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Title: Back the Blue Act State: Texas The law the bill will change:: Police Funding Effect of the change:: Raise Sponsor: Kyle Fitzgerald (R-TX) This bill increases police funding in Texas from Moderate to High. Specifically, this bill: 1) Provides grants to local law enforcement agencies for the following purposes: Hiring and retention of law enforcement personnel, including incentives Purchasing new vehicles, communications technology, and safety equipment Developing community policing initiatives and officer training programs 2) Provides additional funding and equipment for DPS Highway Patrol for the following purposes: Hiring additional highway patrol officers Purchasing advanced surveillance technology and new patrol vehicles Upgrading officer equipment, including body armor, firearms, and communications systems 3) Provides additional funding to the Texas Rangers for the following purposes: Improve investigative capabilities Hire more personnel Acquire equipment necessary for complex criminal investigations related to human trafficking, drug smuggling, and organized crime 4) Provides additional funding to border security operations for the following purposes: Increase the budget for Operation Lone Star Additional funds for the construction and reinforcement of physical barriers along the Texas-Mexico border, covering costs associated with land acquisition, material procurement, and labor for the construction and maintenance of a border wall. View full bill

Name: Kyle Van Horn Seat: Kentucky 3 Party: Republican Avatar: Kliff Kingsbury Major Caucus: Freedom Special Talent: Regular Joe Dark Secret: GENDER: Male: 0 Points AGE: 40-44 years old: 10 Points SEXUALITY: Straight, married with < 3 children: -5 Points RACE/ANCESTRY: White/Caucasian: 0 Points RELIGION: Evangelical or Mainline Protestant: 0 Points EDUCATIONAL HISTORY: Bachelor’s Degree College Degree at (non-Ivy Level) Public/Private University: 5 Points SOCIOECONOMIC HISTORY: Middle/Working Class: 15 points CAREER HISTORY: Blue-collar management: 15 points Blue-collar worker: 10 points Commissioned Officer (O-1 to O-5): 10 Points AWARDS AND EXTRAS: none POLITICAL EXPERIENCE HISTORY: 2-Term State Senator: 4 points 64 points Kyle Van Horn was born on November 11, 1979 in Louisa, KY. He earned an Associate's Degree from Valley Forge Military College and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve through the Early Commissioning Program. He then transferred to the University of Kentucky to obtain his bachelor's degree. After graduating from UK in 2002, he became an active duty officer and deployed to Iraq with the First Cavalry Division. After leaving the Army in 2006, he went home to work for his father's coal trucking company, eventually taking over the company himself. In 2016, he entered politics and ran for the State Senate from the 31st District against incumbent Ray Jones II. Van Horn was the only Republican to file and won the election in November, becoming the first Republican to represent the district since the 1960's. Van Horn was very conservative on social issues but more populist on economic issues, which made him popular in his rural Eastern Kentucky district but put him at odds with Governor Matt Bevin. Van Horn voted against a bill to make Kentucky a right-to-work state and also opposed pension reform. In 2019, Van Horn decided to primary Bevin when he ran for re-election as Governor. Despite Donald Trump's endorsement of Matt Bevin, Van Horn performed very well in rural parts of the state and almost won the primary. In 2020, Van Horn was re-elected as State Senator. In 2022, Van Horn ran for U.S. Senate with the endorsement of Donald Trump and won the election. He and his wife Grace live in Louisa and have one child.