ISSUES
BORDER SECURITY
I support strong borders that put Texas – and American – citizens first. I will work hard to push serious and strong immigration reform that limits the number of immigrants and refugees that can legally enter our country. Only those that are vetted, screened, and go through the legal process should be allowed to enter. I have spent time on the southern border while working as a Senior Advisor for President Trump. I understand the issues and I know the answers. Additionally, I strongly support the border wall. The men and women of Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) need the wall in place to effectively do their job and protect us from criminals, gang members, drug smugglers, human traffickers, and would-be terrorists that continue to cross our border every day. Border security is national security, and I will never apologize for fighting to secure our border.
SAFEGUARDING THE SECOND AMENDMENT
The Constitution is clear that our 2nd amendment rights shall not be infringed, and I will always defend our God-given right to keep and bear arms. I believe that law abiding citizens of this country should be able to have guns in their homes and carry them in public. I am a proud member of the NRA and have been a gun owner my entire life. I will work to ensure that no one can take away or limit our ability to defend ourselves. In Congress, I successfully helped lead the charge to remove any “Red Flag Law” provisions in the NDAA, as well as lead other initiatives to defend our right to keep and bear arms.
PROTECTING LIFE
I am Pro-Life and will never apologize for defending the life of the unborn. Every life is a blessing from God, and we must treat all life as sacred and do everything in our power to protect it. I was proud to introduce legislation in Congress to prevent the Department of Defense from funding abortion services at the taxpayer’s expense. So long as I am blessed to serve the people of TX-13 in Congress, I will always be a strong voice for protecting the unborn and defunding radical organizations like Planned Parenthood that prey on women experiencing crisis pregnancies to profit off ending the lives of their children.
PROMOTING SCHOOL CHOICE AND PARENTAL RIGHTS IN EDUCATION
Rather than policing pronouns in classrooms and indoctrinating our students with radical, woke, anti-American ideologies, we need to get back to teaching our students the basics like math, reading, and science. To me, this is just common sense. I am a strong believer in restoring vocational and technical training and cutting off the federal funding for corrupt teachers’ unions who sell out our students to line their own pockets. We need to be teaching our students how to think, not what to think. This is why I was proud to introduce the No Federal Funding for Teachers’ Unions Act which would prohibit the federal government from giving financial support to corrupt teachers’ unions.
GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
As a member of the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, I am committed to holding China and other responsible parties accountable for their role in the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese Communist Party must pay a price for the damage they inflicted upon our country from the Wuhan lab leak, and I will not rest until we get to the bottom of it. In addition, I will make sure the government overreach that destroyed livelihoods and put our children years behind in academic and social development never happens again.
FIGHTING FOR TEXAS AGRICULTURE
As a member of the House Agriculture Committee and as the representative from the top producing agricultural district in the state of Texas, fighting for Texas farmers and ranchers will always be one of my top priorities. Agriculture in TX-13 supports over 210,000 jobs and contributes to over $34 billion in economic output. From blocking the Biden administration’s overreaching WOTUS regulations to safeguarding our agricultural supply chains, I will never stop fighting for Texas farmers and ranchers.
RESTORING AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE
Growing up working as a roustabout in the West Texas oilfields, I know firsthand how vital oil & gas is to our economy and our national security. America – and Texas – are sitting on a goldmine of energy underneath our feet. We shouldn’t be begging countries that hate us for energy. In order to curb inflation and lower costs for consumers, we must restore American energy dominance, and that includes keeping the Biden administration’s hands off our gas stoves. I was proud to introduce the American Energy Independence Act of 2022 which reverses President Biden’s shutdown of the American energy sector and returns American energy to full production. The Left’s Marxist Green New Deal policies have decimated our energy industry and driven up costs for consumers, and I will never apologize for standing up and fighting to promote Texas energy.
STREAMLINING HEALTHCARE
As an Emergency Medicine Physician and Member of the Doctors Caucus, I will work relentlessly to lower healthcare costs. Health insurance, medical care, and the drugs that Americans rely on for their health and well-being are all far too expensive. I proudly introduced legislation that helps prevent rural hospitals from closing their doors and strengthens essential health care services in rural communities. The cost of healthcare is far outpacing the income for most people in this country. I will work to eliminate the monopolies in healthcare, continue to promote transparency in billing, protect our rural hospitals, reform pharmaceutical pricing and bring down the cost of drugs, and protect Americans from the liberal agenda and the socialist healthcare plans of the left.
TERM LIMITS
I strongly support term limits for all Members of Congress. Career politicians have done grave damage to our country. I proudly signed the term limits pledge to work towards ending the scourge career politicians have brought upon this country.
STANDING UP FOR VETERANS
As a veteran and former Navy Rear Admiral with 25 years of active-duty service to our country, I will always do everything in my power to support our veterans. We should consider our veterans a national treasure and we must make sure they get the benefits and services they have earned while defending our country and keeping us all safe. In Congress, I’ve led several letters and pieces of legislation to help those who’ve served. This includes, encouraging public-private partnerships to help build more VA medical centers in rural areas and supporting the modernization of the National Personnel Records Center to fix the records requests backlog plaguing veterans. I will also continue to work hard to make sure veterans get the benefits they have earned and eliminate the unacceptable backlog of disability claims.
STRONG NATIONAL DEFENSE
As a 25-year Navy veteran who has fought for our country on the front lines in some of the most violently contested regions overseas, I am in favor of a strong national defense and will never back down to protect and maintain our military dominance. Provisions that I successfully included in Fiscal Year 2024 NDAA will keep Texas’ Thirteenth Congressional District at the heart of supporting our military, provide historic pro-life protections, and prohibit funds from going towards the Biden administration’s harmful diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Also, due to my efforts, countless provisions were included in the bill that will ensure substantial benefits for Sheppard Air Force Base, the Pantex Plant, and the thriving defense-focused workforce within TX-13. We have the greatest, strongest, and most capable military on the planet, but we should not be involving ourselves in conflicts that do not serve America’s best interests. The Biden administration’s incompetence, botched Afghanistan withdrawal, bottomless funding to Ukraine, and prioritization of DEI and inclusivity measures in the military have weakened our posture overseas and has made the world a more dangerous place in the process. We must return to a strong America First national defense that instills fear in the eyes of our adversaries.
FIGHTING FOR LOCAL INDUSTRY
When I first ran for Congress, I made a pledge to never stop fighting for the people who I was elected to represent. I will always protect the industry of TX-13 and work tirelessly to support farmers, ranchers, the oil and gas industry, Bell Helicopter, Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, and other industries critical to the economy of the 13th congressional district. These industries are not only important to the district, but are also directly related to our national defense and to a strong national economy. I will pledge to promote and grow these industries in the district.
REIGNING IN GOVERNMENT SPENDING
Politicians in both parties spend way too much of our hard-earned money and, as a result, have caused runaway inflation that is crippling the middle class. If the United States government is to ever get our spending problem under control, it is going to take leaders who are unafraid to take a stand and hold the line by saying enough is enough. In Congress, you can always count on me to be a reliable vote for fiscal responsibility and limited government spending.