The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - November 20, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, November 20th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lausches, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the state of Texas has offered 1,400 acres of land in Starr County to the federal government so that the Trump administration can build facilities used to stage its intended mass deportation efforts. General Land Commissioner Don Buckingham made the offering in a formal letter to President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday. Buckingham wrote, quote, The Texas General Land Office currently owns a 1,402-acre tract roughly 35 miles west of McAllen. My office is fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration, and Customs Enforcement, or the U.S. Border Patrol, to allow a facility to be built for the processing,

Starting point is 00:00:59 detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation's history. Trump and his team, especially border czar-to-be Tom Homan, have made clear their intention to launch a mass deportation of foreign nationals in the country illegally, beginning with those who have committed crimes in addition to entering the country outside the permitted avenues. Next, the state of Texas will accept a modest water allotment from Mexico to cope with the strange supply problems from which the Rio Grande Valley is reeling. Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to accept Mexico's offer of allowing 120,000 acre-feet of water to pass from the San Juan River into the Rio Grande that Texans will be able to use. Mexico is on pace to be 1.3 million acre-feet behind its 1.75 million acre-feet commitment

Starting point is 00:01:51 every five-year period under the 1944 Water Treaty titled Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande, a period that spans from 2020 to 2025. The annual allotment from Mexico under the treaty is 350,000 acre-feet of water. South Texas legislators wrote a letter to the Biden administration back in April asking for the White House to step in and force the issue, pushing Mexico to adhere to its obligations. The administration has not replied to the letter. In other news, President-elect Donald Trump made Make America Healthy Again a theme of his campaign, a message underscored by his nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the next Secretary of the Department of

Starting point is 00:02:37 Health and Human Services. Here in Texas, lawmakers have filed a wave of bills addressing the state's food system, public health, and other related issues. Senator Bob Hall filed a wave of bills addressing the state's food system, public health, and other related issues. Senator Bob Hall filed a bill that, if passed, would prohibit the selling of food products that contain any ingredients that received an mRNA vaccine unless properly labeled. The showdown over COVID-19 vaccine mandates came to a conclusion during a third special session last year, after legislation was passed that would prohibit private employers from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment. Kennedy's nomination by Trump is a signal that skepticism toward government mandates of vaccines could be carried into the next presidential administration. Last but not least, Governor

Starting point is 00:03:21 Abbott announced on Wednesday that U.S. Foods will expand its existing food distribution and warehouse facility in Buda, Texas, creating 165 new jobs and more than $120 million in capital investment. U.S. Foods received a Texas Enterprise Fund grant of over $1 million. According to its website, the TEF, quote, awards deal-closing grants to companies considering a new project for which one Texas site is competing with other out-of-state sites. The fund serves as a performance-based financial incentive for those companies whose projects would contribute significant capital investment and new employment opportunities to the state's economy. Thanks for listening. To support The Texan, please be sure to visit thetexan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

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The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - November 20, 2024

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