The Hill Report
This week, Congress recessed for the Memorial Day District Work period, providing Members of Congress the opportunity to recognize Memorial Day in their districts and meet with constituents.
On Monday, I attended the 67th Annual Memorial Day Service at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas. Each Memorial Day, Restland Memorial Park commemorates our veterans with a special celebration that includes an F-16 Missing Man Formation Flyover, guest speakers, live patriotic band music, 21-gun salute and over 500 American flags flown in honor of family loved ones.
As the guest speaker last year for this annual Memorial Day service, I was pleased to have my father, former Federal Judge and FBI Director William S. Sessions, deliver remarks in recognition of the men and women in uniform who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we all may enjoy the blessings of liberty.
As members of our military continue to serve our country in harm’s way abroad, I believe that we have the responsibility to support our troops and welcome them back home as they return from their deployments.
As you may know, DFW Airport serves as the first arrival point for troop returning from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, welcoming over 200 troops each day on their way home. Under the “Welcome Home a Hero” program, North Texas residents have greeted thousands of troops returning to the U.S. since the program’s inception in June 2004.
I applaud the thousands of dedicated and selfless volunteers who have positively impacted the morale and spirits of our military members and demonstrated our appreciation for their sacrifice in protecting our nation.
As a result, on May 9, 2007 I was please to introduce H.Res. 391, for the House of Representatives recognize the employees of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the North Texas Commission, USO, and the people and businesses of North Texas for their dedication to the “Welcome Home a Hero” program. I am proud to honor the valuable work of the ‘‘Welcome Home a Hero’’ program and its volunteers, expressing gratitude for their efforts to support our troops proudly serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I will continue working in Congress to support our men and women who are currently serving, our veterans who have so honorably served our nation, and for the honor of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Strengthening Education
On Thursday, I was pleased to join Education Secretary Margaret Spellings to present a $1.4 million Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant to the University of Texas System to implement a performance-based compensation system to address problems with teacher recruitment and retention in 27 high-need schools in seven Texas school districts.
The Teacher Incentive Fund is an essential component in President Bush’s plan to ensure that every student can achieve at grade level or better in reading and math by 2014. The Teacher Incentive Fund grant highlights the need to ensure that all students throughout Texas and the nation have the opportunity to learn from motivated, highly qualified teachers.
Goals of the TIF project include:
? Improving student achievement in high-need schools through a comprehensive strategy aimed at rewarding teachers and principals for effectiveness with performance-based differentiated compensation;
? Recruiting and retaining high quality teachers and principals in high-need schools defined by low student achievement and high concentrations of minority and economically disadvantaged students; and
? Recruiting and retaining high quality teachers in hard-to-staff subjects such as Mathematics and Science.
Secretary Spellings and I presented the TIF grant to UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof at Audelia Creek Elementary School in Richardson, Texas. UT has formed a partnership with seven school districts across Texas and is the first university to receive a TIF grant. The UT takes on the entire administrative burden of the project, including the development and maintenance of the required data systems. The grant presented this week will provide the UT System $1,438,787 for the first year of the project and a total of $25,588,131 over the five year lifetime of the project.
Richardson Independent School District (RISD) is the only North Texas school district currently served through this project, directly benefiting Audelia Creek Elementary, Thurgood Marshall Elementary, and Forest Meadow Junior High School.
I was pleased to join RISD Superintendent Dr. David Simmons and Audelia Creek Principal Michael Savage for this important announcement, and I look forward to working with them in the future to ensure quality education in our community.
Identity Theft Awareness Conference
Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the U.S. Along with crimes such as Medicare fraud, tax fraud, and internet fraud, identity theft threatens millions of citizens’ financial security every year.
To help citizens protect themselves from these crimes, the North Texas Crime Commission is partnering with the IRS and nearly 30 other local, state, and government agencies and private sector partners to host Scam Jam 2007.
Scam Jam 2007 is open to the public and will be held at the Addison Conference Center (15650 Addison Road) from 9 AM – 1 PM on Saturday, June 2. Admission and parking are free.
I am pleased to be the keynote speaker for Scam Jam 2007, where I will discuss identity theft and consumer fraud as well as what Congress is doing to give citizens the tools they need to protect themselves.
Federal, state, and local agencies will also provide presentations on internet fraud, elder fraud, counterfeit fraud, vehicular fraud, and tax scams. Scam Jam is a remarkably informative event to help citizens protect themselves from becoming victims of fraud and identity theft, and I look forward to meeting with North Texas citizens to discuss these important issues.
For more information, please contact the North Texas Crime Commission at 214.965.9000.
Economic News
Job creation continues to be the hallmark of our robust economy as today the Department of Labor announced employment gains for the month of May. Last month, employers added 157,000 new jobs, keeping the national unemployment rate at a historically low level of 4.5 percent. For 2007, monthly job growth has averaged a vigorous 133,000. Additionally, consumer spending and manufacturing are also on the rise, building on a strengthening economy.
Texas continues to be a strong contributor to our nation’s economic growth this spring. Texas added 18,600 new workers in April, leading to an annualized growth of 2.2 percent. With only 4.2 percent unemployment, Texas unemployment percentages remains below the national level.
Additionally, Dallas led the state in job creation for the month of April with 6,500 new jobs, according to the Dallas Federal Reserve. I am pleased our economy continues to strengthen on the local, state, and national levels, and I will continue to support pro-growth policies of tax relief to spur additional economic growth and job creation.