in charge of the agency responsible for regulating America’s firearms industry. 

 
Dettlebach is not simply a “former federal attorney.” He’s a known gun control advocate, using his position as a US Attorney to push for gun control for years, publishing op-eds such as Requiring universal background checks makes sense. As a US attorney, he heavily weighed in on the Manchin-Toomey gun control proposal in 2013, condemning “[t]he Senate’s failure… to pass the universal background check bill” as “disheartening.”
 
In 2018, Dettlebach unsuccessfully ran for public office with an endorsement from Michael Bloomberg’s gun control group, Everytown for Gun Safety. Luckily, Ohio voters rejected his candidacy. 
 
During Biden’s campaign, he promised a host of new gun control initiatives if elected, including:

• Gun bans
• Restrictions on lawful firearm transfers
• Gun confiscation for misdemeanor crimes
• Gun confiscation for those dealing with mental health issues
• “[c]losing” the made-up “over the Internet” and fake “gun show loophole[s]”
• Disarming teachers and keeping schools as “soft targets”
• Universal Background Registration Checks, which are unworkable without a national firearm registry and was previously endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety.

For these reasons, I am opposed to his nomination. Dettelbach would neither act as a fair nor objective ATF Director, and his nomination is an attack on law-abiding Americans' Second Amendment rights. 

But I want to hear from you!

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 650,000 high school students have been involved with the nationwide competition.

Students submit entries to their representative’s office, and panels of district artists select the winning entries. Winners are recognized both in their district and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC.

The over-all winner of our district's competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol. The exhibit in Washington will also include artwork from other contest winners nation-wide.

• Artwork can be no larger than 26”x26” X 4” and cannot weigh more than 15 pounds including the frame (only winning artwork requires a frame)
• Artwork must meet  suitability and originality guidelines
• Artwork must have the “Student Information and Release Form” with the submission along with proper signatures
• Winning artwork is displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the United States Capitol building in Washington D.C. for 11 months
• Artwork winning 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th will be displayed in the district offices of Congressman Randy Weber for 11 months 

What prizes will my winner get?

The artwork for the winning student from each District will be displayed in the Cannon Tunnel for 11 months.

As a Congressional Art District First Place winner, one may be eligible to receive a $3,000 per year scholarship to SCAD, (Savannah College of Art and Design) should one apply and be accepted for enrollment. Accepted students may be eligible for additional scholarships based on their academic credentials, documented awards and recognition, extracurricular activities, volunteer or professional experience, and talents.

Submissions are due April 22^nd with judging the following week and reception TBD.

For more information visit: https://weber.house.gov/constituent-services/arts-competition.htm