Veasey is an advocate for Texas’ middle-class families and is committed to creating jobs, improving public education, fighting for immigration reform, and ensuring access to quality healthcare and women’s reproductive rights.
Congressman Veasey was appointed in the 117th Congress to serve on the Committee on Energy and Commerce and House Armed Services Committee. Prior to his committee appointments, Rep. Veasey served on the Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Science Space and Technology.
Throughout his time in Congress, Rep. Veasey founded the first Congressional Voting Rights Caucus to address the immediate need to eliminate the barriers and discrimination too many Americans face at the polls. In the 117th Congress, he accepted his appointment as an Assistant and Regional Whip. In the 117th Congress, the Congressman was appointed to serve as a Whip for the Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce.
Education is the vehicle by which struggling families can move into the Middle Class and achieve the American Dream. It is imperative that we start providing our children the tools they need to succeed at an early age. That is why I support programs like Head Start and President Barack Obama’s initiative to bring universal pre-school to every state in our country.
As a Member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, I understand the need to focus on STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Doing so will guarantee that our children can thrive in today’s global job market. That is why I am an original co-sponsor of the “Stepping up to STEM Education Act,” which would allow more federal resources to go into local school districts to promote STEM education.
Our country must also invest in higher education. A person with an Associates, Bachelors, or advanced degree can make over $1 million more during their lifetime than someone with a high school diploma. As a member of the bipartisan Congressional TRIO Caucus, I firmly believe in providing educational opportunities for all Americans. Federal TRIO Programs like Upward Bound provide low-income middle school and high school students with the guidance and academic support to apply, enroll, and graduate from college.
I am also a co-sponsor of the H.R. 551, the “Fast Track to College Act,” which allocates federal grants to local school districts so they can offer dual enrollment and early college programs in high schools. This bill would allow school districts to compete for grant money that would allow students to receive both a high school diploma and an Associate’s degree.
With our country’s demand for energy growing rapidly each day, it is important to both meet that demand and protect our environment. We must responsibly meet our energy demands and protect our planet for future generations.
It is important to invest in and utilize renewable sources such as solar energy, wind, and hydropower to fill our country’s energy needs. While our ability to harness these resources has advanced greatly in the past decade, renewable energy sources still only make up a small percentage of America’s overall energy supply. Our national goal should be to expand the use of these resources so we can one day have a carbon-neutral energy supply. We must also face the reality that America is still in need of fossil fuels today.
The state of Texas is leading our country in energy production. As a Member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, I sit on the Energy Subcommittee where I’m working to encourage energy research and development to increase production from all sources, strengthen our nation’s energy independence, and lower energy production costs for families and businesses. Energy is an important issue and I believe Texas should continue serving as our nation’s energy capital.
I believe all Americans deserve access to quality and affordable health care. I am committed to ensuring the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is fully carried out and that constituents in the 33rd District receive needed care and services to lead productive and healthy lives. As part of the Congressional Black Caucus, I sit on the Health Care Taskforce that is focused on this important issue.
The Affordable Care Act was fully implemented by 2014 and has helped make every family eligible for health coverage. Among the benefits, the Act allows young people to stay on their parents’ insurance until the age of 26. Hundreds of thousands of young Texans are now covered as a result of the new law. The Affordable Care Act also makes Medicare prescription drug coverage more affordable. Since the law was enacted, Texans have saved over $2 million on prescription drugs. The law protects those with pre-existing conditions, covers preventive services with no deductible or co-pay, and provides many other critical protections and services.
As your representative in Congress, I’m committed to helping families become homeowners, eradicating homelessness, and ensuring safe and affordable housing options in the 33rd District. The soaring price of housing in the Metroplex has forced families to spend more of their income on housing costs. These prices limit the ability of families to pay for other basic necessities like health care and groceries. I am working with local leaders in the community and national advocates to expand and strengthen affordable housing options.
Recently, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded over $500,000 in federal funding to the Fort Worth Housing Authority (FWHA), which serves constituents in Congressional District 33. A grant of $250,000 will be used to improve the safety and security at Butler Place Public Housing Community and another $269,856 will go to the Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program that assists families with supportive services. In this time of steep proposed budget cuts, I promise to continue fighting to ensure that the 33rd Congressional District receives critical federal funding for housing, education, health care, and jobs.
As a minority, I personally understand and identify with the struggle for justice and equality. I recognize the importance of having a fair, effective and common-sense immigration system in our country. That is why I am a member of the Congressional Black Caucus’ Immigration Reform Task Force, and am working on this issue with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and my Republican colleagues. With over 11 million undocumented immigrants in our country, reform will strengthen our country and boost our economy.
I am an original co-sponsor of the Reuniting Families Act of 2013, which would allocate visas more efficiently and alleviate application waiting times. More importantly, this bill promotes the reunification of immigrant families that have been separated for far too long.
In order for our economy to prosper, we must allow talented individuals to contribute to the only country they have ever known. As an original cosponsor of the “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2013,” also known as the DREAM Act, I am committed to providing immigration relief to undocumented youth if they serve in the military or pursue a higher education. This legislation provides a pathway to citizenship to children brought to the United States through no fault of their own.
I believe that same-sex couples should be included in the immigration conversation and that protections should be extended to the LGBT community. U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents should be able to sponsor their “permanent partners” for residency in the United States. This is why I support H.R. 519, also known as the “Uniting American Families Act.”
On March 8, 2013, I held an immigration roundtable with Congressman Luis Gutierrez in the district. I brought together different stakeholders in the community and the overwhelming consensus is that reform is long overdue.
In October 2013, I became an original co-sponsor to H.R. 15, Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, a bipartisan immigration reform bill that will secure our borders, unite our families, protect our workers, provide an earned pathway to citizenship, and reduce the deficit by nearly $1 trillion.
It’s been several months since H.R. 15 was introduced into the House of Representatives, months too long for House Republicans to deny America a vote on a bill that will stop the separation of families and communities. That’s why I joined my fellow House Democrats in signing a discharge petition to demand a vote on H.R. 15.
I know the House has the votes to pass immigration reform: 200 Members, including 3 Republicans cosponsored H.R. 15, and another 30 Republicans have come out in favor of reform.
While America waits for House Republicans in Washington to bring immigration reform to the floor for a vote, we cannot forget about the invisible victims of the broken U.S. immigration process.
When immigration is in the news, scam artists see an opportunity. The delay in passing a comprehensive immigration bill has confused the public and allowed scam artists to prey on our immigrant communities. This is a serious national problem that causes suffering for Texas families and weighs on an already overburdened immigration system. By working with advocacy groups like the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), I crafted legislation that would allow victims of notario fraud to reopen their cases and immigrate lawfully. This legislation is just the first step towards stopping fraudulent immigration services in our nation.
I strongly believe that this is the year for comprehensive immigration reform. Immigration reform is the right thing to do for our economy, our security, and our future.
Our country has added 6.1 million private sector jobs in the past 2 years and the national unemployment rate has dropped from 10 percent to under 8 percent. America is moving in the right direction, but there is still much work that needs to be done. We need to ensure investments are made in areas like manufacturing, clean energy, infrastructure, and housing. These investments not only grow our economy, but also produce well-paying jobs.
As a member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, I am focused on research and development that will make Texas and the 33rd Congressional District more competitive. With employers like Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopter, Texas Instruments, and Samsung in the Metroplex, we need to invest in science, technology, research and development.
I am also a Member of the House Armed Services Committee and believe it’s important to invest in our military both for the sake of our national security and for job growth in the district.
Thousands of seniors in the 33rd Congressional District depend on Social Security and Medicare, which provide the financial and health protections necessary to keep seniors out of poverty. Nationwide, about 90 percent of Americans aged 65 and older receive Social Security benefits and nearly 2 in 3 get half or more of their income from Social Security. I fully support protecting our nation’s safety net from cuts that jeopardize the well-being of seniors.
Our parents and grandparents have worked hard over the course of their lives. That is why I oppose budget proposals that turn Medicare into a voucher program and end the promise that benefits will be guaranteed to seniors. Our country made a commitment to care for our parents and grandparents, and it’s important that we uphold and fulfill that commitment.
Today’s young Americans will retire one day and need these vital programs. For this reason, I oppose proposals that would push back the Medicare eligibility age. Increasing the eligibility age doesn’t lower healthcare costs, it just shifts costs onto seniors.
Rep. Marc Veasey serves as the Deputy Whip of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force chaired by Rep. Mike Thompson.
The Gun Violence Prevention Task Force was established after the tragedy at Sandy Hook and has grown to a membership of more than 165 Members of Congress.