U.S. Representatives Bill Flores (R-TX), Peter Welch (D-VT), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) have introduced bipartisan legislation to address issues surrounding the fuel mandates of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Food and Fuel Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 5180, limits the RFS mandate to levels that our nation’s cars, trucks, boats and other small engines can safely accommodate. “In today’s market, the RFS is hurting consumer choices and increasing food and fuel costs for our ...
Read more
By: Mike Copeland About 40 local business and community leaders will fly to Washington, D.C., on Monday for three days of meetings with lawmakers to discuss national issues that may impact Central Texas during a turbulent election year and to present their priorities in the areas of economic development, education, health care and transportation. The office of Rep. Bill Flores, a Republican representing District 17, which includes Waco, is coordinating the trip, which will include a contingent f...
Read more
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a resolution, H.J. Res 88, to block the Department of Labor’s finalized fiduciary rule. Congressman Bill Flores (R-Texas) released the following statement regarding passage of the resolution: “Over the last several years we have seen a decline in the amount of income the average American is saving for retirement. Despite this troubling trend, the Obama Administration continues to put forth rules that hurt hardworking American families. The Department ...
Read more
By: Susan Ferrechio The largest faction of House conservatives has issued a set of recommendations for Republican lawmakers on issues like welfare reform, defense spending and repealing Obamacare, as GOP leaders assemble a party agenda that House Speaker Paul Ryan hopes will attract voters in November. The Republican Study Committee released six recommendations, which correspond with the six task forces Ryan has assembled to construct the House GOP agenda. "As the largest caucus in Congress, we...
Read more
By Peter Sullivan The conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) on Friday submitted its recommendations for a Republican replacement for ObamaCare as it seeks to shape a plan being formed by a group of House chairmen. The recommendations come from the RSC’s already-existing legislation, the American Health Care Reform Act, which would completely repeal ObamaCare and replace it with a new system. “This bill relies on conservative principles and increased state flexibility to transform our top...
Read more
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed six bills aimed at increasing accountability at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Congressman Bill Flores (R-Texas) issued the following statement regarding the passage of these bills: “The IRS has lost the trust of the American people. The agency’s lack of accountability is evidenced by its politically based attacks on conservative organizations like the Waco Tea Party, sending out millions of dollars of potentially fraudulent tax refunds, p...
Read more
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 2666, the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act. Congressman Bill Flores (R-Texas) issued the following statement regarding its passage: “Hardworking American families are tired of the government overreach coming from out-of-control Washington bureaucrats. The FCC does not have the authority to regulate broadband internet rates. Today, the House took a stand to maintain innovation and keep bureaucrats out of internet rate regulation...
Read more
By: Naomi Jagoda Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Thursday that the Internal Revenue Service "is the most feared federal agency in the country." "I wish I could say 'Happy Tax Day,' to you, but there really isn't anything good or happy about it," Hatch said at a press conference hosted by Americans for Tax Reform (ATR). The event came several days before the April 18 tax-filing deadline. Hatch called the process of filing taxes an "onerous annual chore." He added that ...
Read more
By: Alex Gangitano Lawmakers and a live pig in an American flag hat joined forces on Wednesday to expose pork-barrel spending in this year’s Congressional Pig Book. This year is the 24th edition of the Citizens Against Government Waste’s book, which documents spending on questionable projects that lawmakers inserted into the budget. The release is especially timely due to the attempts to restore earmarks from both sides of the aisle, according to the organization. “The American people don’t beli...
Read more
Staff Report An art piece by Ester Araujo, a student at A&M Consolidated High School, was awarded the 2016 Congressional Art Award for Texas’s 17th District. The piece titled “Rhythmic Stance” competed against 67 other entries. It will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol in Washington for a year. Araujo also won a $3,000 scholarship to Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia and two round-trip tickets to Washington D.C. She was honored Monday at a reception at the Martin Museum of Art at Bayl...
Read more
