We gathered for a group photo in front of the Capitol, then walked through the tunnels to the Library of Congress, where staff showed them how we preserve their stories through oral history and photographs.

This group spanned four branches of the military and four generations. The youngest served in Iraq. The oldest is 94 and served in Korea. Between them were pilots, riflemen, a Navy chief warrant officer, a fire chief, and a cook who spent twenty years in the Army. Each one of them did their duty, and then came home and kept serving as pastors, firefighters, teachers, and volunteers in their churches.

From the Library of Congress, some rode the Senate subway (the way Senators do!) to the Russell Senate Office Building while the rest of us walked over for dinner in the Kennedy Caucus Room.

Once everyone was settled for dinner, I presented each veteran with a challenge coin and reminded them that—even though they had done so much for our country and the cause of freedom—they still had special call on their life to continue that work until their very last breath. The same goes for each of us!

After dinner, we went back to the Capitol, where I walked them through the beginnings of our great nation. We started in the Crypt and moved on to the Rotunda, then out to the Speaker’s balcony as the sun set over Washington for a beautiful fall sunset.

From there, we went to Statuary Hall and finished the tour on the floor of the House of Representatives. I talked to them about how every vote I cast there is serious because I answer to the people of East Texas, to God, and to our country, and the privilege to stand on that floor and cast those votes exists because of the freedoms these veterans fought to protect and preserve.

Many of these men and women are uncomfortable being treated like VIPs. East Texas humility is a real thing, but these men and women deserved every honor. They set an incredible example for young people back home—the way they showed up and served our country in the past and the way they show up now to serve in our churches, our schools, and our communities.  It’s simply remarkable.

Thank you to Brookshire Grocery Company for 22 years of honoring those who served. East Texas veterans earned every minute of that day.

Click here to watch KLTV 7’s coverage of the Brookshire Heroes Flight.

Hiring for the AI Era

Most congressional offices handle artificial intelligence the same way. One staffer gets the issue on top of several other policy topics, and that person does the best they can juggling them all. This week, I told Transformer News that our office is doing things differently. We are bringing on a policy fellow whose focus will be on AI—on top of an already robust legislative team that has led in so many technically difficult areas.  AI cuts across every committee’s jurisdiction and we plan to be the most robust legislative office in Washington, D.C. for the 120^th Congress.

Actress Cheryl Hines, spouse of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appeared on Fox News’ ‘Outnumbered’ this week, where the panel discussed our bipartisan bill to bring film and TV production back to the United States.

Hines explained what is at stake. “For every one person that you see on the screen, there are thousands of people working behind them,” she said. Those are the lighting crews, the writers, and the hair and makeup artists, and they are people who could be working in towns across East Texas and America. She also said the industry is operating at 60 percent of where it should be because other countries are offering incentives that are pulling production overseas.

American stories belong in America, and the jobs that tell them belong here too. Watch the full segment here.

More than $8 million in Rural Health Transformation Program funding is being awarded to 28 rural health care providers across Texas through the Rural Texas Strong initiative. Two of them are in the First District: Healthier Way Family Care in Gregg County and East Texas Community Health Services in Nacogdoches. The funding will support chronic disease prevention, the recruitment and retention of rural health care workers, and improvements to medical equipment and facilities.

Strong rural healthcare starts with the doctors, nurses, and staff who keep our clinics open, and this funding will help Texas providers recruit and retain them. More families will get quality care close to home. I was proud to secure this funding through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

On October 23, 1983, a devastating suicide truck bombing struck the U.S. Marine barracks at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon, killing 241 American service members—including 220 Marines, 18 Navy sailors, and 3 Army soldiers. Moments later, a second vehicle struck a nearby French military building, killing 58 French peacekeepers. The American troops were deployed as part of a multinational peacekeeping mission during the Lebanese Civil War. The attack represents the deadliest single day for the U.S. Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945, and it ultimately led to the withdrawal of Western forces from the country by early 1984.

Dealing with federal agencies can be complicated, and my office is here to help. If you need help with Social Security, the IRS, passport renewals, the VA, or other federal agencies, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office by calling (903) 561-6349 or visiting my website.

It is an honor to be your voice in Congress.

With gratitude,

Nathaniel Moran

Member of Congress