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WASHINGTON — The Texas Department of Transportation, long viewed as hyperpartisan and arrogant by some members of the state's congressional delegation, has been trying to soften its image by reaching out to lawmakers of both parties in the nation's capital. But while state transportation officials are having some success in easing the personal animus, they still face a stiff challenge in selling their policy agenda to the state's elected officials in Washington. Many Texans on the Potomac cringe at the agency's embrace of toll roads, the controversies surrounding the Trans-Texas Corridor and TxDOT's resistance to many of the highway earmarks...

Long-awaited incident reports regarding the case of two convicted El Paso Border Patrol agents were delivered to Congress on Monday evening but have been classified secret from the general public. The Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Investment and Oversight obtained the report after submitting an emergency Freedom of Information Act request for the documents. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said he will not review the classified documents until they are made available to the public. Poe expects a redacted version will be made available soon. "I want to read what the public will get to read," Poe said. "The real question...

In the high-profile case of two U.S. Border Patrol officers imprisoned after shooting and wounding a Mexican drug smuggler, two Department of Homeland Security documents apparently contradict the version of events put forth by the U.S. attorney who successfully prosecuted the case. The internal Department of Homeland Security memoranda – which have been denied Congress despite repeated requests by two House members – show that within one month of the shooting incident involving Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, government investigators had identified the smuggler as Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila. But this seems to contradict U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton's claim...

MCCAUL: We have a constitutional responsibility for oversight in the Congress. That is what I'm exercising. I will relentlessly pursue the truth in this case until that haven't turned over. I did meet with the new Democrat chairman of the subcommittee. He has sent a letter of demand to the department as of yesterday. We have still not received those documents. And if we don't, we're prepared to move forward with the subpoena and, if necessary, take the bold step of holding this department in contempt of Congress.

*** NOTE*** Take your blood pressure medication before viewing this report... McCaul Releases Report on Border Violence (Tuesday, October 17, 2006) Today, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (TX), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Investigations, released a report on border violence in the Southwest. The report examines the alarming rise in the level of criminal cartel activity, including drug and human smuggling, along the Texas-Mexico border and its effects on Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies. The report also looks at what steps are being taken to counter the threat, and the significance of these issues pertaining...

95-year-old former newspaperman joins political fray to oust Texas congressman ASSOCIATED PRESS AUSTIN (AP) - At his age, Sid Smith's campaign slogan seems obvious: "At 95, who needs term limits?" That's right. The 95-year-old former newspaperman, real estate agent and current artist, who scoots around his hillside home with the help of a cane, is running for Congress in Tuesday's Democratic primary. "I'm the oldest guy in this race," said Smith, cracking that his Dec. 24 birthday makes him "one day older than Jesus." His main goal? Boot Republican freshman Michael McCaul, who won the District 10 seat two years...

EL PASO, Texas - A closed-door meeting at El Paso International Airport involving a congressman and federal and local officers promised answers to reports of Mexican military incursions into the United States, setting the stage for congressional hearings next week. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations for the Committee on Homeland Security, said at a news conference Friday that the incursion investigations will be the first time his committee has conducted hearings since its formation four years ago. "I want to thank these brave men and women for what they do every day and the threat...

A new proposition to strengthen the U.S. border with Mexico is now headed to Congress. U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul was in Austin Monday to promote the new bill. It would create a type of citizen's patrol, much like the controversial Minutemen group that already patrols the border. The difference is the new citizen's patrol will fall directly under the citizen's corp, providing more screening, training, and more supervision. McCaul says that the bill is modeled after what the Coast Guard has been doing for decades.

Runoff rivals spar over GOP credentials. U.S. House candidate Michael McCaul, whose GOP credentials are under fire from runoff foe Ben Streusand, has picked up the endorsement of one of the state's most popular Republicans. Former President Bush will be a "special guest" at a March 31 McCaul campaign fund-raising reception at a private home in Houston, according to invitations sent out this week. "We are proud in our family to have President Bush as a friend," McCaul said in an invitation letter for the event. "Lowry Mays, my father-in-law and head of the Texas A&M Board of Regents, has...

Michael McCaulWebsite:http://www.mccaulforcongress.com/Phone: (512) 342-0001 or (281) 398-3774 CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE AND RESPONSE1) What is your position on abortion - under what circumstances should abortion be made illegal/legal? When does life begin and how should it be protected at the state and federal levels? Do you agree or disagree with the Roe v Wade decision? Do you support the Human Life Amendment? I am pro-life and believe that life begins at fertilization. I disagree with the Roe v. Wade decision in that it sanctioned abortion on demand and overturned state laws prohibiting abortion. I would support a Human Life Amendment if presented...