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November 8, 2013 Conaway Chronicle: Town Halls, Visiting Companies that are Creating Jobs, and Paying Tribute to Our Veterans __________________________________________ |
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Thank you for reading The Conaway Chronicle, a review of my activities in Congress and in the 11th District. Town Halls in Eden, Junction, Menard, and Mertzon: I want to thank the folks in Eden, Junction, Menard, and Mertzon for taking the time to come out and talk with me today. They shared their concerns about Obamacare and reining in our out of control government spending. I appreciate the e-mails, letters, and phone calls that I receive, but nothing beats sitting down and speaking with people face to face.
Tour of Cadre Proppants in Voca:
I want to thank Chief Operating Officer Rex Tucker and the others at Cadre Proppants for giving me a tour on Nov. 5th of their sand plant in Voca. The plant, which is one of several sand plants in the area, provides sand to oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. Cadre Proppants employs more than 80 people. I enjoyed having the opportunity to meet many of those employees during my visit. The company can produce more than 1.5 billion pounds of Premium Hickory Sand annually from high-quality reserves and deliver them directly from the plant to well-sites.
"The Unaffordable Care Act:" Every day details continue to come out about Obamacare or what many of you call "The Unaffordable Care Act." A Nov. 5th Wall Street Journal news story revealed that Obama administration officials were aware that the President's promise that "If you like your insurance, you will be able to keep it," was not accurate. In the story, an unnamed "former official" said, "You try to talk about health care in broad, intelligible points that cut through, and you inevitably lose some accuracy when you do that." On Nov. 6th testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said "a couple of hundred problems" need to be fixed with the HealthCare.gov Website. These inaccuracies and implementation problems are just the tip of the iceberg. With Veterans Administration healthcare benefits and Medicare, our nation already had two federal health programs that face financial problems. It was not a good idea to create a third federal healthcare program. I voted against creating Obamacare and have voted several times to repeal it. Tour of Bold Ideas in Breckenridge: I want to thank the folks at Bold Ideas for giving me a tour of their new Breckenridge factory on Nov. 6th. The Canby, Ore. , company makes high-accuracy rifles for competition shooting. Local official deserve credit for creating a pro-business environment that attracts companies like Bold Ideas. The company, which makes AR-15 style rifles under the name Colt Competition, opened the Breckenridge factory this summer.
Honoring Our Veterans: I had the honor of introducing Sgt. Shilo Harris at an event honoring veterans in Midland on Nov. 7th. No words that I, or anyone else, can say can appropriately honor the sacrifice that Sgt. Harris and other wounded veterans made for their country. On Feb. 9, 2007, Sgt. Harris was serving his second tour in Iraq as a Calvary Scout when an IED blast injured him and killed three men who were in a vehicle with him. Sgt. Harris is a hero for what he did in Iraq before that day in 2007, but he is also a hero for what he has done since that day. He has faced head on the physical and emotional challenges of rebuilding his life. Sgt. Harris’ family also faced and overcame challenges. As we approach Veterans Day, I want to thank both our veterans and their families. The least we can do is thank Sgt. Harris and his family, and the rest of our country’s veterans and their families. I look forward to participating in the Veterans Day event at Fairmount Cemetery in San Angelo.
Justice John Bailey: I want to congratulate John Bailey for being sworn in as a judge on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Eastland County. Judge Bailey has been around the Eastland County Courthouse his entire life and has contributed much to the local community. His late father, Scott Bailey, was a county judge in the courthouse for 36 years, and in 1992 John worked in the courthouse as a clerk for 11th Circuit Chief Justin Austin McCloud. I am pleased that he is now a judge in the same courthouse. I am confident that thanks to his honesty and integrity he will be a credit to our legal system and dispense justice wisely. I presented Judge Bailey a flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol. His wife, Sarah Adams, is in the photograph with him.
As always, you can follow me on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Sincerely,  Rep. Mike Conaway, 11th District |
