Katy Padilla Stout
DemocraticQ1 In June 2026, USDA confirmed New World screwworm in Texas livestock for the first time in decades; as of early July, dozens of infestations have been confirmed across South Texas (USDA APHIS , 2026). USDA estimates a full-scale outbreak comparable to past infestations could cost the regional economy billions of dollars (USDA APHIS). What policies, if any, would you support to respond to the current outbreak and improve Texas’s agricultural biosecurity (practices and safeguards that prevent pests and diseases from spreading through livestock populations), and what evidence or considerations would inform that approach?
The first two confirmed U.S. cases in this outbreak were calves in Zavala County, right here in TX-23. Since then, cases have spread through ranching counties across this district, and state movement-control zones now touch several TX-23 counties. This is not a distant or theoretical threat. It began in the communities I am running to represent.
The immediate job is to make sure a rancher who finds a suspicious wound can get help quickly. USDA needs veterinarians and testing close to affected communities, along with clear information about where cases are appearing and what the rules are. Ranchers who report early and follow containment rules should receive help with reasonable testing, treatment, and outbreak-related losses.
Congress should also fund permanent U.S. sterile-fly production and continued dispersal in Texas. That technique eliminated screwworm from this country before. Because this district runs along the border, close cooperation with Mexico is also essential.
When this outbreak ends, the investment cannot end with it. This threat should be the warning that finally leads to stronger rural veterinary access and livestock surveillance across South and West Texas.
Q2 Texas is on track to become the nation’s leading data center market within the next three years (Bloom Energy, 2026). The state’s grid operator has more than doubled its 2030 forecast for data center power demand over the past year (ERCOT, 2025). Such growth brings economic opportunity while placing significant demands on water, land, and energy systems, raising questions about tax incentives, utility costs, and local community impacts. What policies, if any, would you support around water/energy allocation, tax incentives, or utility costs for data center development in Texas, and what evidence informs that position?
The economic benefits that data centers may bring needs be weighed against the costs communities bear: large tax breaks, enormous power and water consumption, reduced quality of life, and higher bills. I support a temporary moratorium on new data centers until affected communities have been heard and enforceable protections are in place.
In a district where families, farmers, and small towns already worry about water, data centers need to disclose before being approved their projected water and power use, the number of permanent jobs they will create, and other strains they will place on infrastructure. They need to pay for the grid and water upgrades their projects require. Local residents should have this information in advance, and local governments should have the authority to approve, reject, or place conditions on projects before construction begins. Until rules and protections are in place and communities have a meaningful role in these decisions, no new project should move forward.
In Congress, I will oppose federal efforts to override stronger state or local protections.
Q3 Texas faces flooding while simultaneously experiencing water scarcity driven by drought, groundwater depletion, and population growth (TWDB, 2024). Hundreds of Texas waterways are listed as impaired for bacteria, mercury, and other pollutants, threatening water quality for communities across the state (TCEQ, 2024). Agriculture is the largest consumer of the state’s groundwater, yet it is also well positioned to be a valuable partner in conservation efforts. What policies, if any, would you support to improve Texas’s water infrastructure, and what considerations would guide your approach to the state’s agricultural economy?
From western Bexar County to the Big Bend, the solutions to flood control and water scarcity will not all look the same. A town can be repairing flood damage while a ranch a few counties away is facing a drought.
I would seek federal funds to fix leaking systems, improve drainage, install flood warning systems, and modernize wastewater plants. Small towns usually know the right solutions for the community but lack the staff to chase complicated grants. Federal programs should include assistance for actually seeking the help. Farmers and ranchers should be partners. We also need sound groundwater data and real enforcement against major polluters. Local and regional water planning should guide where federal dollars go, because the people who live with these conditions understand them best.
Q4 The Texas power grid continues to face strain from extreme heat and increasing demand, including from data centers. What policies, if any, would you support to improve grid reliability for Texas consumers and businesses?
In Congress I would focus on the federal tools that can help: upgrading existing lines, supporting storage, protecting critical systems from cyberattacks, and ensuring backup power exists for hospitals, water systems, and other critical infrastructure. Texas also needs serious weatherization and better coordination between the power generation and transmission systems. More generation does not help if it cannot work in extreme weather or reach the customers who need it.
Large new users, including data centers, should pay for the infrastructure their demand requires and reduce nonessential use during an emergency. Those costs should not quietly land on residential customers. Texas also needs a diverse mix of dependable energy sources and realistic planning for extreme weather and rising demand.
Q5 Texas universities and hospitals receive approximately $1.9 billion annually in NIH funding across 118 research sites, supporting tens of thousands of jobs and driving medical and scientific innovation (FASEB, 2025). NIH grants reimburse institutions for both direct research costs and indirect costs, the facilities, administration, and support infrastructure that make research possible. A 15% indirect cost cap proposed by NIH in 2025, currently blocked by federal courts, would sharply reduce this reimbursement below the rates Texas institutions have negotiated, cutting an estimated $300 million in annual support that institutions would need to absorb or backfill (Kamerlin & Elias, 2025). What policies, if any, would you support at the state or federal level to protect the long-term stability of Texas’s research infrastructure, and why?
I oppose the cap and support the longstanding system of negotiating and auditing these costs institution by institution. Congress should also prevent retroactive rule changes that leave universities and hospitals holding bills the federal government has already agreed to cover. At the same time, NIH should audit claims closely and make the rules easy for the public to see. This also hits close to home. San Antonio’s hospitals, universities, researchers, and patients all benefit from NIH-supported work. Those dollars support jobs and clinical trials today that could lead to treatments we may all need tomorrow.
Q6 Texas kindergartners’ measles vaccination rate fell to 93.24% in the 2024-2025 school year, a decline from prior years amid a national resurgence (Texas Department of State Health Services, 2025). That year, Texas recorded 762 confirmed measles cases, including the deaths of two unvaccinated school-age children, in the state’s largest outbreak since 1992 (Texas DSHS, 2025). Measles can cause serious complications: roughly 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who contract it are hospitalized, and it can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling, or death (CDC). As a policymaker, how do you approach engaging with communities that have concerns about infectious disease outbreaks and vaccine safety, and what policies, if any, would you support related to these issues, and why?
As a mother of four and former teacher, I understand why parents take questions about their children’s health seriously. I also know that one child’s health can affect an entire classroom. But parents also deserve straight answers, not condescending lectures about what choices they should make for their kids and their families. The best messenger is often someone a family already trusts, not a politician. Information should be easy to understand and access, available in multiple languages, and honest about benefits and possible side effects.
Congress should protect the Vaccines for Children program, support local disease surveillance, and make vaccines easier to reach through rural, mobile, and school-based clinics. When an outbreak occurs, communities need quick testing and timely public information. I support requirements based on established medical evidence, with legitimate medical exemptions, because children who are too young or medically unable to be vaccinated also deserve protection.
Q7 Scientific evidence is generated through the systematic testing and evaluation of ideas. It provides knowledge the helps us understand the world and predict the likely consequences of different choices, such policy making related to public health, energy, agriculture, and environmental regulation. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you evaluate competing or uncertain scientific claims when making policy decisions? What role, if any, should that process play when scientific consensus and public opinion diverge?
I think scientific evidence and expert input should serve a central role in the policymaking process. Still, as a member of Congress, I would look at the overall body of research, not select the one study that supports the answer I already wanted. I would ask whether the work was well designed, whether other researchers can reproduce the result, and whether anyone involved has a conflict of interest. I would also listen to the people who will have to live with or carry out the policy. When qualified experts disagree, I want to know why and how much the disagreement matters. Sometimes the responsible course is to start small, measure the results, and adjust as better information becomes available.
Public opinion matters when elected officials weigh priorities, costs, and values. It does not change whether a factual claim is true. My responsibility is to explain both the evidence I relied on and the judgment I made, and to be clear about what new facts would cause me to reconsider.