Rep. Cuellar Proposes Amendment To Homeland Sec. Bill To Remove Funding For Border Wall [#TXPolitics 24/7]

Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) offered an amendment to the fiscal year 2019 Homeland Security Appropriations bill during full a committee markup to end funding for a border wall. The bill failed during a vote of the House Appropriations Committee, which is composed of a majority of Republicans.

The south Texas congressman's amendment would have completely removed the $5 billion in funding for Pres. Trump's border wall, and required it be spent for other items, including increased personnel, technology, and equipment, according to a news release from his office.

Ironically, perhaps, his bill would have also required Mexico to pay for any construction of the border wall, a call echoing Pres. Trump during the 2016 campaign, and often since.

Cuellar has been a vocal critic of Pres. Trump's proposal to build a wall or fence along the border. His district (map here) skirts the US/Mexico border, and includes Rio Grande City in the south, Cuellar's hometown, Laredo, as well as Encinal. It twists its way northward to the eastern outskirts of San Antonio.

The six-term congressman serves as member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. He will face no Republican challenger this November, but Libertarian  Arthur Thomas IV will appear on the General Election ballot.

Cruz Campaign Hits O'Rourke With "Hypocrisy" Charge Over Mother's Tax Conviction [TX Politics 24/7 blog]

The campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz has issued a blistering statement Wednesday accusing Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke of hypocrisy over his call for local businesses to pay taxes on sales made across state lines.

In the statement, Cruz campaign spokeswoman Emily Miller notes that O'Rourke's mother, with whom he frequently campaigns, pled guilty in 2010 and was fined $500,000 after an El Paso furniture store she owned hid interstate sales from the IRS.

The release in full:

Democrat Rep. Beto O’Rourke said in an interview published Tuesday that he wants to force businesses — such as a “local furniture store” — to collect taxes for sales made across state lines. His plan would add layers of government compliance costs to local businesses and require business owners in Texas to collect sales tax for other states.

It is an interesting policy position given his family history of breaking tax laws while running a furniture store in El Paso.

“Rep. Beto O’Rourke has been campaigning on ethics in government, but he’s been hiding his mother’s conviction for tax fraud, his personal stake in her furniture company and his profiting from the company,” said Cruz campaign spokeswoman Emily Miller. “Texans deserve elected officials with strong values and ethics.”

Charlotte’s Furniture, a company that was controlled by Rep. O’Rourke’s mother, Melissa, was convicted of tax fraud. On behalf of her company, she pled guilty in 2010 to making a series of cash deposits of just under $10,000 — designed to avoid IRS scrutiny. (The structuring law she violated was originally designed to help stop drug-related money laundering operations.)

Melissa O’Rourke was sentenced to pay a fine of $500,000. Suspiciously, parts of her case are sealed by the court.

Rep. O’Rourke was financially connected to this criminal activity by more than just family relationship. Rep. O’Rourke and Melissa co-own the shopping center where Charlotte’s Inc. resided. In 2012, Melissa gave her son what congressional records indicate was a $1 million to $5 million stake in the property.

Also, just one day before the court’s judgment, Melissa transferred the Imperial Arms Apartments from her husband’s estate to Rep. O’Rourke’s company, Imperial Arms LLC.

Rep. O'’Rourke has been praising his mother, who campaigns with him, but he doesn’t tell Texas voters about her business’s criminal activity. His recent statements advocating that local businesses become tax collection agents for every state in the nation stand in stark contrast to his mother’s history of tax evasion.

Note that Melissa O'Rourke has donated over $10,000 to her son Rep. O’Rourke’s campaigns.

Pictured: Beto O'Rourke and his mother Mellissa, in February. (Photo: Wall Street Journal)