AUSTIN, Texas — U.S. Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) announced Wednesday morning that he will not be seeking another term in Congress in 2020.
He is the fifth recent Texas Republican to announce his retirement from Congress, according to The Texas Tribune. U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway was one congressman who also recently announced he will be retiring.
Flores is currently serving his fifth term representing the 17th Congressional District of Texas.
The congressman said his goal when he began running for Congress in 2009 was to serve no more than six terms.
"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," Flores said. "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."
Flores said his time as a representative has made it hard for him to spend time with Gina and the rest of his family.
"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," Flores explained. "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."
The congressman said he will be busy the last 16 months of his term. Here's what Flores said he plans to do:
"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," Flores explained.
Flores said he will be spending more time with his family while staying "politically active" when his term ends in January of 2021.
Other Texas Congressmen who are not seeking re-election includes U.S. Reps. Kenny Marchant, Pete Olson and Will Hurd.
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