The latest Congress news from The Texas Tribune.
At this morning's TribLive conversation, state Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, talked about the political and personal consequences of having briefly challenged U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, in the Democratic primary for Congress. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/_BDB9589CMS.jpg)
At this morning's TribLive conversation, state Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, explained why in the world he'd want to be a member of the unloved, unlovable U.S. Congress. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/DSC_3127CMS.jpg)
Pending any legal intervention, the three court-issued redistricting maps (House, Senate and Congress) and the State Board of Education map drawn up by the 82nd Legislature are now in effect. Use our interactive to see which district you live in now and who represents you. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/NewDistrictsApp.jpg)
State Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, who planned to run for one of Texas' four new congressional seats, will instead run to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/659d9c913af964e1676a42c105618891/BD%20INC%20Castro%2001%202011)
The breakdown raised new questions about the way forward for Congress and the trickle-down effects for politics and federal spending in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/JebHensarling.jpg)
A balanced-budget constitutional amendment fell short in the U.S. House today. Only one Texas Republican, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, of Tyler, voted against the measure. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Screen_shot_2010-06-28_at_10.21.17_AM.png)
Use our latest news application to search federal campaign contributions to U.S. House and Senate candidates in Texas in the 2012 election cycle. Filter your search by candidate, party, chamber, donor, location and donation amount. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Money-House-and-Senate.jpg)
A panel of federal judges in San Antonio proposed new redistricting maps for the Texas Senate and the Texas House late Thursday, asking for comments by noon on Friday. They're trying to finish maps before candidates start filing on November 28 — a date set by the court. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/RedistrictJudges.jpg)
With American troops leaving Iraq and an eventual withdrawal from Afghanistan expected, advocates for tighter border security hope to bring military technology — and soldiers' expertise — to the border. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Homeland-Security-on-the-Border.jpg)
Gov. Rick Perry is proposing to bring a little Texas to Washington — with a “part-time citizen Congress” that doesn’t meet so often, and whose members earn only half of what they make now. Perry will also call for an end to lifetime appointments for federal judges, including members of the U.S. Supreme Court. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PerryJOBS-sized.jpg)
In a new web-only ad posted on YouTube, Gov. Rick Perry takes aim at congressional insider trading — the subject of a 60 Minutes segment last night. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/CM_Capture_1_8.png)
For those not as fortunate as U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin — Congress's wealthiest member — a low net worth poses a challenge. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CongressTriptych.jpg)
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn confronted U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday about allegations of a Texas-based gun-walking operation similar to the controversial Fast and Furious operation in Arizona. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/HolderCornyn_2.jpg)
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has asked congressional colleagues to investigate whether federal officials ran a gun-walking program in Texas similar to the controversial and now defunct Fast and Furious operation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e705b861bd9f1ac6a6572cc5fd9fec1d/BD%20INC%20Cornyn%20Border%2003%202011)
Proposed cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's budget could shutter the Kika de la Garza Subtropical Agricultural Research Center, where researchers work to ensure the safety of products that cross from Mexico to the U.S. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-AGClosure-001.JPG)
Aaronson interactively asks if stimulus funds created jobs in Texas, Aguilar on new voter registrar rules that could decrease voter turnout, Galbraith on a UT professor's debunking of climate change "myths," Grissom on an epic clash of El Paso political titans, Hamilton on the right's new higher ed guru, Murphy maps household data from the 2010 Census, Ramsey on a coming rules fight in the Texas Senate, Root and M. Smith on Rick Perry's performance at the New Hampshire debate and M. Smith talks public ed cuts with the state's Superintendent of the Year: The best of our best content from October 10-14, 2011. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/10102011_Tribweek.jpg)
Congress — including much of the Texas delegation — is poised to approve three trade agreements as soon as today that could boost the state’s exports. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Oil-Refinery.jpg)
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, attempted to turn up the heat Tuesday on Gov. Rick Perry by condemning a controversial proposal to offer Texas license plates with the image of the Confederate flag. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CM_Capture_2_9.png)
Texas’s congressional Republicans seized on new unemployment numbers to decry President Obama’s economic policies days after he stopped in Mesquite to sell his jobs plan. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/unemploymentgraphic_.jpg)
A nonpartisan group of Texas lawyers, law professors and other legal advocates today called on the U.S. Senate to quickly fill judicial vacancies that are slowing down the justice system in Texas and nationwide. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/021210-gavel.jpg)