Security
A strong national defense is vital in a post-9/11 world. That includes comprehensive border security. In keeping us safe, the government may be tempted to overreach in ways disturbing to those of us who value our liberty above all else. Spying on Americans in the name of security is unacceptable. Finding the right balance between our national security and our freedoms is essential in keeping Americans safe from terrorists who want to kill us because they hate our way of life.
October 23rd, 2017
Today I penned the following op-ed for the New York Times urging the State Department to relist N
October 17th, 2017
I’ve heard a great deal of disbelief come from contacts of mine regarding nuclear weapons and N. Korea. If we listen to ‘the media’, it sounds like they’re just making a lot of noise with no real threat of truly hurting us...
October 16th, 2017
Analysis of the Las Vegas shooter’s motivation and mindset is going to take months to process — however the short term impacts of the scale and severity of the massacre raises important issues about soft targets and the need...
October 13th, 2017
Homeland. Family. Patriot. Sacrifice.Those are the words on four panels that now stand side-by-side in Cedar Park, Texas. Notably cut out from the black granite panels is the silhouette of a soldier standing tall in salute,...
October 10th, 2017
The Texas Democratic Party deleted a tweet and apologized for rushing to judgment in their message linking the murder of the Texas Tech University Police officer to the state’s campus carry law. The law allows the holder of...
October 5th, 2017
The House Homeland Security Committee approved a $10 billion funding package for President Donald Trump’s promised border wall construction. The bill could be attached to legislation being debated to replace President Barack...
October 2nd, 2017
The FBI now says the shooter who killed 58 people and injured 515 others at a Las Vegas concert had no connection to an international terrorist group. The announcement from Special Agent in Charge Aaron Rouse at a news...
September 20th, 2017
Congressman Jim Banks (IN-03), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and I visited Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) yesterday.
September 15th, 2017
Over the course of the past several years, the risk of both personal and corporate data compromises has created an environment where offense is generally the best preventative defense.
September 12th, 2017
The Abolish Human Trafficking Act, bipartisan legislation sponsored by U.S.
October 17th, 2017
A military chief, General Eduardo Ano, told reporters yesterday, "Isnilon Hapilon and the last of the dreaded Maute brothers, Omarkhayam, are both dead." The Straits Times Reported yesterday that Isnilon Hapilon, the leader...
October 16th, 2017
Senate Bill 4, which was packaged and sold by Governor Greg Abbot as a means to improve the safety of Texans, will actually make Texas a more dangerous place for everyone to live.
October 16th, 2017
As a kid, I found a common game to play (especially for boys) was ‘King of the mountain’. The idea was that everyone would gather around a mound of dirt and one or two kids would get on top. The objective of the game was...
October 12th, 2017
I released the following statement today after my bill to honor the fallen U.S. Border Patrol Agent Javier Vega, Jr. for his service by renaming the Border Patrol checkpoint where he was assigned, along U.S.
October 6th, 2017
During the reign of Obama, there were several incidents which indicated his allegiance to Islam, but in 2015 he may have outdone himself. There is apparently evidence indicating that the FBI was complicit in the Garland,...
October 4th, 2017
As the band played the latest country western song, gunfire erupted from the 32nd floor window across the street. Twenty minutes later, when the shots stopped and the smoke cleared, 59 people were murdered and over 520 were...
September 21st, 2017
First let's be clear, the Harvey historic flood was going to be a problem even if we had gotten everything right, because of the biblical scale we suffered.
September 19th, 2017
Today on the Senate floor, I stressed the importance of the United States remaining proactive with national security measures by reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Excerpts of my remarks...
September 14th, 2017
The country is recovering from natural disasters that are taking place all over our land: on the West Coast and the Northwest, we have the wildfires; over the weekend, we had Hurricane Irma going through Florida, now through...
September 11th, 2017
Today on the Senate floor, I commemorated the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and discussed the importance of passing the National Defense Authorization Act to provide for our nation’s military....