Tag Archives: Congress
How Pete Sessions Lives the High Life on Corporate Donors’ Dime
For years, the powerful Dallas congressman has used a largely unregulated political fund to court powerful special interests with luxurious perks.
Golf outings at an exclusive country club. A catered suite at a Dallas Cowboys game. Swanky ski resort getaways in the mountains of Utah. Life is good for Congr...Read More
Texas Farmers are Fed Up With Trump’s Trade War, but Most Stop Short of Blaming Him
The state’s dominant ag products, valued at $18 billion, are in the crosshairs of retaliatory tariffs. Still, most farmers here are hesitant to criticize Trump.
Russell Boening, a Texas farmer and rancher who’s also president of the Texas Farm Bureau, is starting to feel the effects of escalating trade conflicts betwe...Read More
Stalled Program to Stem Farmer Suicides Gets a Second Chance in Congress
A USDA program to help farmers with mental health issues was authorized a decade ago but never funded. Now the U.S. Senate is proposing $2 million for the initiative.
Compared to the general population, farmers and ranchers are seven times more likely to take their own lives, a possible result of social isolation, financial s...Read More
Bunni Pounds Emerged from the Political Money Swamp to Run for Congress
Her job was to raise money for Wall Street’s favorite congressman. Now donors are returning the favor.
In late November, Bunni Pounds was wrapping up an impressive fundraising spree for Van Taylor, a Republican running for an open congressional seat in North Texa...Read More
Congress Never Funded Program to Prevent Farmer Suicides. Now It’s an Epidemic.
With farmers’ suicide rates higher than some veterans, rural advocates are pushing Congress to fund mental health care supports for agricultural producers.
After Judith McGeary discovered that several dozen sheep had been slaughtered by a mountain lion on her 160-acre ranch near Waco in 2015, she unexpectedly found...Read More
Thousands of Poor Texans Could Lose Health Care With Congress Distracted by ACA Repeal
Community health centers are set to lose about one-fifth of their total funding if Congress doesn’t act by Saturday.
UPDATE: The House Energy and Commerce Committee said Thursday that it will consider legislation to extend community health center funding next week. Advocates ...Read More
Will Hurd’s Guide to Running as a Republican in 2018
During a tour of Dairy Queens in his district, the West Texas congressman offered a master class in the rhetorical skills many Republicans are going to need this cycle.
It’s the best of times and the worst of times to be Will Hurd, the Republican who represents the 23rd Congressional District of Texas, a giant swath of Texas ...Read More
Who Really Gets Government Benefits In Texas?
It’s already difficult to qualify for Medicaid in Texas. The GOP health care plan would drastically shrink the program.
JOANNA WOJTKOWIAK Texas already has some of the strictest eligibility requirements of any state for poverty relief programs. More than 4 million Texans live in ...Read More
Rare Sighting of GOP Texas Congressman at a Town Hall Occasioned by Boos, Criticism
The crowd packed the bleachers of a high school gym in Flower Mound and Michael Burgess gave the impression of being surrounded....Read More