On Monday, at the request of Congressman Culberson, the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition received over $4.7 million from the Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program, administered by the Department of Justice.

The competitive program, included in the FY 08 Congressional budget, supports local law enforcement agencies by providing them with resources to improve the capacity of their local justice systems.

Securing our border remains a top priority to Congressman Culberson, and as an appropriator, he works passionately to ensure that Congress provides law enforcement agencies with the resources they need to establish law and order and improve public safety. This funding will be distributed to several county sheriffs’ offices to boost law enforcement services, enhance coordination between local, state and federal agencies and increase patrolling along the Texas/Mexico border. The Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition works closely with the Customs and Border Protection Agency to coordinate security measures on the border.

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Hello, my name is Jonathan Dumire and I am very glad to have had the opportunity to serve as a Congressional intern this summer with Congressman Mike Conaway. The tenure of my internship was served during both Congress being in session and during recess. It was an important step for me to actually work in the office and be able to help serve the constituents of District 11. As it goes it is my dream and goal to serve the citizens of Texas in public life as an elected official. I tried my first hand at reaching that goal last November during my run for Midland City Councilman. I was unsuccessful but had a good showing. During the internship I was able to improve my office skills, meet and become friends with people from all over the country, and see how party politics and the art of compromise really happens on the national government level. With the help of a great staff and an understanding Staff Assistant I was able to learn many new things about our district and the way Capitol Hill runs. It was a dream come true when I was able to go and sit on the house floor where so many great Representative have sat before (one being Mike). It was a great experience and something I suggest any college student interested in politics look into, whether or not it is your field of study. It is an experience I will not forget and an opportunity that will benefit me for years to come. I will graduate from UTPB in Odessa, TX with my B.S. in Political Science in May and plan to go on to get a M.P.A. I hope that sooner than later I will be able to continue to serve the great citizens of District 11 and Texas.
God bless you and God bless this great country. Jonathan Dumire- Intern to Rep. Mike Conaway

At the start of this Congress, Nancy Pelosi published a document entitled "A New Direction for America." House Republicans, and the folks they are speaking to in the Capitol this August, believe that she is leading this House in the wrong direction.

Democrat’s Top 10 List of Broken Promises to the American People:

10) Every person in America has a right to have his or her voice heard. –Ignored by this Democrat Majority

9) No Member of Congress should be silenced on the floor, as has been the practice of Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives. –Ignored by this Democrat Majority

8) There should be regular consultations among the elected leaders of parties to discuss scheduling, administration and operations of the House. –Ignored by this Democrat Majority

7) There will be Bipartisan Administration of the House. –Ignored by this Democrat Majority

6) Regular meetings between Chairs and Ranking Members of committees and staffs should be held. –Ignored by this Democrat Majority

5) Bills should be developed following full hearings and open subcommittee and committee markups, with appropriate referrals to other committees. Members should have at least 24 hours to examine a bill prior to consideration at the subcommittee level. –Ignored by this Democrat Majority

4) Bills should generally come to the floor under a procedure that allows open, full, and fair debate consisting of a full amendment process that grants the Minority the right to offer its alternatives, including a substitute. –Ignored by this Democrat Majority

3) Members should have at least 24 hours to examine bill and conference report text prior to floor consideration. Rules governing floor debate must be reported before 10 p.m. for a bill to be considered the following day. –Ignored by this Democrat Majority

2) House-Senate conference committees should hold regular meetings (at least weekly) of all conference committee Members. All duly-appointed conferees should be informed of the schedule of conference committee activities in a timely manner and given ample opportunity for input and debate as decisions are made toward final bill language. –Ignored by this Democrat Majority

1) And maybe the biggest sham so far - The Suspension Calendar should be restricted to non-controversial legislation, with minority-authored legislation scheduled in relation to the party ratio in the House. –Ignored by this Democrat Majority

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Mike talks about the Republican efforts to demand a vote outside the House floor.

Iraq possesses the third-largest oil reserves in the world, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report stating that Iraq is increasingly in a better position to finance its own security and economic needs. The GAO said Iraq this year will likely earn between $67 billion and $79 billion in oil sales – at least twice the average annual amount Iraq generated from 2005 through 2007. In comments included with the report, U.S. Treasury said that Iraq is moving toward a stronger position to “ultimately shoulder the full burden of its development, reconstruction, and security programs,” while cautioning that the country still needs to improve its budgeting and accountability for funds.

To date, American taxpayers have provided nearly $45 billion for the reconstruction of Iraq. Additionally, more than 40 nations outside of the U.S. have pledged $15.9 billion in economic reconstruction funds to Iraq.

With the increase in Iraq’s oil sales, it is reasonable to ask the Iraqi government to shoulder more of the financial burden of reconstruction. We should continue working with Iraq’s leaders to put a budget system in place to fund and manage its own reconstruction costs. Congressman Culberson has worked with his colleagues in the House on numerous occasions to include language in spending bills that would shift responsibility for reconstruction assistance funding from U.S. taxpayers to the Iraqi government, and will continue to work toward this end.

The Congressman does NOT support the abandonment of Iraq or an immediate reduction in troop levels. Our soldiers, sailors, Airmen, and Marines have freed the people of Iraq from a modern-day Hitler, and they continue to protect them and us from international terrorist organizations. Our country will be safer when Iraq is a stable and functional democracy.

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Mike flew back to DC on Monday to continue his push for a vote on oil drilling on the House floor.

Mike discusses what high energy costs will do to agriculture prices with Texas producer Randy Gully.