| Notes |
Texas’s booming oil and gas industry was a focal point of the ALEC-sponsored delegation, which was meant to strengthen the already robust economic bonds between Texas and Israel, according to the records reviewed by The Intercept. The Texas energy companies CenterPoint and Vistra, and Zev Shulkin, a Texas doctor and pro-Israel advocate, joined ALEC in paying for the trip, according to the records, which do not reveal the total cost.
The Texas Republicans on the trip included Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian; state Reps. Phil King, Ron Simmons, Tony Dale, and Dennis Paul; and state Sens. Larry Taylor, Brandon Creighton, and Donna Campbell. Their days were filled with meeting Israeli technology companies and discussing how Texas can help Israel out with fossil fuel production, along with trips to Israeli settlement businesses. (ALEC, the energy companies, Shulkin, and the Texas state legislators did not respond to repeated requests for comment.) |