***TEXAS WEEKLY TAKES A HOLIDAY*** We're taking a quick summer break. We won't publish the next two weeks, but we'll be back Aug. 22. Thanks for reading!

House and Senate leaders hammered out a $17 billion agreement to fix the problems at the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs. Reports of manipulation of wait lists to hide long delays in service led to calls for reform. The House passed legislation on Wednesday, and final passage is all but assured before Congress leaves on its August recess.

Congress will go into its August recess without passing legislation addressing the border crisis. The Senate on Thursday failed to pass its emergency funding bill, which would have provided $2.7 billion to bolster operations at the border. Earlier in the day, the House pulled from the floor a much smaller $659 million funding measure.

Admiral William H. McRaven on Tuesday was named sole finalist for the position of University of Texas System Chancellor. Best known for coordinating the Navy SEAL operation that killed Osama bin Laden, McRaven succeeds Francisco Cigarroa, who is leaving to resume his surgical career.

Former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro on Monday was sworn in to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He is the agency's 16th secretary.

Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office filed a brief Monday with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage is constitutionally sound and a matter for voters, not courts, to decide.

Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Leticia Van de Putte proposed five debates against her GOP opponent, Dan Patrick. The debates, should they occur, would take place in San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Houston and the Rio Grande Valley.

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