Tag Archives: Congress

We need to understand what we did wrong

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So yeah, we need this. Two of the nation’s most influential experts on the coronavirus pandemic, both based in Texas, are calling for an independent, nonpartisan investigation of the U.S. response to the novel coronavirus. “We must prevent this from … Continue reading →

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Who needs testing?

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a great idea. The Trump administration is planning to end federal support for some coronavirus testing sites across the nation at the end of the month — including seven in Texas, where confirmed cases of COVID are spiking. An … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Interview with Michael Li

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, among the many monumental tasks that the Legislature has before it in 2021 is redistricting. That will almost certainly be done in a summer or even autumn special session, since Census data will be delayed by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

It’s really hard out there on the restaurants

Posted on June 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I feel for them, but none of this is unsurprising. Celebrating her birthday in Galveston, Melinda Prince walked out of Yaga’s Cafe on Thursday full of coconut shrimp. What she didn’t realize was one of the employees at the restaurant … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Runoff reminder: Congress

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Previously, we looked at the two statewide runoffs in the Democratic primary. Today we’re going to look at four Congressional primary runoffs. There are more than four total runoffs in Congressional primaries, but these are in the districts that are … Continue reading →

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Let’s talk “meaningful reform”

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Chief Acevedo brought it up, so let’s go there. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo’s voice cracked several times and his eyes welled as he railed against the death of George Floyd beneath a policeman’s knee and implored protesters to demonstrate … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

There won’t be furloughs after all

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A slightly confusing bit of good news. Houston will not need to furlough roughly 3,000 city employees nor cancel its police cadet classes in the upcoming budget year, Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin announced during a city council budget committee … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sharing is CARES-ing

Posted on May 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still trying to understand this. The state of Texas and its 12 largest counties are in a tug-of-war over who is responsible for handing out federal coronavirus relief funding for some small cities. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic … Continue reading →

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School districts set to get financial relief for coronavirus

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Texas will distribute the vast majority of a $1.29 billion federal stimulus package to school districts this summer, using it to deliver on a promise that schools will remain fully funded this school year despite statewide closures due to … Continue reading →

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Biden campaign says it will compete in Texas

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That is what we want to hear. Former vice president Joe Biden is planning to compete against President Trump in traditionally Republican states such as Arizona, Texas and Georgia as his campaign bulks up in size and turns to a … Continue reading →

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More runoff debates

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In case you had not seen this, as I myself had not before Sunday. Watch Democratic Candidate Debates Here! Every Tuesday and Thursday in May, join us for our debate series: Debate Schedule: Tuesday, May 5 – Harris County Precinct … Continue reading →

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What the next CARES act could mean for Texas cities and counties

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Short answer, a lot. Cities and counties across Texas would get more than $29 billion from the $3 trillion coronavirus relief package House Democrats want to pass as soon as Friday. That includes more than $1.7 billion to Houston and … Continue reading →

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Here come the furloughs

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We said this was gonna be bad, right? Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, facing an economy hammered by the coronavirus pandemic and collapsing oil prices, on Tuesday proposed to close an upcoming budget gap by furloughing about 3,000 municipal workers, deferring … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The bad guys will be spending a lot in Texas, too

Posted on May 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t get complacent. The Koch-backed Americans For Prosperity is planning an unprecedented push into Texas in 2020, throwing its support behind a slew of Republican candidates and expecting to spend millions as Democrats also commit more resources to the state … Continue reading →

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Here comes Everytown

Posted on May 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it. Gun safety groups planning to spend millions to turn Texas blue this year are rolling out their first round of ads, which say COVID-19 isn’t the only public health crisis facing the state. Everytown for Gun Safety, the … Continue reading →

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Appeals court rules that Texas Central is in fact a railroad

Posted on May 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Seems obvious, but these things are more complicated than you’d think. Planners of a Houston-to-Dallas bullet train scored a victory in Corpus Christi Thursday when a state appeals court said the company — despite not operating yet — is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Still trying to avoid total budget disaster

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That federal money sure would help. As the prospect of mass furloughs and severe spending cuts looms over the city’s next budget, Houston officials are sitting on a pile of coronavirus stimulus money that amounts to more than double the … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Chip Roy would also like you to die for the economy

Posted on May 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Truly, I struggle to understand this kind of thinking. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a firebrand freshman Republican, on Wednesday called for a return to economic normalcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to secure an “overall net positive outcome” for … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Comparing the April finance reports

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In my roundup of April finance reports for Congress, I said I’d do a comparison of the 2018 numbers to 2020. I’m a blogger of his word, so let’s have that look. Dist Year Name Raised Spent Loans On Hand … Continue reading →

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April 2020 campaign finance reports: Congress

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember politics? You know, races and finance reports and stuff like that? Yeah, it’s still happening, weird as that may seem right now. As we are well into April, the Q1 Congressional finance reports for 2020 are in, and … Continue reading →

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UT/Trib: Trump 49, Biden 44

Posted on April 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Our first post-primary poll. Donald Trump would beat Joe Biden by five points in Texas if the presidential race were held now, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. In a Trump-Biden contest, Democratic and Republican voters overwhelmingly … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

And now, a few words about tigers

Posted on April 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We have a lot of them in Texas, and as is the way in this state, there’s little to no regulation of them. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas, announced on Monday that he is co-sponsoring the Big Cat Public … Continue reading →

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Turner to ask feds for some relief

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t hurt to ask. Mayor Sylvester Turner is asking the federal government to let Houston use an estimated $400 million in aid to help close its ballooning budget gap and reduce the number of expected furloughs in the fiscal year … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas Central opponents see an opportunity

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Never waste an opportunity. Examination of a planned high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas should be halted as the country addresses the new coronavirus pandemic and the company rethinks its financial shape, 30 elected officials in Texas told federal … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

More on the potential delay of redistricting

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Some further details from the Statesman. On Monday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, all Census Bureau field operations would be canceled until June 1, and the agency would not be able to … Continue reading →

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Coronavirus and redistricting

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Big surprise. A delay in census counting because of the coronavirus pandemic could push Texas redistricting into legislative overtime next summer. Trump administration officials on Monday proposed delaying reapportionment counts and the distribution of redistricting data by four months, which … Continue reading →

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Metro will get some stimulus money

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Transit agencies in southeastern Texas are set to receive more than $300 million to stem revenue losses linked to COVID-19, federal officials announced Thursday, most of it coming to Houston. As part of the first round of Congress-approved stimulus … Continue reading →

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The digital divide

Posted on April 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Online learning is great, if you can get online. The lack of access to technology among students — commonly referred to as the “digital divide” — has come into sharper focus in recent weeks as school districts across Houston transition … Continue reading →

Posted in School days, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Coronavirus is taking its toll on the Census

Posted on April 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The timing of this pandemic really sucks. The nonprofit Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston had more than 15 tabling events planned over the next several weeks where volunteers were going to post up at festivals, fairs and other community gatherings … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Is it finally going to be Infrastructure Week?

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this: Lawmakers have been talking about striking a deal to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure for years. It might take a pandemic to finally get them to do it, and Texas officials are already … Continue reading →

Posted in National news, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Cities and counties are going to need their own bailout

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This story is about the rough financial future that the city of Houston faces as we go through the coronavirus shutdown, but it’s not just Houston that is in this position. As Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration continues efforts to slow … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The federal stimulus package includes money for elections

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

What we’ll do with it remains unknown at this time. The $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package Congress is working to pass this week includes $400 million for election costs states face in wrestling with how to hold high-profile 2020 elections … Continue reading →

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Does getting to 40% make you likely to win the runoff?

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I was talking with some fellow political nerds last week, and one of the topics was the forthcoming runoffs. As is usually the case, this year we have some runoffs between candidates who finished fairly close together in round one, … Continue reading →

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Elisa Cardnell suspends campaign in CD02

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Monday morning, Elisa Cardnell, Democratic candidate for US House of Representatives in Texas’s 2nd District, suspended her campaign. She released the following statement. “When we began this campaign no one thought this race was possible. Every rating … Continue reading →

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