Experts in the News

Texas Senate Bill 6 (SB 6) — a measure to limit transgender access to bathrooms — will likely not make it through the Texas House of Representatives, where it faces opposition from both Democrats and Republicans, including House Speaker Joe Straus. "Straus is signaling very clearly that SB 6 is dead," commented fellow Mark Jones.

Houston Matters talked to Mark Jones, fellow in political science, about the ongoing Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch.

The GOP's attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare has failed. Now what? Tune in on Tuesday (3/28) at 12:30 pm CDT, when our experts Vivian Ho and Marah Short will give a five-minute overview of the situation as it stands, then answer your questions live on Facebook. Join us!

Vivian Ho, director of the Center for Health and Biosciences, participated in a Facebook Live event hosted by Legacy Community Health to discuss the American Health Care Act (AHCA). She explained that since Harris County leads Texas and Texas leads the United States in terms of numbers of the uninsured, access to health care both in Houston and across the state would likely be significantly, and adversely, impacted by the passage of this bill. "It's bad for urban areas, and it's bad for rural areas," Ho said.

President Donald Trump signed a bill on Tuesday authorizing $19.5 billion to be spent on NASA's deep space missions and setting a goal of sending manned missions to Mars by the 2030s. George Abbey, senior space fellow and former director of the Johnson Space Center, said that unless a corresponding appropriations bill is passed, the NASA bill is not a major commitment. "Words won't get you to Mars," Abbey said.