Sen. Ted Cruz
Hometown: Houston
Age: 42
Years in Congress: Newly elected
Party: Republican
Committees: Armed Services; Judiciary; Commerce, Science and Technology; Rules; Aging
Agenda: On his first day in office, the new lawmaker said his top priorities were (1) cutting spending, (2) reforming the federal tax code and (3) reducing federal regulations. A self-described "constitutional conservative," he already is a major player in the revived gun-control debate: "I stand ready to defend the Second Amendment and efforts to undermine our God-given rights." And he says he will "work creatively" in an attempt "to do as much as we can to prevent the implementation of Obamacare." Photo: David J. Phillip, Associated Press

Rep. Kevin Brady
Hometown: The Woodlands
Age: 57
Years in Congress: 16
Party: Republican
Committees: Ways & Means Committee; Joint Economic Committee (chair)
Agenda: The new chair of the House Ways & Means Committee health subcommittee has vowed to push legislation repealing Obamacare. He knows it won't go anywhere in the Senate, though it could pass the House. Instead, he'll seek to modify the 2010 health-care law by targeting its tax on medical devices and incentives he believes will encourage businesses to drop employer-sponsored health care plans. He's planning to use his chairmanship of the congressional Joint Economic Committee as a bully pulpit to push for reform of the Federal Reserve.

Rep. John Culberson
Hometown: Houston
Age: 56
Years in Congress: 12
Party: Republican
Committees: Appropriations
Agenda: A member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, this staunch fiscal conservative has varied missions. He will push for the maximum amount in spending cuts that can win House passage. He also will oppose federal funding for Houston Metro rail along Richmond Ave., saying his constituents view it as "an unwanted and unapproved rail project in their backyard." But he will try to increase spending on border security and ensure the funding necessary to effectively operate the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Rep. Blake Farenthold
Hometown: Corpus Christi
Age: 51
Years in Congress: 2
Party: Republican
Committees: Homeland Security; Transportation; Oversight and Government Reform
Agenda: A member of the oversight committee that is investigating the botched "Fast and Furious" gun-walking operation, he is pressing for the release of additional documents that could shed light on what he calls "stonewalling" and "cover-up" by Attorney General Eric Holder. He hopes to leverage his spot on the Homeland Security Committee to strengthen security along the Texas-Mexico border. He also will seek additional federal funding for continuing construction of the new I-69 in South Texas. Photo: Charles Dharapak

Rep. Bill Flores
Hometown: Bryan
Age: 58
Years in Congress: 2
Party: Republican
Committees: Budget; Natural Resources; Veterans' Affairs
Agenda: As a Budget Committee member, he pledges to vote for a budget that deeply cuts government spending and reforms entitlements. He hopes to simplify the tax system by lowering rates and limiting deductions and credits. On the Natural Resources Committee, he'll join the push for comprehensive “all-of-the-above” energy legislation that "removes unwarranted government roadblocks to domestic energy production and supply." He'd like to narrow the mandate of the Endangered Species Act to "put some value on the human species at some point in time." Also on his legislative wish list: congressional reform, including term limits, pay cuts for lawmakers if they fail to balance the budget and pared-back fringe benefits.

Rep. Al Green
Hometown: Houston
Age: 65
Years in Congress: 8
Party: Democratic
Committees: Financial Services
Agenda: He vows to protect the social safety net of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid during upcoming budget negotiations, but says that a plan for long-term stability could include means-testing and a higher income cap for Social Security payroll taxes. He'll continue to maintain his focus on veterans issues, working with Nevada Republican Denny Heck on the "Haven Act," designed to help low-income disabled veterans modify their homes so they can maintain their independence. And he will work to create a permanent position in the Department of Housing and Urban Development to oversee programs for veterans and to reduce homelessness among veterans.

Rep. Gene Green
Hometown: Houston
Age: 65
Years in Congress: 20
Party: Democratic
Committees: Energy and Commerce
Agenda: The veteran Democrat has worked across party lines to push Houston-area projects on Capitol Hill. This year, a top priority is federal funding for dredging in the Port of Houston. A member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, he'll oppose moves by fellow Democrats to curtail energy industry tax breaks. As the representative of the Texas congressional district with the highest rate of uninsured residents, he'll fight GOP attempts to water down Obamacare. And he'll try to build bipartisan support for comprehensive immigration reform, a top concern in a district that is 66 percent Hispanic.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Hometown: Houston
Age: 62
Years in Congress: 18
Party: Democratic
Committees: Homeland Security; Judiciary
Agenda: She'll use her perch on the Judiciary Committee to try to generate "a tsunami of public opinion" to push the House Republican majority to enact "common-sense gun safety legislation" including an assault weapons ban. She has filed legislation allowing the Justice Department to collect data on local traffic stops to determine whether law enforcement officers were engaging in racial or ethnic profiling. She favors a "balanced" approach to deficit reduction but strongly favors spending for Houston-area priorities such as NASA, medical research, airport and air traffic control improvements and Houston Metro. Photo: Ralph Barrera, Associated Press

Rep. Michael McCaul
Hometown: Austin
Age: 50
Years in Congress: 8
Party: Republican
Committees: Homeland Security (Chair); Foreign Affairs; Science, Space & Technology
Agenda: The new Homeland Security Committee chair will pursue what he calls "a culture of corruption, waste, duplication and systemic management problems" at the federal Department of Homeland Security. He will push to reform the agency's acquisition, procurement, data and financial systems. And he plans to use committee hearings to shine a spotlight on activities by the terrorist group Hezbollah’s finance cells in Latin America and on potential threats posed by the increasing strength of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and nearby nations. Photo: © AP

Rep. Pete Olson
Hometown: Sugar Land
Age: 50
Years in Congress: 4
Party: Republican
Committees: Energy and Commerce
Agenda: The new Energy and Commerce Committee member will aggressively pursue a strategy of North American energy independence through maximizing domestic production. He hopes to block any administration attempts to slow down new technologies such as fracking. He also will team up again with Houston Democrat Gene Green on House-passed legislation (that died last year in the Senate) to protect the Texas energy grid from rolling blackouts. His top priority for the year is to reduce the overall level of government spending _ not just to slow its level of growth.

Rep. Ted Poe
Hometown: Humble
Age: 64
Years in Congress: 8
Party: Republican
Committees: Foreign Affairs; Judiciary
Agenda: As the new chairman of the House subcommittee on terrorism, nuclear nonproliferation and trade, Poe says his top priority will be to expose "Iran's fingerprints on terrorism throughout the world." He will try to pass legislation to label drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations." And he will continue his bipartisan push with California Democrat Jim Costa to combat violence against women, both domestically and internationally, and crack down on human trafficking. Poe says Republicans "need to take the lead on immigration reform," and he will join a push for a guest worker program, a better employment verification system and enhanced border security.

Rep. Steve Stockman
Hometown: Friendswood
Age: 56
Years in Congress: Newly elected. (Previously served from 1995-1997.)
Party: Republican
Committees: Science, Space and Technology; Foreign Affairs
Agenda: Returning to Congress after an absence of 16 years, the outspoken supporter of the right to keep and bear arms plans to be a high-profile opponent of any new gun control measures proposed in the aftermath of the Connecticut school massacre. And he's not just playing defense: On his first day on the job, he introduced legislation to repeal gun-free school zones. He also hopes to be a prominent voice behind attempts to roll back government spending, except for the Cedar Bayou Navigation Channel, the Port of Houston and NASA. "I will lead the fight for a robust space program," the new member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee pledged this week.

Rep. Randy Weber
Hometown: Pearland
Age: 59
Years in Congress: Newly elected
Party: Republican
Committees: Science, Space and Technology; Foreign Affairs
Agenda: This close ally of Rick Perry shares the Texas governor's opposition to White House  environmental policies and has pledged to block new Obama administration regulations on business. He will be a consistent voice for more domestic energy production and against higher taxes on oil, gas and petrochemical industries. He'd like to remove all moratoriums on drilling. He also hopes to use money from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, which now goes into the general revenue stream, to deepen and widen five ports in Southeast Texas. Photo: J. Patric Schneider, Freelance