December 6, 2015

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Congressional Report

Dear Friends,


This week the House passed the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which included language that would make the important change of including stretches of road from border ports of entry in my district in the national Primary Freight Network and allow border states to set aside funds specifically for border infrastructure projects.

The House also adopted the Support for Every Student Succeeds Act, which reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the primary source of federal aid to K-12 education, and the conference report, or compromise, between the House and the Senate represents a key step forward for our nation’s schoolchildren by replacing No Child Left Behind Act policies which have hampered the growth of our students.

I also gave an interview to Fox News on the Syrian refugee crisis, which you can view below.

My staff also attended a number of events in our district.

Lastly, I want to remind you that Open Enrollment for obtaining health insurance began November 1 and ends January 31, 2016. My office is hosting free health insurance workshops across the district, so please contact any of my offices if you are interested in learning more about your health insurance options.


Rep. Cuellar Helps Establish Freight Corridors, Border Infrastructure through Highway Funding Bill

On December 3, the House and Senate agreed to the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, H.R. 22, a bill that offers a five-year, $305 billion reauthorization of federal-aid highway and transit programs. The House voted 359-65 to accept the legislation and the Senate approved it on a vote of 83-16, sending it to the President’s desk for his signature. The legislation will allocate an average of $3.67 billion per year for the next five years for Texas transportation projects.

I have consistently advocated to secure transportation and infrastructure dollars for Texas’ 28th Congressional District and the Texas border region, and I successfully included language that would make the important change of including stretches of road from border ports of entry in the national Primary Freight Network.

The current Primary Freight Network misses key portions of our nation’s interstate system with its cap of 27,000 miles. However, this bill will increase the cap to 41,518 miles and absorb key stretches of road from border ports of entry, including Interstate Highway 35 from Laredo to San Antonio.

I was also able to successfully include language allowing border states to set aside up to 5 percent of statewide surface transportation funds for border transportation infrastructure projects. This will allow border communities more certainty around their infrastructure. This is vitally important in Texas 28 as we have a tremendous stress on our infrastructure as thousands of trucks and passenger vehicles move through our border crossings every day.

Click here to read more.


Congressman Cuellar Expresses Support for Every Student Succeeds Act
 
On December 2, the House voted 359-64 to adopt the conference report on the Every Student Succeeds Act. This bill reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the primary source of federal aid to K-12 education, and the conference report, or compromise, between the House and the Senate represents a key step forward for our nation’s schoolchildren by replacing No Child Left Behind Act policies which have hampered the growth of our students.

I am pleased that the House took this necessary bipartisan action to improve the experience of our nation’s schoolchildren. As the son of parents who understood the value of a good education, I pay special attention to the opportunities our schools can create and have fought to improve the educational experience for children in my district and across the country. The conference report adopted today upholds key school accountability provisions while lessening our reliance on standardized tests under the No Child Left Behind Act, which have been shown to be incomplete measures of student success. By eliminating what is known as Adequate Yearly Progress, the compromise instead replaces it with an accountability system that would allow individual states to best identify the needs of struggling schools.

Importantly, the compromise also includes provisions to help states improve low-performing schools, increase teacher quality and help direct additional funds to low-income and ESL students, support successful charter school programs and increase access to critical academic and extracurricular programs such as afterschool care and increased access to STEM education and arts education.


Speaking with Fox About Syrian Refugee Crisis


On December 1, I appeared live on "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on the Fox News Channel to discuss the Syrian refugee crisis and what we should be doing about it, as well as my role in the U.S. House Appropriations Committee on Homeland Security. Click here to watch the video.

 
Meeting with Texas 4-H Students in D.C.

On November 30, high school students from my district visited my Washington, DC, office while they were in town for the annual Texas 4-H Leadership Conference. These students won this trip for their success in competition at the state level. From left to right, Hunter Skrzycki from Adkins in Bexar County in District 28, Christian Dieterich from Denton County, Kayla Kopecki from Karnes County and Grace Buschfort from Comal County.

Constituent Spotlight: Jesus Garcia

On November 5, 94-year-old Jesus Garcia and his daughter, Erminia Molina, came to my Laredo District Office seeking assistance with obtaining his service medals from World War II. My constituent services representative, Sylvia Segovia, inquired to the National Personal Records Center on his behalf and was able to expedite Mr. Garcia's medals, including the Bronze Star, among others he earned while in combat.


Planning to Get the Word Out About Open Enrollment with the Enroll RGV Coalition
On December 2, my southern district outreach coordinator, Nichole Hernandez, met with officials during an Enroll RGV Healthcare Coalition meeting to discussed patterns that have emerged so far during Open Enrollment Season and strategies on how to better connect with the masses. Marjorie Petty (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Regional Director Region VI) and Sylvia Garcia (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-Health Insurance Specialist) participated in our forum and brought up some interesting ideas.


What is the Health Insurance Marketplace?
In this video by HealthCare.gov, you can learn about a new way to find health insurance: the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Marketplace is designed to help you find health insurance that fits your budget, with less hassle.




Sincerely,

Henry Cuellar

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Congressman Cuellar in the News
Neighborhood Office Hours this week:

Tuesday, December 8


Elmendorf City Hall
203 Bexar Ave
9:30am - 10:00am
Elmendorf, TX

Floresville City Hall
1120 D Street
10:30am - 12:00pm
Floresville, TX

La Salle County Offices
(every other month)
Court House Square
1:00pm - 2:30pm
Cotulla, TX

Encinal City Hall
107 N. Tejas
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Encinal, TX

City Hall Conf. Room
2 1/2 Miles, South
Farm Rd. 2360
8:00am - 9:00am
La Grulla, TX

Escobares City Hall
4851 East Hwy 83
1:30pm - 2:30pm
Escobares, TX

Rio Grande City, City Hall
101 Washington Street
10:00am - 11:30am
Rio Grande City, TX

Roma Community Center
502 6th Street
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Roma, TX

Thursday, December 10

St. Hedwig City Hall
13065 FM 1346
9:00am - 10:00am
St. Hedwig, TX

La Vernia City Hall
102 E. Chihuahua
1:00pm - 2:00pm
La Vernia, TX

Sutherland Springs
(call for appointment)
10:30am - 11:30am
Sutherland Springs, TX

El Cenizo City Hall
507 Cadena St.
9:30am - 10:30am
El Cenizo, TX

Rio Bravo City Hall
1701 Centeno Ln.
11:00am - 12:00pm
Rio Bravo, TX

Starr County Warehouse
Bldg. Pct. 4
FM 755 (La Gloria)
10:00am - 11:00am
San Isidro, TX

Starr County Self Help Center
10 Mayorga Street
11:30am - 12:30pm
Rio Grande City, TX
(La Casita)


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