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DFW continues to attract businesses, families, and visitors from around the world, and it's easy to see why. With a thriving economy, growing opportunities, and strong communities, North Texas has become one of the most dynamic regions in the country.
On this episode of Let's Talk Local, Sarah sits down with Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne to discuss the growth of DFW, the future of Texas, and the issues shaping America. Drawing on her experience in Washington, D.C., and years of public service, Van Duyne shares her perspective on what it takes to keep Texas a leader in job creation, economic growth, and innovation.
The conversation also highlights one of her signature initiatives, the North Texas Job Fair, one of the largest job fairs in the country, held each year at Globe Life Field. Whether you're looking for your first job, a career change, or your next opportunity, this event has connected thousands of people with employers across the region.
Filled with thoughtful insights, optimism, and practical advice, this is a conversation you won't want to miss. And if you're ready for your next career move, be sure to check out the North Texas Job Fair on August 6, 2026.
Creators and Guests
What is Let's Talk Local?
Join host Sarah Zubiate Bennett on Let’s Talk Local as she uncovers the stories, people, and places shaping Dallas, fostering a stronger and more connected community—let's get to know the real Dallas!
Thank you for being here.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Thank you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Representative Beth Van Duyne.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:We've been working on this for a while. Know. Finally, schedules are
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:crazy and forgive me for being just a few minutes late. Guess what was it one minute later, but I appreciate you being here. Of course. Thank you so much. You're not just an exceptional leader, you're a businesswoman and you've brought so much to your district, to North Texas.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Cornell graduate, beautiful, of course, intelligent and very capable. But I want to start off on just some of your, I guess, of the impact that you've made most recently in North Texas. But before I get to that, you served as Irving's first female mayor.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Only? Female mayor? Only. In our history, is that
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:what So only female mayor. You brought 30,000 jobs.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Well, I didn't. But let me say, I focused on economic development. I focused on having a business friendly environment because recognizing the fact that opportunity brings people. People are looking for a way to be able to take care of their kids, to be able to buy a house, to able to leave generational wealth. That's exactly right.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:To be able to afford vacations, and you know, things that they want, that they need, you know, money to be able to give out to charities that they care about. And how do you do that? It's by having an environment that supports that. And that's exactly what we did. But under
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:your time serving as mayor, you brought $3,000,000,000 at least based on everything that I've read in new development. That's huge.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:It's probably a little bit more than that, but I think that was just for a
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:couple So of what lessons from your local government days have you now taken into your new role as Congresswoman?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:You know, it's wild. People ask me which I like better being a mayor or being in Congress. The fact is that as a mayor you can get a lot more done. I mean, even if you don't have all the votes on City Council, and anybody who lived in North Texas during the time that I was mayor remembers reading those headlines. You know, I was fighting with a lot of my council colleagues because I was really pushing forward on a very hard agenda, which is to turn that city around and to bring it up into modern times that we were being able to compete globally.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And I think when you start looking at all of the Fortune 500 companies that we were able to bring there during that time, the companies that are still coming, the growth that that sparked, one of the fastest growing cities in the country, that's for a reason. You know, you got Caterpillar, Wells Fargo, I just went for the first time, they just opened up. McKesson, I was there, you know, for their ribbon cutting, know, bringing all those jobs, bringing all those dollars, bringing all those tax dollars, and it's an amazing thing. But when you are able to do that as mayor, it's much different than when you get into Congress. But what I learned, and I think I learned it my first day during freshman orientation, they have other, you know, everybody come talk to you about some of the ethics issues, how to hire staff, what you should be looking for.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And they sat down and said, You need to treat being in Congress as if you are the mayor of your district. I thought you know why. Can do that. It means talking to the people that you represent, not getting lost in DC. Understanding that the only reason why you are in this position is because of And you know, we focused primarily on our constituent services, our casework, which a lot of people don't even understand when they think about what a congress member does, they just look at the votes that we take in DC, and that is a far cry from our actual job.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Can tell when people say you're on vacation. When you are not voting on the floor of the House, you are hardly on vacation. When you come back here, somebody should look at my schedule just for today alone. You know, we're coming back, we're meeting with constituents who have issues, we're going through business tours and talking to business owners and those job creators. That's what our job is.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And I think if more people took that seriously, didn't get wrapped up into the national headlines, but recognize that we each have about 750,000 people that we represent, and whether or not, literally already this morning, helping people who are going on vacation that forgot that their passports expired, you know, helping them, people who are going to DC and want to know where to go, we can help you with that. Or people who are having issues with the federal government, whether or not they applied for a small business loan, they haven't heard about it, whether or they're having issues with VA, and they're not hearing back. This is our job. And I take that very, very seriously. You know, my first couple weeks in office, had staff changes.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Because the staff that I hired in DC did not recognize that. And so, they could not stay because unless you were really prioritizing our district and respecting the district, in District 24, then you really didn't have a spot on my team. So, we have got to that point very quickly, that we love this district, we love North Texas, love Texas, and really respect what the state is doing, and you're seeing it. I mean, we just call it a Texas miracle. And I think so many people, so many leaders across the country could learn from our Texas folks.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:We're doing it right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's right, and they can learn from what you're doing in your district. I mean you've created the North Texas Job Fair, if I remember correctly, in 2021 to help reconnect employees with employers throughout COVID.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Is what we were hearing
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:during But COVID,
Representative Beth Van Duyne:now it's one of
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:the largest in the country.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:It is the largest independent
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:job Over fair in the 35,000 people go to this job fair and you outgrew the original place, and now you're over where the Rangers are at home in Globe Life Stadium, which is incredible. I mean, did you ever expect it to be
Representative Beth Van Duyne:this big? How did it get this big?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:How did you do it?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:We started this during the pandemic when we were going to talk to job creators, and they were dying because they said, We can't get enough people hired. We don't know what to do. And then we were listening to people who had worked and had lost their jobs during COVID, and they were desperate to try to find work. So, just did what came natural, and we put the two together and we had our first job fair, expecting several 100 people to come. We had several thousand people there and every year it's gotten bigger.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:As you mentioned last year, we had 35,000 people last year. Here's the kicker. We're going to have more people than that this year. We ran out of parking last year, so you know, I love Globe Life Field. They are wonderful to work with.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:But we actually had to add another concourse level last week because we are already looking at more than five fifty businesses, over 30,000 job opportunities. And if past years or anything like what this year is going to be, we had nearly 30% of the jobs were $100,000 and above. So, know, whether or not it's energy, academics, healthcare, manufacturing, law enforcement, administration, you name it, the industry is there, they're hiring, and it is for every level. It's for entry level all the way up to the C suite. I mean, were hiring attorneys, they were hiring physicians.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Real These jobs representing real opportunities for North Texans. And how we got that was by listening to people, and creating it, and understanding the fact that again, not all of our job is what we do in DC. It's finding a way to almost get back that magic as a mayor, where you're able to actually affect somebody's life that day, and really pushing to find opportunities. So, we stay very hungry to try new things. So, if anybody in your audience has an opportunity that they think that we should be taking advantage of, do it.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:We have this family fly in that we want people, we want kids to understand, respect, honor, know, you know, their history. And so, we have a family fly in. Last year, we had over three sixty people, families that came into DC, and we arranged, gave them a cafeteria options of what they could pick, and we personalized it for every single family. We had the ambassadors work with us, set up things for the kids at the embassies. They went and had tours of the White House.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:I did a Capitol tour for them at night. They got to go in our Ways And Means Hearing Room. Anyway, I'll tell you, was the coolest thing. There was a mom whose son was there the first night and asked a ton of questions. And she was a little standoffish.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:She was a little standoffish. I will notice. But on the last day that we were there, pulled me aside. She was almost in tears. And she said, you know, when I called your office to sign up for this, I didn't tell you all I was a Democrat because I was so afraid that you would treat my son differently or you wouldn't find space for us.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:She said, but after working with your staff and after working with you and seeing how you interact with my son in this wonderful opportunity, she's like, she really appreciated that, so we had a great staff. She really appreciated the work that we put into it, and she's like, I'll vote for you. But that's not the reason why we do it. But the fact is that treating people like like treating people and not like you're a politician or it's part of a party, I think it's so substantial. We sincerely want to help.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And I think when you want to do that, when you really enjoy and you hire people that enjoy doing that, that's their mission, you can be really successful.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Absolutely, and I don't know if it's I mean it sounds sexist, but I don't know if it's because you're a woman and you have an intuitive nature about you that I you know it's hard to come across with a lot of politicians. But you care, and people can sniff out a phony, as you know. 1,000 feet away, you are not that. You are sincere. You care about your constituents, and it shows.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I mean, have such a diverse constituent base as well. I mean moving from the Highland Park University Park all the way out to the Capelle area, I mean it's so diverse.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Then it covers DFW Airport. Passlet area. Mean, Euless, Bedford, Colleyville, South Lake, Westlake, Capella, Fort Worth, Capella, I'm going to miss this city in there somewhere in between, yeah, you're absolutely right. We have 750,000 people. And the diversities aren't just ethnically, they are financially, religiously, geographically.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And I think culturally, we have a massive district. When I was mayor, had the most diverse zip code in the country. But what I've always focused on is not on the things that make us different, but it's really on the things that we all want. So, when I was mayor, you asked one of the lessons that I learned was providing the basic things that a government should do and doing it well. Looking at infrastructure, looking at jobs and how we can encourage those job creations, working with our school board to make sure our kids are getting the best education possible, and working on issues with cost.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And many of your districts have some of the best schools.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:They do,
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:they do. Without question. How are you finding unemployment, specifically within your district, to be affected these days due to artificial intelligence demand and increase within the workforce in general?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And I don't know right now if they're outlining or exactly saying this is caused by AI, this is not. But I will tell you that we are moving and shaking in DFW, and there are a lot of companies that are hiring, obviously. And so, I think it's not focused so much on the unemployment as connecting people. There are jobs available. May not want that specific job, but there are definitely jobs available.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:On the AI front, there's something that we all have to understand, you can't stop the technology. It's coming, it is here. But just like other massive technological advancements, it didn't decrease the number of jobs, it actually increased the number of jobs, but it did change them. You don't have steno pools anymore of people typing. You don't have people who are now connecting phone lines.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:I mean, even long distance carriers have had to change their business model. I think with AI, it's going to be very similar. A number of opportunities are going to come out of this technology, but you have to be comfortable with it, you have to be familiar with it. You know, when we started personal I still come from a time, god, this is hard to admit, but personal computers were not everywhere at that time. Laptops, I remember going to college, I was one of the only people with a laptop and this thing was massive.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:You know, it's nothing that you could really said it was portable, not really. I remember those times, but we have succeeded, we have pushed forward, and it's really given us an infinite possibility of future jobs. So, I would say to all those kids right now, make sure you're doing what you're passionate about. Find an interest, but also recognize the fact that it's not just about the degree or your skill level. It is your ability to be able to have relationships.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:So much we just get lost on the phone and it's like, you know, these letters instead of words that we're putting down on code, and we stop looking people in the eye when we talk to them. It's all about kind of a transactional relationship. And so, I think the best advice I try to give this to my kids is recognize the fact that relationships matter. How you treat people matters. Being respectful and realizing, you know, you want to have a relationship with somebody before or maybe you don't ever need to use it.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:But relationships are good, they're valuable, and they probably are the most valuable part of any kind of skill is your network.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's exactly right. And so the time that people spend at this North Texas job fair is doing exactly that. It's connecting people. When does it start? When does it end?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And if people want to learn more about it, where can they go for that information?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:They need to hurry up and register. It is myntxjobs.com, so North Texas, myntxjobs.com. Go and you can see the host of employers that are going to be there, we're still signing up employers. When's the last day to register? You keep going on registering.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:But registering as a business is coming up. I think we may actually be shutting it off this week. This week? Well, we are already at maximum capacity. They said we had to hire, but that never stops us from trying to find spaces for for for employers.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:The the job fair itself is going to be on Thursday. It's August 6. It is only from eleven to three. Wow. And it is at Globe Life Field.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:But from eleven to three, would get there early, bring your sneakers Yep. Or at least comfortable walking shoes, bring plenty of resumes, make sure you have your phones that you can, you know, click because a lot of the businesses now are doing, you know, they have the QR codes and they want to connect. And I walk that floor for the entire four hours, we're there, and I'm talking to employers, I'm talking to people who are getting hired, and there's just so much excitement there. And people are hiring right there on the spot, people are scheduling interviews right there on the spot. And when I talked to the employers, there was one employer we talked to that hired 14 people, you know, by the time I saw them, which was just a couple hours into the fair.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:So, you know, that is actually happening. People are being connected, they're getting interviews, and they're also getting to see what's out there. That's right. So, you know, this is a win win. We pay for all of it, and this is such a passionate project when we started.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:We don't do it just on our own. What we do is we connect with everybody. All the businesses who have reached out saying that they were trying to hire somebody were like, okay, you got to participate. And then all the elected officials, and I think already this year, we've got more than 90 elected officials who I think are scheduled to be there during this time. It's great.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:We want it to be completely nonpartisan, getting a job Of course. Hiring people should not be nonpartisan.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:These are things that everyone can rally around. Everyone.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Well, I used to think that, but you know Really? I get a little jaded in old age, you would think that. And this is why we do it. Because literally when you can change somebody's life, it is a worthwhile thing to pursue, and this is why my office and I do these jobs. And the job creators are also really grateful because they have an opportunity to be able to invest in this community and be able to grow in this community, but they can't do it if they don't have the workforce.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:So again, it's August sixth, Thursday, from eleven to three over at Globe Life Field.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Beautiful. I'm going to toe dip over into something a little bit more partisan because I'd be remiss if I didn't bring it up. Last night, Trump addressed the country. It wasn't displayed on, I think, ABC, NBC, a few of these large media networks. But the message was loud and clear, right?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I mean, he declassified documents alleging that China had obtained, what was it, $2,000,000,220,000,000. Two twenty million US voter I mean, that's insane. What were your first thoughts when you heard his words?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:I'm not going be able to say I was surprised. But I mean we have been talking about this for years and as much as they sit there and they attack the man, and they say, these are crazy conspiracy theories over and over and over again, he's able to prove he was right. And the scary thing that I found was immediately after his address, the CYA of all of these different networks, of all of these different my Democrat colleagues in Congress already had statements that came out. Now, you hadn't read any of the documents, you didn't know what he was referring to, but you were already criticized. Like, why don't you at least be educated before you criticize?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Look at it. But it's amazing when you look at CNN, when you look at New York Times, and when you look at these quotes, what they don't do is actually say those facts, those figures are wrong. They are admitting that China did take two twenty million tax files, the 22,000,000 files that they have, and healthcare files. All these things are being put together, and I want people to think, literally, because we're just talking about AI, how much information is available about you. That's right.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Whether or not it's where you a grocery store, and you sign up their number every week that you put in. They have when you go, where you go, what you buy. Your healthcare stuff, when that data is breached and they actually have access to that, they know again, your whole healthcare records and all the information you put in that. You think about your business records, your banking records, your credit card records that have been compromised, and now your voting records on top of it. They can build literally entire models knowing everything about you and have the opportunity to steal.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And for people who say, Oh, that never happens, that hasn't happened. First of all, I think the number is 400,000 right now, just that they know of people who have died, that are still on the voter rolls.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Voting.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:How many hundreds of thousands of people do we know that should never have had the opportunity to vote that all of a sudden voted? And just in our district, just across the way, in Carrollton, when I ran in 2020, there was a candidate running for mayor who was found guilty of putting, I think it was mail ballots for over 100 different names for illegal votes. Found guilty, that was in our district. So when people say, Oh, it never happens, this is fake news, It absolutely does. If you haven't figured it out, you're not doing your job.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And you know, CNN was saying, Well, you know, we've always known this and we just should try better. Acknowledge it. Report on it. We don't want to give a false sense of security. There's a reason why this president, this administration, this Congress is pushing so hard to get the Save America Act passed.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Because we know that voter identification, we know that mail in ballots It's critical. Have It is absolutely critical. It is absolutely critical. And so, you know, for the 80% of the people who are supportive of wanting to trust but verify, you know, just when you go to buy a beer, you have to show an ID. If you go to get on a plane, you have to show an ID.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And I'm sorry, but my my legal name is Elizabeth, but I go by Beth. If my ID, if I don't buy my my airline ticket under Elizabeth, they won't let me on the plane. So, for all these people who are acting as if this is a foreign concept that we have to show an ID, It's ridiculous. People do it all the time, every day. Do you remember during COVID?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Of course. When deep blue cities made you have to show your vaccination records.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:To get into
Representative Beth Van Duyne:a restaurant? Yes. And yet, all of these people are now saying, oh, this is a horrible hurdle that people are having. No, it's not. Trust but verify.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:We should only be having American folks who can legally vote voting.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Absolutely.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And to think that you have a foreign entity like, you know, a foreign nation like China that is trying so hard at such a massive number to really influence, own, and change our elections. I think every single American, every single news outlet should take this seriously and do what we can to prevent it.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Without question, I saw a video last night where Hillary Clinton had stated Russia is one of the most, I guess, competent opponents, but you know, and and they seem to be funding Republicans. I asked for China to step in and to help Democrats. I'm not sure if you've seen it. I saved it.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Oh, I saw it. Okay. Okay. I saw it. You know, the only other adversary of ours who's anywhere near as good as the Russians is China.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:So why should Russia have all the fun? And since Russia is clearly backing Republicans, why don't we ask China to back us? I hereby tonight. Ask China. That's right.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And not only that, China, if you're listening, why don't you get Trump's tax returns? I'm sure our media would richly reward you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I thought to myself, is this real? Is this
Representative Beth Van Duyne:invite China to come help Democrats. Yes. And she and she
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:made that open request, and I thought to
Representative Beth Van Duyne:myself Was it just you? You saw it. But with with the first thing that you went to talking about AI was like, has got to be fake. Oh, yes. It wasn't.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:It was authentic. Yes.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:It was authentic. And so, okay, there's a lot that has happened in terms of the compromise of our elections. Right? So we have China infiltrating our election system, assuming that everything that has been alleged is accurate, right, and a lot of the documents that I saw last night do pass the tests that I've placed them through. Okay.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:There's that. But the Secret Service and the deep state people who were aware of this crime kept it, concealed it, did not advance this information up the chain. Which is worse? I mean, they're both horrific. But how is this orchestrated and which is worse in your opinion?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:How can we guard against it?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Secret Service had, but but DOJ definitely, and members of the intel committee. The intel committee
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:were were Trump's exact words, right?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Members of the intel community have definitely been protecting certain individuals in the Democrat Party for decades. And you think it's just in the Democrat Party? I'm on ways and means. We have had a number of different hearings. We have had access to depositions, we've had access to a lot of documents that can show a history of the intel community protecting certain politicians and their families.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Where
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:do those live?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:None of those have been released. A lot of those have been released.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Whitehouse.gov or any
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Okay. A lot of those have been released. The fact is that when we talk about the deep state, again, some people will go, oh, it's just a conspiracy No, it's not. Read the depositions. When they say we wanted to go after, we wanted to question, we should have brought in, you know, these witnesses and asked them these questions, and they were prevented from doing so up the chain of command.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:This is what this administration is going after. It has been allowed to continue for entirely too long. We have seen the weaponization of our judicial system, of our intel community. And if people don't think that that is just a complete travesty, I don't care what party you are in, what your political ideology is. You should be concerned that a government has that much control over your life, and at any point in time can absolutely take somebody who is innocent or somebody who is guilty and affect that outcome.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:It should not happen. Our whole country was created on the fabric that that would never happen. That's right. So, think what you're seeing is, you know, these investigations are underway. The biggest fear is that while they're happening, you're going to see a change in power at the top, that will again, what we saw during the Biden administration, all of a sudden all these things are being uncovered are squashed and pushed down.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:So, you know, November is going to be really important. Obviously, November 2028 is going to be exceptionally important. This administration, you know, when you look at what happened in 2020, we just met with Brooke Rollins, Secretary Rollins Oh, this
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:saw that. I saw that. We
Representative Beth Van Duyne:had an opportunity to meet with her and talk to her about some of this stuff and she said, you know, in 2023 we had a whole idea of what we were going to do, we were going to be able to achieve, where we had to go, how we were going to continue. Then what happened in 2024, you know, when they did not actually get to take the reins. That was a shock, but what they did the four years after that was put together a team, put together a strategy, and you're seeing that being executed now. I think it made that entire administration very strong, very focused, and very strategic. And to think that that could all be unraveled, you know, if another administration who is seeking to protect their own, and you are seeing people elected that really hate our country leading it.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And I've seen it on the floor of the House, I can give you example after example of people who have been elected who really hate the very fabric of our nation. Of course. And they just want to work to unravel it. Of course. People, yes, we have China, that is a fear.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:We've got North Korea, you've got Iran. There are so many different foreign entities that wish to do us harm, but the biggest danger we face is from within.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's exactly right. Because what is within is working in coordination with a lot of these other countries. Should Americans expect for congressional leaders such as yourself to do some type of independent review or audit of these documents that were just released?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Each office is looking at them, I can tell you that. Just in the last twenty hours, since they've been released, we've already been looking at what the documents say and represent. And again, the House has done its job. We have passed the Save America Act now three times in Senate over the Senate, where it is languishing. We're trying to do everything we can, and again, this is something that the majority, nearly 80% of you listen to the polls, that they want.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Again, it's showing and proving that you are legally able to vote before you can actually vote. I don't think that this is a shocking pronouncement. Why we can't seem to get the vote out of the Senate is very disheartening to a number of us in the House. It's disheartening, I think, to citizens all across the country. But this is something that we're gonna continue to fight with.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:I wanna take, you know, my my hat off to the state of Texas again. You know, the other states can learn from what we do, but they have very strong integrity election integrity law that they that they have passed as a result. I mean, they're scrubbing their voter list, they're getting people off who have died, who have moved. They're looking at folks who are illegally in our country but granted, you know, a driver's license perhaps from another state, California, that want to come here and be able to vote. And they are putting an end to it.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And we need the other states to step up and do that. We're working at getting the Save America package put into a reconciliation package. Save America Act put into a reconciliation package. We're going to figure out how to do that. But again, the fact that you would even have to put it into a reconciliation package meaning that you only have to have 50 plus one versus 60 votes, It's crazy that you would figure that this would be one of those hard to take votes that Democrats would not want to vote no on.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Because they wouldn't want to say, we don't care if
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:you're a citizen or
Representative Beth Van Duyne:not. Come on, everybody vote. But you've seen California and others that they have changed their entire statewide laws to allow exactly that.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And you know whenever I see these Senate hearings, I very much treat and I look at people in the Democratic Party as humans. And I think like not people to fight all the time. I mean, I I try to really promote peace and and collaboration, but when I see members of the Democratic Party, the Senate not show up to these hearings surrounding taxpayer fraud. And I saw Nick Shirley's tweet about that, and I thought, why would they not show if their constituents taxpayer money is being fraudulently spent?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Why would they not show? Do you have any idea why they're not showing? Because
Representative Beth Van Duyne:they're not going to have their opportunity on camera. They'll show up for their five minutes to get their opportunity on camera for a potentially viral moment. It's maddening. But they're not showing up where matters. And it is very infuriating.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Talk about the cost of illegal immigration. One, our voting systems is one thing. Two, crime. Was talking to you when I just walked in here. Just got a text from Robert Moore, who is Eva Moore's dad.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Eva Moore was a wonderful was athlete. She was a patriot, she had just gotten into the Air Force Academy, and she got mowed down by an illegal alien female who was on the leg and grapevine, and left her for dead. And she died. And then tried to take off and hit cars on her way out. I just heard from her dad, there's penalties.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:There are actual victims for these open border policies under the Biden administration. And again, you have seen this administration take this seriously, we've had over 3,500,000 people who have either self deported or who have been deported, And there's a lot of ramifications for that, but you know decreases in crime is one. Decreases in loss of life needlessly is one. But then you start looking at the fraud. And some estimates we've seen is $500,000,000,000 a year in fraudulent taxpayer money that are going to fund some type of illegal immigrant activities in our own country.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And then, you know, you start looking at on top of that these NGOs that are encouraging this, that are getting paid, you know, boo coo taxpayer dollars on top of that. And then there's also other ramifications such as rental rates and housing prices. You know, nearly 20,000,000 people who came into our country illegally during the Biden administration increased housing costs by 20%. I'm sorry, 30% for housing costs, 20% for apartments. So, when we looked at the massive amounts of increases in inflation and things that people are actually paying for, everybody's paying for, housing went up 30%, apartment costs went up 20%.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:So, working on these deportations and making sure that our borders are secure is helping a lot of things all the way down the line.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Can you elaborate on that? The affordability aspect that people don't often tie together, which is critical, critical for people to understand.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Would you elaborate Just on look on don't know how many of you actually saw some of the reports, what they were doing in New York, they were setting people up in hotels. Nice hotels. Nice hotels. Paying market dollars. That's right.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And giving them food, which apparently they didn't like. They throw the sandwiches away and they were also giving them cards with cash on it to go spend. What was happening was those market rates because the landlord knew, or the hotel chain knew, that the government was paying for it kept creeping up, up, creeping up. And as a result, the market dollars kept going up. It's what people were paying for rent kept going up.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Well, now that you're getting folks in, and we already have had somewhat of a housing shortage, we are trying to do our best, but in the bluest of cities is where housing is the most expensive. Because of their own regulations. They make it impossible for people to be able to live in a means in which is affordable. That is those massive blue cities that are doing that to their own constituents. But when we kick people out who should never have been here, all of a sudden those units are available again.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And the rates slowly, slowly start to come down. But that's been an issue with affordability and we're working on it. When we think about how many billions of dollars were just sent to people who didn't deserve them, you know, who never paid a tax dollar And here in their then you look at that Somalia fraud in Minnesota. Those dollars were being sent out of the country, but they were being collected and they were being, you know, frauded by illegal immigrants in the country. This is happening all across our nation, and this administration is getting down to it.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:I am working with this administration to get down to it, whether or it's on the small business committee, whether or we're working in ways and means of being able to identify it. But we have seen this fraud being perpetuated and the cost of insecure, you know, unsecure borders, open borders is astronomical and I think it is beyond what most people could ever even imagine. Yes, I'm in full agreement. Full agreement.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:How concerned are you with countries like, let's say Iran and the influence on domestic soil by way of religious influence on our United States soil?
Representative Beth Van Duyne:It is growing and it's more prevalent. I don't think a lot of folks who haven't had to live, you know, I still remember in the seventies, the Iran, you know, the Middle East hostage crisis and the terrorist activities there, saw it, you know. And I think we've gotten to a point now where we have had it really we're used to security. And we don't know what it's like to have it challenged. Iran is not our friend.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:It has been a supporter, it has been a producer of terrorist activities across our planet. And as a result, they need to be stopped. But what we have seen here in our schools, in really in our schools, even our local governments, is the support for this terrorist activity, making it seem as if one, it's hip and it's cool. But, and two, as if again, it's a conspiracy theory that Iran and Hamas have murdered Americans everywhere. They have had terrorist outbreaks and we need to put a stop to that, especially where it affects our citizens in our country.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:But getting a hold of what's happening in our universities and in our schools is very important. You mentioned at the top of this interview that I had gone to Cornell and I've been very involved in Cornell in the last couple of years, because what we were seeing was they had a professor the day after October 7 in Israel, where you had a history professor at Cornell that got out and said how exhilarated he was that the oppressed were now fighting against their oppressors. And saying how great condoning this type of violence and this kind of behavior. And I was really shocked that this guy was allowed to continue teaching our youth. But this was happening, as you mentioned, universities are And we're paying for this.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:So, we are working on legislation that, first of all, if you are a student who is here on a visa, you are granted access to our country. You're not owned it. You are granted access. And if you are here and you are supporting terrorist activity, if you are committing acts of violence or you are not obeying our laws, you need to be bombarded. You can no longer stay here as a student.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:But we're also looking at activities of foreign dollars that are coming in or even domestic dollars that are coming in to fund foreign terrorist activities, that we uncover those and put a stop to that. But really, a lot of the universities have been hotbeds for teaching our young, our youth to hate our country, to hate our way of life. And again, they're able to do that because we live in such a prosperous nation. In such a nation that we have oceans that are between us and some of the most violent activity, terrorist activity. But it is not unheard of to see this happening in the near future here.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Because you opened our borders, we saw people flooding in from places like Iran, like Afghanistan, under an administration that didn't take that seriously, didn't follow them, didn't find out who they were, why they were here. And so, I always say this, it's not if, but when we're going to see that. And I'm just so thankful that we're almost to the end of the FIFA World Cup. I know that the FBI, our CIA, our local law enforcement, our state law enforcement are working together, you know, to prevent any kind of terrorist events happening there. But you know, was at the UFC event at the White House.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Oh, yes. Earlier this summer. And you know, it doesn't take a whole lot, you know, just one drone to come in, you know, to have mass amounts of casualties. And so, I don't think at any point in time we can take that for granted. And when we start taking it for granted, it's really where you're to see the demise of human life and really our culture.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I wanted to ask something pertaining to that. How can we all do better about reaching across the aisle to people who call persons like myself or yourself conspiracy theorists and propagators. What can you leave with to encourage fostering more dialogue that promotes an American way of life, truth, liberty and justice, and not conflate it with this divisive space within the divisive language that we're constantly left with.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:One, be organized with your thoughts. Two, be prepared with facts and data. Three, be happy warrior. Don't be a hateful warrior. You know, I think nothing is more off putting than listening to someone who is just screaming and yelling.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Because you tend to tune them out. But somebody who is reasonable, who has facts and can back it up with receipts, is going to be listened to. Again, concentrate on the relationships. I did when I was mayor, I did not have an R or D next to my name. As soon as I put an R next to my name and I ran for Congress, I really found out who some of my friends were and who really weren't.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And that was heartbreaking. You know, these were relationships that I'd had for decades and all of a sudden they found out. I never hit it. You know, that I was a Republican and really disappointed them but continued to have a voice. Refuse to be shut down because it's not popular amongst the group of friends.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Because what I found was you may think that it's unpopular, you may think you're the only person who thinks that, but as soon as you start talking, people will come up to you, even if they don't have the bravery or the voice to do it in the moment. So many people will come up to you afterwards and say, thank you for bringing that up, I really appreciate it. I wanted to say something, but you know, I was afraid what would happen. We all have to be that light in the darkness. We all have to be that voice of reason.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:And I think the more of us who understand, who have read our history, who know what's possible in the future, and talk about it, live it, and fight for it. That's what we can all do. And not in a hateful manner, but call out injustice when you see it. Make it about the policy, make it about the issue, don't make it about the person, don't make it about the party. And I think, you know, we can all come together.
Representative Beth Van Duyne:Think, know, whether or not it's working on health care, election integrity, infrastructure, AI, the future of economic development, none of those things should be partisan. They've all turned
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:into Exactly. Positive
Representative Beth Van Duyne:But we still need to keep talking about them and not be shut down because we're afraid somebody's not going to find us popular.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yep, I agree with you. Thank you for leading by example and for being a voice that champions truth and transparency for your constituents and North Texans. You are a pleasure and you're a
Representative Beth Van Duyne:blessing to have here. You've been great. I love what you do and I love all the interviews that you have.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Thank you!
Representative Beth Van Duyne:This is such a much better format than the four minutes of trying to spew out data. It's so much more relaxing. I want to have you back, please, whenever we
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:both have more time. I'm sorry I was one or two minutes late. I am sad that
Representative Beth Van Duyne:I didn't have more time with happen, and we'll definitely have
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:another chance. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.