The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
While some fellow Republicans have been reluctant to hold town hall meetings in person, U.S. Rep. Will Hurd launched a 20-stop tour this week.
Hurd is meeting constituents in Dairy Queen restaurants throughout his district in south and west Texas. It’s the Texas Republican’s third-annual “DC2DQ” tour.
Hurd says that so far, he’s heard from people on a range of issues.
“Yesterday in Fort Stockton we started talking about North Korea. People are interested in hearing about what’s next on the health care debate around the individual market, and the other thing that we’ve heard at all stops is tax reform,” he says.
Hurd adds that at each of these stops he’s encountered supporters and detractors. In Alpine yesterday, he met one of those detractors face-to-face.
“The last question was from a gentleman who has written in frequently, he’s a frequent commenter on social media. I’m pretty confident he probably didn’t vote for me, but he said ‘Listen, I just want to thank your staff because they always pick up the phone, they’re always well-informed and they always respond to us, and the entire crowd actually broke into applause. And so, yeah, there are some people that are emotional and they’re concerned, but all in all the level of civility at all of these events have been incredibly high and I think people realize we’re able to disagree without being disagreeable,” Hurd says.
Hurd represents the 23rd congressional district that stretches from San Antonio to El Paso. It’s considered one of the few politically competitive districts in Texas.
Hurd’s DC2DQ tour lasts through Saturday.
A third east Texas Boy Scout has died from his injuries after a sailboat collided with a power line Saturday .
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says the 11-year-old passed away Monday at a hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Two teenagers – ages 16 and 17 – died the day of the accident. State authorities have still not publicly identified the three Boy Scouts.
Tuesday, the Texas House will debate a bill that would restrict abortion coverage from insurance plans offered on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. The measure already passed in the Senate and is one of the 20 items on Gov. Greg Abbott’s special legislative session agenda.
Supporters of the bill argue the issue is about a person’s right to not pay for someone else’s abortion.
Joe Pojman with the Texas Alliance for Life testified in favor of the bill late last month.
“At least 25 states already have passed laws that limit abortion coverage in public or private health plans. And we urge the state of Texas to join them,” Pojman said during his testimony.
Pojman and others also say the bill allows women to purchase a supplemental plan for abortion coverage. But abortion rights advocates say it’s not a real solution since the extra cost would be prohibitive for most women.
