The Conaway Chronicle

The Conaway Chronicle
September 27 , 2005 - Volume 1, Issue 10

Thank you for reading The Conaway Chronicle, a weekly review of my activities in Congress. I use this newsletter to let you know what's going on in Washington and what important issues are being debated in Congress.

Due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the anticipation of Hurricane Rita, much of the legislation we were working on before the August recess is still on hold. However, I was nonetheless busy with House Armed Services and Agriculture Committee meetings, as well as meetings with many organizations and constituents from District 11.

Capitol DomeLast Thursday, Congress passed the School Readiness Act of 2005 (H.R. 2123). This Act will close the gap between Head Start children and their more advantaged peers when they enter kindergarten. The National Head Start Association is a private non-profit membership organization dedicated solely to meeting the needs of Head Start children and their families. It provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families. H.R. 2123 will also address problems in the Head Start financial control system and strengthen early childhood services for disadvantaged children, with a renewed emphasis on education.

In other news, I was appointed by House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, along with nine of my colleagues, to serve on a Gas Price Task Force. The task force will help to find immediate solutions to ease the burden on all Americans due to the recent spike in Price at the pumpgasoline prices. High gas prices have the potential to derail our economy. A large number of factors contribute to the current spike in gas prices, including worldwide supply and demand for crude oil along with taxes and environmental regulations . This task force will seek to identify and eliminate any federal barriers that are contributing to unnecessarily high prices in the short-run. To find out more about the reasons for the increase in gas prices, as well as learn gas and energy-saving tips, click here.

Texas State SealOn Wednesday, I joined 22 members of the Texas Delegation in sending a letter to President Bush, urging him to take immediate action on the immigration problem along the Texas-Mexico border. I signed this letter, because I believe it is critical that the federal government secure our countries borders for the safety of all Americans. We cannot differentiate between border security and homeland security. This letter underlines the point that we need significant immigration reform that strengthens our borders and that does not include amnesty.

I would like to brag on Governor Perry and our state emergency management officials for the manner in which they Hurricane Ritacalmly and quickly responded to the threat of Hurricane Rita. After the devastation this country endured from Hurricane Katrina. Texas did not take any chances in putting our citizens in danger. Fortunately, the devastation caused by Rita was less severe than that of Hurricane Katrina. In the wake of Hurricane Rita, there were many concerns about the critical cluster of oil refineries along the Texas coastline being hard hit by the storm, causing gasoline prices to skyrocket as they did after Katrina. There was, however, very little damage to oil refineries and I am optimistic about the economy and anticipate a speedy recovery from this storm. My thoughts and prayers are with those who have suffered the damage of Rita on the Texas and Louisiana coast.

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