Vietnam veteran receives belated Purple Heart in Woodville Beaumont Enterprise By Manuella Libardi | Nov. 12, 2015 Link On May 13, 1969, Craig Metcalf crouched down on the ridges of Hill 937 in South Vietnam, putting pressure with his hand on a wound he had sustained to his upper-right thigh. The 21-year-old radio and telephone operator from Woodville had been moving up the steep and heavily fortified Ap Bia Mountain when North Vietnamese forces attacked. Metcalf was hit by shrapnel from a rocke... Read more

Washington, DC – Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved two amendments put forth by U.S. Rep. Brian Babin (TX-36) to a multi-year surface transportation bill that overwhelmingly passed the House. The first amendment, which Rep. Babin co-authored with Rep. Blake Farenthold (TX-27), would ensure the same weight limits that are in place right now for certain trucks on certain stretches of roads would remain the same on Interstate 69. On the House floor, Rep. Babin explain... Read more

Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Brian Babin (TX-36) issued the following statement today after President Obama rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline: "While the President’s decision is certainly not surprising, it is nonetheless the wrong one for America. The vast majority of Americans support Keystone – including a bipartisan majority of Congress – because it is good for the economy and strengthens America’s energy security. By kowtowing to radical environmentalists and rejecting tens of thous... Read more

President Obama rejects Keystone XL project Beaumont Business Journal | November 9, 2015 | Link President Barack Obama rejected the proposed Keystone XL pipeline Friday, Nov. 6. The announcement came days after TransCanada, the company building the pipeline, asked that its permit application be paused due to another challenge to the project in Nebraska. "This morning, Secretary (John) Kerry informed me that, after extensive public outreach and consultation with other Cabinet agencies, the State ... Read more

Budget deal continues the path of fiscal suicide By U.S. Rep. Brian Babin | The Baytown Sun Last week, when most Americans were sound asleep, President Obama and a few Congressional leaders rolled out a massive 144-page “bipartisan” budget deal that was negotiated in secret. On top of a giant $1.5 trillion debt-ceiling increase, this so-called “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015” also grew government spending by an additional $80 billion over the next two years. This alone was offensive enough to ea... Read more

Washington, DC – U.S. Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) took to the House floor on Wednesday night to speak out about the grave threat associated with the U.N.-run refugee program. Babin urged his colleagues to join him in supporting his legislation, the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act (H.R. 3314), which immediately suspends the program to provide Congress time to fully assess the national security risks and investigate its financial burden on federal, state and local taxpayers. To view ... Read more

Washington, DC – U.S. Rep. Brian Babin (TX-36) issued the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives elected Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to be the next Speaker of the House: "Today, I joined a nearly unified House Republican Conference in electing Paul Ryan to be the next Speaker of the House. Along with many of my conservative House colleagues, I have met directly with Chairman Ryan to gain his assurance that he will stay focused on the conservative policies that form the major... Read more

Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Brian Babin (TX-36) issued the following statement today after voting against H.R. 1314, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015: “This budget deal is exactly why the American people are so fed up with Washington. I couldn’t be more disappointed and frustrated with both the substance of this budget-busting agreement, as well as the way it was negotiated in secret and rushed through Congress. “With a $19 trillion national debt, it’s unfathomable that Congress would ... Read more

Measure would make ATF speed up rulings on new bullet types 10/26/15 | by Chris Eger | Guns.com A Republican-backed bill with the strong support of gun rights groups aims to speed up how the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives approves the next crop of alternative ammunition types. The measure, introduced Thursday by U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, with 16 GOP co-sponsors, would require the agency rule on proposed waiver applications to armor-piercing bullet regulations within 6... Read more

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, a group of bipartisan Members led by a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Gene Green (D-TX) introduced H.R. 3823. This legislation would provide direct hire authority to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) with an emphasis on creating opportunities for women, veterans, and minorities. Shifting hire authority from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directly to PHMSA would streamline and expedite the hiring proces... Read more