Texas Border Business
Gonzalez Leads the Effort Toward Bipartisan Relationship with Trump Administration
WASHINGTON – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) on Monday night met with President Donald Trump for a private dinner at the White House to strengthen bipartisan consensus between Congress and the President’s administration. He is one of only a handful of Democrats in the country to meet with the President.
During the meeting, Congressman Gonzalez and President Trump spoke about infrastructure modernization, border security, tax reform, and repatriating deported veterans back to the United States.
“I represent a diverse and growing constituency and I am dedicated to working on behalf of all—regardless of political party,” Congressman Gonzalez said. “President Trump and I may not agree on everything but I felt it was important for him to hear the needs of those in the 15th District of Texas. And I also feel that it is important for us to work together for the American people on issues where we can find common ground to improve our region and the country.”
Congressman Gonzalez, a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus and the Blue Dog Coalition, is a firm supporter of overcoming congressional gridlock in order to pass proactive legislation, and his meeting with President Trump is a critical first step to garner support across the aisle.
“President Trump was cordial and respectful, and he vowed to work with me on issues important to Texas,” Congressman Gonzalez said. “While people may have varying opinions about President Trump, he is our president and we must work with him. I certainly hope we will. As the dinner concluded, President Trump said to me: ‘see you in Texas.’ I welcome him to Texas and our district any time.”
Today, Congressman Gonzalez sent President Trump a follow up letter highlighting the issues raised during the dinner. See the full letter below:
June 14, 2017
President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Trump:
Thank you for hosting me at the White House Monday night. The experience was certainly one of a kind. The discussion was productive and I hope that we can continue to work together for our country and the American people.
I appreciate your interest in the deported veteran issue, which would bring home our heroes. This is one of many issues that have bipartisan support. These veterans fought for our country and many suffer PTSD caused by their service. I hope to work with you and your administration to create an executive order that stops the deportation of veterans who served in combat. Ultimately, I would like to see my bill become federal law to protect these honorably discharged veterans, with clean records prior to their service, many of whom are highly decorated.
I also look forward to partnering with you to reform our tax code, modernize our infrastructure, and improve border security. As I mentioned, counties near but not on the border deal with the same issues as border counties; however, these counties do not receive federal funding to appropriately address border security. These communities have limited resources and are strained by the lack of federal funding to programs like Operation Stonegarden, intended to enhance border security.
Given your commitment to border security and rural communities, I hope that we can work together to ensure that these border adjacent counties have the necessary resources to handle the matters they uniquely face securing our border.
Finally, I continue to extend an invitation for you to visit South Texas and tour the border with me. We host one of the most important bridges for trade and commerce in the United States and our community has an important story to tell.
I hope to hear from you soon. Please call me on my cell phone (XXX) XXX-XXXX if you want to talk more about any of these issues.
Sincerely,
Vicente Gonzalez
Member of Congress
15th District of Texas
