Congressman Michael T. McCaul is currently serving his ninth term representing Texas' 10th District in the United States Congress. The 10th Congressional District of Texas stretches from the city of Austin to the Houston suburbs and includes Austin, Bastrop, Colorado, Fayette, Harris, Lee, Travis, Washington and Waller Counties.
Republican Leader of the Foreign Affairs Committee
At the start of the 116th Congress, Congressman McCaul became the Republican Leader of the Foreign Affairs Committee. This committee considers legislation that impacts the diplomatic community, which includes the Department of State, the Agency for International Development (USAID), the Peace Corps, the United Nations, and the enforcement of the Arms Export Control Act.
As the Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, it is my duty to oversee the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ensure that America’s borders are secure.
Over the last several years, Congress has provided billions of dollars to secure the borders, but without an end goal in mind, much of the spending has been done in an ad hoc fashion. To secure America’s borders, a national strategy and reliable metrics to measure border security effectiveness are essential.
During the 113th Congress, I introduced H.R. 1417, the bipartisan Border Security Results Act, which requires DHS to develop a strategy to gain operational control of the borders and develop verifiable metrics to measure progress. Ten years after the creation of DHS, I believe that both are long overdue. H.R. 1417 requires the development of metrics to inform border security progress and directs DHS to develop a strategy and implementation plan to gain operational control of the border within two years, setting a standard of 90% effectiveness at apprehending illegal border crossers and interdicting illicit contraband. Achieving this standard must be based on a solid understanding of illegal border crossings and trafficking of contraband.
My bill furthermore requires the Secretary to gain situational awareness through the use of sophisticated technologies and other means, giving our border agents the ability to predict changes in illegal activity. Additionally, DHS must develop a series of verifiable metrics to gauge border security progress. Lastly, this bill includes a series of verification provisions by outside experts to ensure that Congress is getting an independent assessment of the state of border security.
Rather than continue the resources first approach, this bill’s emphasis on effectiveness and results will ensure DHS is on the path to gain operational control of the border.
Sustaining economic growth continues to be one of our nation's primary challenges. That is why I support pro-growth economic policies that foster innovation and job creation. My plan rejects the big government cycle of “tax, spend and borrow” that discourages prosperity and economic growth.
Giving away your hard-earned tax dollars to companies that made poor and often unethical business decisions, and spending your money on pork projects that don’t create jobs only serves to grow our national debt. Economists share my concern that we are headed toward hyperinflation: prices will go up, the value of the dollar will decline, and interest rates on credit cards and mortgages will skyrocket. If we continue down this path, it appears that our children will be worse off than we are or their grandparents were. It’s not supposed to be this way.
I support a budget plan that will move Americans toward prosperity without spending record amounts of taxpayer dollars and without increasing the tax burden on families and businesses. Especially during a recession, our priority should be to help businesses succeed by creating a business-friendly environment with reasonable tax burdens and responsible regulations that won’t stifle job creation. Minimizing the tax burden on families will allow them greater flexibility to make ends meet. Lowering the Capital Gains tax will encourage private investment in our financial markets.
I helped lead the charge to ban Earmarks beginning in 2008. In 2011 when Republicans took back the House, we were able to permanently eliminate earmarks. Although they can be a valuable tool to local economies, the system was susceptible to waste, political gamesmanship and was abused to the point where Americans stood up and asked Congress to eliminate them.
Since coming to Congress, I have been an ardent supporter of energy policies that reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil and expand domestic production of economically viable sources of energy. America is blessed with an abundance of natural resources that should be developed responsibly. This is both good for our economy and our national security. My record in Congress reflects my “all of the above” energy strategy to keep energy costs low and support domestic energy:
Opposing Cap and Trade and Obama’s Radical Anti-Energy Agenda
Supporting the Keystone XL Pipeline
Advancing Offshore Energy Production
Promoting New Refineries
Expanding Nuclear Power
Clean Coal
Effective Domestic Energy Alternatives
American leadership on the global stage is critical. As a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I am responsible for oversight of State Department policy and promoting a responsible legislative agenda that bolsters international engagement with our allies, counters the aggressive policies of our adversaries, and advances the common interests of nations in defense of stability and democracy around the globe.
Health care reform must ensure that quality coverage is affordable and accessible for every American, regardless of income or pre-existing conditions. But it must not force Americans into a government-run health care system that would eliminate coverage they receive from their employer. Nor must it mandate that business or individuals pay for coverage. Every American must have the right to choose the health plan that best meets their needs and medical decisions must be made by patients and doctors, not government bureaucrats.
High Tech Caucus
Business is the engine of America’s economy and the High Tech sector is the engine of America’s innovation. Shortly after I was first elected to the United States House, I formed the Congressional High Tech Caucus. Our goal is to find ways to keep America’s tech sector strong and provide our domestic industry with the support it needs to remain on the cutting edge. Bringing together the best and brightest minds in the high tech sector generates the ideas that create high paying jobs and allows us to become a more efficient and competitive nation.
R&D Tax Credits
Essential to this effort is extending Research and Development tax credits. Keeping tax rates low is the key to keeping America business-friendly. It encourages innovation and ensures that businesses are competitive in a global market. It’s also the key to keeping our high tech, cutting-edge businesses headquartered in the United States. In 2010, as co-chairs of the High Tech Caucus, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and I collected over 120 Member signatures on a joint letter calling for R&D credits to be a part of any economic recovery legislation Congress considers.
Education
The future of our technology sector will also depend on how our children are educated today. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-related education allows high school students to keep up with rapidly changing technology and motivates them to pursue science and engineering degrees in college. I am proud that one of the few public high schools in the country to offer such a curriculum is the Manor New Technology High School, just outside of Austin.
In my view, the role of Congress is to support these efforts. My role as co-chair of the High Tech Caucus has enabled me to amplify the voices of businesses, particularly at the Austin end of CD10 which is has become one of America’s capitals of innovation. During the 110th Congress we held events to present various viewpoints on topics including Patent Reform, Cyber Security, the Nanotechnology Reauthorization Act, a Nanotech Showcase, and a panel discussion of the potential of Green Technologies and “green collar jobs”.
Green Technology
Green Technology encompasses American companies that are developing products such as cost-effective solar panels and wind turbines that could one day replace fossil fuels, semiconductors that use less energy while offering higher performance, hardware and software that create a “SmartGrid,” and Plug-In hybrid cars that will lessen our reliance upon foreign oil. Much of this technology is being developed here in America and has the potential to create thousands of “green collar jobs” in our 21st Century economy.
As Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee my top priorities are to address the al Qaeda-Hezbollah terrorist threat, border security, cyber security and fixing the Department of Homeland Security to ensure it is capable of carrying out its core mission of protecting the homeland. In addition, I am working to make the nation’s airport security system smarter and more efficient.
Being a Texan, border security is of the utmost importance to me. In November 2012, I authored the second edition of his report “A Line in the Sand: Confronting Crime, Violence and Terror at the Southwest Border”, which revealed the increased presence of Iran and Hezbollah in Latin America and their relationships with drug cartels that control smuggling routes into the United States.
I have also helped secure three Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Texas to provide law enforcement with better border surveillance and have worked towards identifying existing Department of Defense technologies that have proven successful in Iraq and Afghanistan, for use along the Southwest border without duplicating research and development, ultimately saving taxpayers money and making the equipment operational more quickly.
Cybersecurity is a critical element to protect both our national and personal security. Nation-states are using cyber tools to steal our country’s secrets and intellectual property. Hackers snatch our financial data and lock down access to our healthcare records and other sensitive information. It is clear that cyber-attacks are becoming incredibly personal, and the phones in our pockets are now the battlespace. This is why continued efforts on cybersecurity are imperative.
Over the years, I have championed a number of bills in Congress to strengthen federal cybersecurity efforts. In 2014, several cybersecurity bills became law, including one that authorized the cyber scholarship for service program and others that reinforced the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity roles and responsibilities. In 2015, the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 was signed into law, which improved cyber threat information sharing.
In addition, another bill I authored and helped pass the through House is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2017. This bill elevates DHS’s cybersecurity and infrastructure protection missions and establish a stand-alone operational agency to conduct this important work.
I continue to co-chair the Cybersecurity Caucus in the House to facilitate the cyber conversation among a broad range of stakeholders, and push for these important reforms. I also served as co-chair of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th and 45th Presidents.
Lastly, with a high concentration of high tech companies in the 10th Congressional district, I maintain a close working relationship with tech companies from Austin to Washington to Silicon Valley and have worked to include industry in shaping cyber security policy in order to promote information sharing and protect critical infrastructure to ensure our innovators are protected.
As the proud son of a WWII B-17 bombardier, I am inspired and awestruck by the service of our men and women in uniform. These brave patriots who defend our Constitution, values, and freedoms deserve the very best in healthcare, education, and financial assistance. We owe them each a debt of gratitude for their sacrifice and should ensure we are always doing everything we can to support them, including reforming our Department of Veterans Affairs. They deserve nothing less.
During the 115th Congress, my colleagues and I passed and President Trump signed into law a 2.4% pay increase for the military, bonuses for service members, and made permanent a temporary program to pay military widows and widowers. I have also co-sponsored legislation to issue grants assisting veterans pursuing higher education, housing stipends for individuals affected by extended school closures due to natural disasters, and for the VA to provide in-patient psychiatric care for certain veterans. I remain committed to working tirelessly on behalf of our veterans who commit their lives to keeping us safe.