Over the past two years, Rep. John R. Carter (R-TX-31) has accomplished numerous benefits for the 31^st District of Texas, and its surrounding communities. Throughout the 114^th Congress, Rep. Carter has fought, and won, on many issues important to Central Texas, Veterans, our military men and women, police departments and first responders. In fact, he had three pieces of legislation signed into law, including the POLICE Act, language from his READI Act, and securing Purple Hearts for the victims of the 2009 attack at Fort Hood. Today, Rep. Carter was sworn in as the 115^th Congress begins.

“I am proud of our accomplishments on behalf of the men and women of our military, our veterans, our first responders, and all of my neighbors throughout central Texas,” said Rep. Carter. “It is an honor to travel more than 1,500 miles almost every week to cast your vote in the House of Representatives. We have made great strides over the past Congress, and as we begin this next Congress, please know I will continue to fight relentlessly for our central Texas values in Washington, DC. I believe, we need more Texas in Washington, and less Washington in Texas!”

Though not a full list, some highlights from the 114^th Congress include:

·         Authoring the Resist Executive Amnesty on Defense Installations (READI) Act to prohibit illegal alien minors from being housed on Fort Hood or any other military base. This language was passed and signed into law under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017 (NDAA FY17).

https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/carter-votes-in-support-of-our-military-increase-to-troop-strength-readiness-pay/ and https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/carter-says-no-to-housing-illegal-immigrants-on-military-installations/

·         Authoring and passing the POLICE Act, which increases access to active shooter training. This bill was passed into law by President Obama earlier this year.

https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/cornyn-carter-active-shooter-response-training-bill-signed-by-president-police-act-will-allow-grant-funding-to-be-used-to-prepare-for-active-shooter-situations/ and https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/carter-to-offer-bill-to-combat-active-shooter-threat/

·         Securing Purple Hearts for the victims of the 2009 attack at Fort Hood. This was a long fought fight, that Rep. Carter won by having his bill passed and signed into law by President Obama in 2015.

https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/rep-carter-and-fort-hood-delegation-release-statements-on-fort-hood-purple-heart-benefit-announcement-by-secretary-of-the-army/ and https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/fort-hood-heroes-to-receive-purple-hearts/ and https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/sen-cornyn-sen-cruz-rep-carter-rep-williams-and-gov-abbott-celebrate-purple-heart-ceremony-with-victims-of-fort-hood-terrorist-attack/

·         Authoring language to permit concealed carry on military installations. This language was in the NDAA FY16 bill that was passed and signed by the President last year.

https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/rep-carter-sends-letter-to-secretary-of-defense/ and https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/carter-fights-to-protect-those-who-protect-us/

·         After securing funding for its construction, celebrated opening of Darnall Hospital at Fort Hood earlier this year.  This is a state of the art facility that the men and women of our military have earned and deserve.

·         Secured $61.5 million to upgrade barracks at Fort Hood.  It is a basic principle of readiness in the US Army to have high quality housing at The Great Place.

https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/carter-williams-announce-615m-for-barrack-upgrades-at-ft-hood/

·         Secured $49.8 million for renovation of the 1^st Cavalry headquarters at Fort Hood.

https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/rep-carter-and-rep-williams-secure-498-million-for-ft-hood-renovations/

·         Calling on the FBI to investigate the Veterans Administration, continuing to provide oversight of the investigation and cosponsoring the VA Accountability Act of 2015. The VA is in shambles, and through the relentless work of Rep. Carter, improvements, though slow, are being made at our Central Texas VA facilities.

https://carter.house.gov/opeds/veterans-deserve-a-reformed-va/ and https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/carter-supports-va-reform/

·         Growing the Army’s troop strength and readiness to keep our nation safe. Through the NDAA of FY16 and FY17, Rep. Carter has supported increasing our military strength and readiness, voted for a pay increase for our soldiers, and expanded retirement opportunities.

https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/carter-votes-in-support-of-our-military-increase-to-troop-strength-readiness-pay/ and https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/carter-votes-to-support-our-military/

·         Rep. Carter partnered with the City of Taylor to improve the Taylor airport and spur economic growth and opportunity in eastern Williamson County.

https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/carter-announces-29-million-to-upgrade-taylor-airport/

·         Through the support and leadership of Rep. Carter, significant highway projects were completed in central Texas, including SH-195 in Georgetown, SH-190 in Killeen, and I-35 in Salado.

·         Secured funding to bolster the Killeen Police and Fire Departments.  

https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/rep-carter-secures-1625-million-for-killeen-police-department/ and https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/rep-carter-announces-a-444-million-grant-for-killeen-fire-department/

·         His leadership over the past few years also led to mitigating the impact of threatened salamanders on growth and development throughout Williamson County.

https://carter.house.gov/opeds/habitat-for-salamanders-and-texans/

·         One of the most important jobs in a Congressional office is working on behalf of constituents in need of assistance with a government agency. In the past two years, the office of Congressman Carter closed more than 3,100 cases on behalf of central Texans.

·         Another important duty of a Congressman is providing nominations to students in the district seeking appointments to U.S. military service academies. Congressman Carter has awarded 60 nominations to our nation’s military service academies.  

For more information on Rep. Carter’s many accomplishments, please visit: https://carter.house.gov/press-releases/

Rep. Carter represents Texas District 31, which includes Fort Hood, the largest active duty armored military installation in the free world. He serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, co-chairman of the House Army Caucus, is on the Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice and Science and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

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