U.S. Representative Bill Flores (R-Texas) announced today that he will not seek another term in Congress. Flores is currently serving his fifth term representing the 17th Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives and offered the following comments regarding his decision:
“Serving my country as the Representative of the hardworking Texas families in the 17th Congressional District has been an honor and one of the greatest privileges of my life. When I originally announced that I was running for Congress in 2009, I was firm in my commitment that I would run for six or fewer terms. After much prayer over the past few days and following conversations with my wife, Gina, during that time, I have decided that my current term will be my last.
“During the almost 10-year period since our decision to run for Congress in late 2009, much has happened. During that time, I have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, spent hundreds of nights away from home and generally worked 12-18 hours per day, six days per week in order to effectively serve over 700 thousand constituents in Central Texas and the Brazos Valley. Our family evolved substantially during that period as Gina lost her father, we picked up a daughter-in-law, added four awesome grandkids and watched my Mom and Dad move further along their senior years. My job as Representative has made it difficult to spend as much time with Gina and the rest of my family as I would like.
“Even though my current term will be my final in Congress, I will continue working with a sense of urgency and diligence over the next 16 months to continue fulfilling my original campaign promises to the good folks in TX-17 to restore Liberty, Opportunity, and Security for hardworking Texas families who were left behind due to the disastrous policies of the Obama administration. During the upcoming weeks and months, I will be working with the Trump administration and my Congressional colleagues to rebuild our Military; to secure our border; to grow our economy through tax reform and regulatory reform; to restore fiscal soundness to the federal budget; to remove the uncertainty related to the ‘Dreamers’ in our country; to rebuild our critical infrastructure; to help enact the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA) and other international trade reforms; to facilitate the accelerated deployment of 5G technologies; to enact common-sense reforms for prescription drug costs and health care; and to maintain America’s energy dominance.
“Following the end of my current term in January 2021, I look forward to spending much more time with my family and our grandchildren. I also intend to resume business activities in the private sector and to stay politically active on a federal, state and local level. Lastly, with a little luck, I will have time to do a little more flying and skiing than I have been able to do during the last ten years, and to introduce our grandchildren to those activities!
“Let me close by thanking the tens of thousands of Texans who have supported my family and me with their prayers, friendship, counsel and resources over the past few years. I will never forget you and your support. I also want to acknowledge the selfless-service and bravery of our Armed Forces and First Responders who selflessly serve to keep America and our communities safe.”
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About Bill Flores: Flores was elected to Congress in November 2010, defeating a twenty-year Democrat incumbent by the largest percentage margin of any challenger in the nation. He currently serves on the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee and is the House Republican Leader’s designee to the House Budget Committee. During the 114th Congress, his House colleagues elected him to serve as Chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest and most influential caucus in Congress; during his time as Chair, the RSC grew to its largest membership in its history. He also serves on the Congressional Board of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI), the Board of Trustees of Houston Baptist University and the Professional Board Directors of the Private Enterprise Research Center (PERC).
Bill is a successful entrepreneur, former energy executive, and a Texas Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He holds a BBA in Accounting from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Houston Baptist University. Bill and his wife, Gina, live in Bryan, TX and have been married for 41 years; they have two adult sons, a wonderful daughter-in-law, and four awesome grandchildren.