In the News

Research has linked the consumption of unprocessed as well as processed red meat to diabetes. Increasing your intake of red meat over timed has been associated with a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. Red meat is typically high in calories and fat and experts say for this reason these factors create the link between heavy red meat eaters and diabetes.

The alarming frequency of gun violence in Chicago has made the city the face of what is in fact a disturbing national trend. Just last night, four people were shot. During the Fourth of July holiday weekend, for the second consecutive year, 16 people were killed and an additional 70 received gunshot wounds. Since the start of the year, 188 murders have occurred.

Texas Rep. Marc Veasey noted that, recently, Ft. Worth has begun to experience a rash of violence. He shared three stories that ended in tragedy at the hands of people who clearly were dealing with mental health issues.

The controversial farm bill that cleared the House Thursday divided Texas representatives firmly along party lines. All Texas Republicans voted for the bill, which left out nutrition programs for the first time in decades, after a massive fight over food stamp funding in the House last month.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama pledged to black lawmakers Tuesday that he will help rebuild the Voting Rights Act after a Supreme Court ruling gutted federal oversight of states with a history of bias.

“He’s with us, and he wants to make sure we do something to strengthen voting rights for all Americans,” Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, said at the White House after Obama met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Black lawmakers said they also discussed how to develop a new formula for deciding which states deserve extra scrutiny.

In this whirlwind of voting news, it can be hard to keep up.

Last Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which had established a formula determining which states would be required by Section 5 to “pre-clear” election changes before implementing them. Texas was one of nine states that had been included but now was off the hook.

The reaction in the state was swift: Within hours, Attorney General Greg Abbott announced that the state’s previously blocked voter ID law would immediately go into effect.

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey joined seven others Wednesday in filing a federal lawsuit to keep Texas from enforcing its voter ID law.

Veasey, D-Fort Worth, filed the papers in Corpus Christi federal court, calling the requirement to show a state-issued photo ID card at the ballot box unconstitutional.

The law “would have the effect of denying thousands of Texas voters the ability to vote in person, a large number of whom would be disenfranchised entirely since absentee voting in Texas is available to only certain specified categories of voters,” the lawsuit says.

Democratic members of Congress took part in theCongressional SNAP challenge, living on the $4.50 per day allotted to Americans who receive SNAP, or food stamps. Two freshman members of the Texas delegation -- Beto O'Rourke (TX-16, El Paso) and Marc Veasey (TX-33, Dallas-Fort Worth) -- participated in the challenge.

Should Congress cut SNAP benefits in the Farm Bill to give huge breaks to agri-business and corporate farms, Texans will be particularly hard hit. According to the Texas Food Bank Network, 171,000 Texans would be kicked off SNAP immediately.