Moran, Nathaniel RSS Articles

Moran, Kelly Introduce Legislation to Rebuild U.S. Shipbuilding and Counter China

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) and Congressman Mike Kelly (PA-16) introduced the American Shipyard Investment Act to rebuild America's shipbuilding industrial base. This legislation reverses the decades-long decline of America’s shipbuilding industrial base by creating a targeted investment tax credit for shipyard construction and expansion.

“America’s ability to project naval power and sustain supply chains depends on a strong domestic industrial base,” said Rep. Moran. “This tax credit will provide greater liberty to entities investing in shipbuilding across America. We cannot continue to cede our once-dominant shipbuilding position to foreign competitors, especially China.”

“For decades, China has outpaced the United States when it comes to shipbuilding. We cannot allow China to monopolize the global shipbuilding market. This legislation incentivizes private sector investment to revitalize America’s shipbuilding industry and restore manufacturing dominance,” said Rep. Mike Kelly (PA-16).

How the Bill Works:

The American Shipyard Investment Act establishes a new investment tax credit (ITC) for the construction or expansion of qualifying U.S. shipyards:

A 25% ITC for shipyard construction or expansion

A 35% ITC for shipyards built in federally designated Opportunity Zones

To qualify, shipyards must be primarily engaged in constructing or repairing military vessels; manufacturing critical vessel components, as determined by the Secretary of the Navy and the Maritime Administrator; or manufacturing equipment used to produce or repair vessels. The credit applies to qualifying property placed in service through December 31, 2033.

Stakeholder Support:

Joshua Huel, President and CEO of Chamber of Marine Commerce: “We are especially enthusiastic about the American Shipyard Investment Act's proposed 25 percent investment tax credit, which would provide a meaningful incentive for private investment in shipyards, helping to modernize critical infrastructure, accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies, and expand industrial strength. Such investments would strengthen the shipyard capacity that is so essential to supporting North America's maritime economy.”

Read the full letter of support here.

Brandon Farris, Executive Vice President of Steel Manufacturers Association: “SMA applauds introduction of the American Shipyard Investment Act, led by Rep. Nathaniel Moran. Policies that expand domestic shipbuilding capacity and revitalize our nation’s maritime industrial base are critical to supporting American-made steel. This legislation builds on recommendations in the Maritime Action Plan to leverage federal tax credits as part of a comprehensive maritime strategy for the United States. Steel manufacturers are ready to supply the steel for the next great chapter in American shipbuilding.”

Read the full letter of support here.

Additional Organizations Supporting American Shipyard Investment Act:

Saronic Technologies

American Shipbuilding Suppliers Association

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Moran Votes to Strengthen America’s Military, Support Troops and Their Families

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27 NDAA) to strengthen and support America’s military. This bipartisan bill authorizes spending for national defense, delivers a pay raise for servicemembers, rebuilds America’s defense industrial base, and strengthens deterrence capabilities against China and other adversaries.

“Our men and women in uniform deserve a military that is ready, capable, and dominant,” said Rep. Moran. “This year’s NDAA strengthens our arsenal, delivers real relief on pay and housing for our troops and their families, and roots out waste so every dollar goes toward protecting America at home and abroad. Investing in our military is how we stand firm against our adversaries.”

Key provisions in the FY27 NDAA:

Revitalizing the Defense Industrial Base

Expands U.S. production capacity, unleashes private sector investment, opens the door to new and innovative entrants, reduces needless regulations, and creates thousands of skilled jobs for Americans.

Implementing President Trump’s Agenda

Carries out the President’s commitment to build a ready, capable, and lethal fighting force by advancing over 65 Executive Orders and Legislative Proposals and by fully authorizing his top defense priorities.

Improving Servicemembers’ Quality of Life

Fulfills the President’s request to raise all servicemembers’ pay by 5 to 7% and improves housing, education, and access to childcare for military families.

Restoring Lethal Capabilities

Enables the replenishment of stockpiles by providing the authorities and resources required to expedite the production and acquisition of munitions and key warfighting capabilities.

Accelerates the fielding of critical technologies like quantum computing, hypersonics, and autonomous systems.

Strengthening American Deterrence

Prioritizes investment in the forces and capabilities needed to maintain a strong U.S. posture.

Strengthens nuclear deterrence, expands missile defense, and targets resources and authorities to counter adversaries like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Eliminating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

Builds on progress made in FY26 to streamline Department of War operations and cut nearly $30 billion in wasteful programs.

Stands up a new task force and provides new authorities to eliminate fraudulent payments and achieve a full and clean audit within 24 months.

This legislation also maintains the Red River Army Depot Component Rebuild Shop authorization, ensuring significant investment in our future military’s capabilities.

Read the full legislation here.

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Moran Leads Amicus Brief to SCOTUS Protecting First Amendment Rights

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) led an amicus brief in Hershey v. Bossier City to protect First Amendment rights and ensure religious persecution doesn’t persist in America. Rep. Glenn Grothman (WI-06) joined the amicus brief.

“Mr. Hershey’s constitutional rights were treated as optional the moment officers decided to ignore them,” said Rep. Moran. “The Fifth Circuit's ruling lets that stand, creating circuit split that leaves citizens with weaker right to free speech and right to religious free exercise which is contrary to the Founders’ intent. The violation of these First Amendment rights should alarm everyone, regardless of politics or faith.”

The brief argues:

Double Protection — The Constitution “doubly protects” Hershey’s conduct as both free speech and free religious exercise. Public evangelism through pamphlets is a time-honored American tradition predating the Founding itself.
Obviousness Exception — Qualified immunity was never meant to shield officers from obvious constitutional violations. Hope v. Pelzer held no factually identical precedent is required when a violation is plain. That rule must extend to the First Amendment.
Congressional Intent — Section 1983 was enacted to hold government actors accountable for constitutional violations—including violations of religious expression. The Fifth Circuit’s approach undermines that congressional mandate.
Circuit Split — Other circuit courts have applied the obviousness exception to First Amendment claims and this case is essential to resolving this issue for Americans.

Background:

In February 2020, Richard Hershey was peacefully distributing religious leaflets on a public sidewalk near an arena in Bossier City, Louisiana. He caused no disturbance and avoided staircases and parking lots. Nearby, another individual was distributing commercial advertising without incident. Two Bossier City police officers and several private security guards ordered Hershey to leave, threatening arrest if he continued. When he cited his First Amendment rights, they claimed the sidewalk was private property—a claim that was factually false.

Mr. Hershey sued the City, the officers, and the security guards, alleging violations of the First Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. His claim against the City argued that inadequate training of its employees caused the constitutional violation (Monellclaim).

The district court dismissed the Monell claim and granted the officers qualified immunity. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit reversed the dismissal of the Monell claim but affirmed qualified immunity for the officers, citing prior en banc precedent declining to adopt an “obviousness” exception in the First Amendment context.

Read the full amicus brief here.

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Fox News: GOP lawmakers urge Supreme Court to strengthen First Amendment protections for street preachers

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Two House Republicans are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case they say could strengthen First Amendment protections for religious speech, arguing police officers should not receive qualified immunity for "obvious" constitutional violations against Christian evangelist Richard Hershey.

"Mr. Hershey’s constitutional rights were treated as optional the moment officers decided to ignore them," Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"The 5th Circuit's ruling lets that stand, creating a circuit split that leaves citizens with a weaker right to free speech and right to religious free exercise, which is contrary to the Founders’ intent. The violation of these First Amendment rights should alarm everyone, regardless of politics or faith."

Moran and Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., are leading an amicus brief supporting Hershey's petition to the Supreme Court, arguing the justices should resolve a split among federal appeals courts over whether government officials can claim qualified immunity for obvious First Amendment violations.

Moran and Grothman’s brief argues the Constitution protects Hershey's sidewalk evangelism under both the free speech and free exercise clauses and maintains that qualified immunity should not shield officers from clear constitutional violations.

It also says Congress intended Section 1983 to hold government officials accountable for infringing constitutional rights and maintains that differing rulings between federal appeals courts make Supreme Court review necessary.

Last month, First Liberty Institute and the law firm Clement & Murphy PLLC asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a 5th Circuit decision that shielded Louisiana government officials from liability after they stopped Hershey from handing out Christian vegetarian literature on a public sidewalk outside a public park.

According to court filings, in February 2020, Hershey was handing out Christian pamphlets near the Bossier City Arena in Louisiana when police officers and security personnel told him to stop and leave the area. First Liberty says there was no written policy governing leafleting on the public sidewalks surrounding the arena.

The legal group alleges Hershey was "harassed and threatened with arrest and jail" and tried to explain that he believed his activities were protected by the First Amendment. Hershey left the area and did not return, according to the petition, due to concerns that he would be taken into custody.

Hershey later sued five police and security officers, alleging they violated his constitutional free speech rights. A federal district court ruled the officers were entitled to qualified immunity, and the 5th Circuit upheld that decision on appeal.

"There is simply no excuse for the government actions alleged in petitioner’s complaint. In any other circuit — and in the Fifth Circuit if he were a prisoner asserting mistreatment — his case could proceed," the petition states. "This Court should intervene and reaffirm that there is no novelty exception to the promise of §1983 when it comes to clearly established constitutional rights."

Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel at First Liberty Institute, told Fox News Digital in a statement, "A right without a remedy is effectively unenforceable. Americans deserve the right to hold government officials accountable when their First Amendment rights are violated. We are grateful for Rep. Moran and his colleagues who support this important case submitted to the Supreme Court."

Moran Recognized by National Taxpayers Union for Protecting Taxpayer Rights

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) recognized as the Taxpayer Defender of the Month for May 2026. The Taxpayer Defender award is presented by the National Taxpayers Union to recognize leaders who demonstrate a strong commitment to fiscal discipline, transparency, and protecting taxpayers. Further, the award highlights lawmakers who pair policy expertise with courage and common sense.

Moran was chosen for his leadership abilities by securing bipartisan support for H.R. 6506, the Taxpayer Due Process Enhancement Act. This practical legislation modernizes the U.S. Tax Court to ensure taxpayers have an opportunity to challenge disputed tax liabilities with the IRS.

“Accountability and transparency in our tax system are necessary to safeguard essential taxpayer rights,” said Rep. Moran. “I’m honored to receive NTU’s Taxpayer Defender Award, and I will continue to work to give taxpayers a clear, common-sense process to challenge disputed liabilities with the IRS. We must modernize our tax system, and I will continue to stand up for the taxpayers I represent by working to make this modernization and simplification a reality.”

NTU Executive Vice President Brandon Arnold: “We are proud to select Representative Moran as our Taxpayer Defender of the Month. His work helps restore trust in government by making sure the American people have a fair and open path to challenge the IRS.”

Pictured: Rep. Nathaniel Moran and Alexander Ciccone, National Taxpayers Union Policy and Government Affairs Manager.

Read more details on the legislation here.

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Moran Advances Bipartisan Legislation to Bring Transparency to Medicare Advantage Spending Out of Committee

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) released the following statement after the bipartisan Medicare Advantage MLR Transparency Act was passed 42-0 out of the Ways and Means Committee. The legislation requires Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations to publicly disclose how much of their revenue goes toward patient care versus overhead.

“Transparency and accountability must be at the center of reforming our healthcare system,” said Rep. Moran. “President Trump has made price transparency a cornerstone of his healthcare agenda, and this bill seeks to double down on that effort by pulling back the veil legislatively and requiring more information be made public about how Medicare Advantage dollars are spent. We are giving patients and taxpayers the clear, comparable information they need to hold these plans accountable, and make sure that they are actually going toward direct patient care.”

This bill codifies President Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan to hold insurance companies accountable and maximize price transparency:

Injects transparency and accountability into MA spending by requiring MA plans to submit to CMS and publicly post on their website more detailed revenue and spending information.
Requires CMS to align the standards of benefit information across all insurance types in the Medicare and commercial markets.

“Medicare Advantage now serves more than half of all Medicare beneficiaries, but seniors and taxpayers still lack important information about how these plans receive and spend tax dollars,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08).“Transparency is essential to ensuring patients can make informed decisions about their health care and taxpayers can have confidence that their dollars are being used responsibly. Representative Moran’s Medicare Advantage MLR Transparency Act advances President Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan by bringing greater accountability to Medicare Advantage finances and benefit information. I appreciate Representative Moran’s leadership in ensuring East Texas seniors and taxpayers have the information they deserve.”

Background:

The Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) was established by the Affordable Care Act in 2010 to regulate revenue and administrative costs for certain insurance companies, including Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Under the MLR standard, most large insurers must spend at least 85% of revenue on direct medical care or quality initiatives, leaving no more than 15% for administrative overhead, compliance, policy implementation, and corporate profit.

There have been concerns that MLR reporting currently is difficult and confusing for the public to understand due to the multiple MA revenue spending streams—including benchmark payments, risk adjustment payments, Quality Bonus Program payments, and premiums—and count both clinical services covered by Medicare and supplemental benefits, such as dental, vision, hearing, or fitness, as direct medical care.

As a result, the MLR has proven ineffective at providing potential and current beneficiaries insight into how their premium dollars are and will be used.

Read the full legislation here.

Watch Rep. Moran’s full remarks here.

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ICYMI: Moran Warns Foreign Adversaries Are Exploiting U.S. Tax Code to Harvest American Data

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) joined Jason Hsu, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, to discuss the importance of securing American data. The discussion centered on Rep. Moran’s Deterring Adversarial Access to Americans’ Data Act,key legislation preventing federal tax incentives from supporting foreign adversary-controlled technologies — a gap that currently allows companies doing business with Chinese-controlled platforms to claim billions in U.S. tax benefits.

“Every day that adversarial nations can freely harvest Americans’ personal data, they gain ground in a competition that will define our economic and national security for decades to come,” said Rep. Moran. “We have to make sure our laws keep pace with the threat, and that starts with cutting off the pipelines that let foreign adversaries exploit our own data against us.”

The legislation closes a gap in current law by extending Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) restrictions to major business tax incentives. FEOC restrictions currently apply to certain energy incentives but do not extend to major business tax provisions. The bill would require companies to sever ties with foreign adversary-controlled technology in order to remain eligible for benefits such as bonus depreciation, research and development expenses, research tax credits, and interest deductibility.

Rep. Moran on the importance of securing our own data:

“Knowledge of the enemy is the number one thing that helps you achieve success on the battlefield. Whether or not it’s the economic battlefield, the military battlefield, or the diplomatic battlefield. If you know what the enemy is thinking and saying and doing, you can actually win, even if your force is less.”

Rep. Moran on balancing national security and American business development:

“This bill was laid out to smoke out the realities of what’s going on, on the ground… The self-evaluation that needs to happen in this moment. [Companies] have to realize there is going to be a long-term economic consequence to a long-term relationship.”

“What our bill tries to do is be flexible… We try to lay it out in such a way that it can be malleable as technology grows. We’re not trying to stifle innovation. This is not at all a regulatory bill… I’m a guy that believes you got to have tons of liberty and tons of innovation.”

“Here in the United States, we are the most innovative people there are. We’ve got to let innovation reign, but we also have to put guardrails in place for national security, public safety purposes.”

Rep. Moran on addressing China's threat to America:

“In 2017, [China] passed a law that said… any company or individual that’s involved out there in the world, you’re beholden to us and you’ve gotta provide us information that we want. And, there’s no geographic boundary to that.”

“[China’s] law in 2015 says we’re going to broadly define what national security means. And so national security can basically just now be anything the Chinese government wants it to mean when it regards your duty, as individuals or corporations, to provide [China] with information we think is relevant to national security.”

“[Companies] should think about it in terms of you’ve got a known espionage agent trying to get in the door. They want to get in the door. Don’t let them in the door. They’re going to really try and find their way in the door. Don’t just open the door for them and don’t just let them in and give them access to all kinds of stuff.”

“Just remember they see us as adversaries. Their intentions are not good intentions.”

Watch the full conversation here.

Read the full bill text here.

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Rep. Moran Recognized for Defending Limited Government

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) was announced as a recipient of the Defender of Limited Government Award, a distinguished recognition from the Institute of Legislative Analysis (ILA). The award represents the 2026 Limited Government Index, a legislative analysis of voting records, compiled from 305 roll calls across 10 policy categories and encompassing 89,125 individual lawmaker votes.

“One of my primary goals in Congress is to increase liberty for Americans across the country,” said Rep. Moran. “This recognition underscores the importance of maintaining steadfast support for the principles that have made our country great. I remain committed to fighting for freedom by limiting the role and influence of the federal government.”

Ryan McGowan, CEO, Institute for Legislative Analysis: “The Institute for Legislative Analysis is proud to present Congressman Nathaniel Moran with the Defender of Limited Government Award for a voting record aligned with the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution. Congressman Moran has focused much of his work on issues that matter directly to East Texas families and small businesses, including tax relief, economic growth, and protecting taxpayers from IRS overreach. We especially appreciate his work on the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act, which would help prevent the IRS from using new funding to target middle-class families and small businesses with unnecessary audits. Congressman Moran and his team deserve credit for working to keep Washington accountable, protect working families, and support the employers who help communities thrive.”

Ryan McGowan, CEO, Institute for Legislative Analysis; Congressman Nathaniel Moran; and Fred McGrath, President and Chief Economist, Institute for Legislative Analysis

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Reuters: US lawmaker introduces bill to require AI companies to report critical incidents

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

A Republican lawmaker ‌on Thursday proposed legislation that would require AI model developers to report dangerous capabilities, security breaches and safety incidents.

The draft legislation, introduced by U.S. Representative Nathaniel Moran of Texas, would mandate AI companies to report to the U.S. Commerce Department within seven days of discovering dangerous activity, with Commerce required to notify Congress within 48 hours of the most serious incidents.

"It's a catch-it-early ⁠and sound-the-alarm bill," Moran said in an interview about the AI Incident Reporting Act.

The bill comes as ever-more powerful AI models raise the risks to national security and public safety. On June 12, the Commerce Department took action against Anthropic's latest models in the name of national security that resulted in Anthropic disabling access to them globally. The government directive exposed the absence of a transparent framework to govern frontier AI.

Reportable activity under the draft legislation includes a model attempting to evade human oversight, circumvent safeguards, and otherwise undermine the ability of human operators to control the model. It ‌also ⁠includes unauthorized access to model weights, which help determine a machine's decision-making, and chemical, biological, nuclear, and other threats to public safety.

The bill is the latest AI regulation to be proposed in Congress, which has struggled to pass legislation amid debate over whether federal law should preempt state laws and whether innovation and ⁠the U.S. competition with China would be slowed by guardrails.

Earlier this month, two lawmakers in the House of Representatives released a discussion draft of broad AI legislation known as the Great American Artificial Intelligence Act, ⁠which included reporting critical safety incidents to Commerce.

Moran said his more targeted approach could find a quicker path to law, and thought it would bring in bipartisan support quickly.

"No legislation on ⁠AI has had much of a chance, but I think there's a growing demand from the public to see some action," said Mark Beall, president of the AI Policy Network, who supports Moran's proposed legislation.

Rep. Moran Introduces AI Incident Reporting Act to Require Reporting of Critical AI Incidents

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) today introduced the AI Incident Reporting Act, legislation that would create a federal framework requiring developers of the most advanced artificial intelligence models to report dangerous capabilities, security breaches, and safety incidents to the Secretary of Commerce.

As AI systems grow more autonomous — capable of modifying their own behavior, evading human oversight, and accelerating their own development — the U.S. has had no clear and formal mechanism to learn when something goes wrong. This bill closes that gap.

Under the legislation, the Department of Commerce would designate which AI models meet capability thresholds sufficient to pose significant risks to national security or public safety. Developers of those models would be required to file reports within seven days of discovering dangerous activity. For the most serious incidents — including evidence that a model can autonomously improve itself or cause serious risk to public safety — Commerce would be required to notify congressional leadership and relevant committee chairs within 48 hours.

Reportable incidents include AI models that attempt to evade human oversight or resist shutdown; unauthorized access to or theft of model weights; capabilities that could enable offensive cyberattacks against critical infrastructure; evidence that a model can autonomously accelerate the development of more powerful AI systems; and other risks including chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive threats.

“AI is a powerful engine of innovation, and I want to see it flourish, but not without accountability and not without human oversight,” said Congressman Moran. “The rule of law should apply to this new frontier. This legislation ensures that when something goes wrong with a high-capability AI system, the U.S. Government has the information needed to act quickly.”

Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of The Alliance for Secure AI, said: “The capabilities of advanced AI models are increasing by the day, and so are the risks of AI systems gaining the ability to self-improve, evade human oversight, and enabling attacks against our nation’s infrastructure. We need mechanisms to identify these risks early so that leaders can respond quickly before incidents become bigger threats. We applaud Congressman Moran for his leadership on this urgent issue, and I encourage his colleagues in the House to join him.”

Mark Beall, President of the AI Policy Network, said: “As AI systems grow more and more capable, the government needs a reliable window into powerful AI models developing dangerous capabilities, like launching a cyberattack or helping build a biological weapon. Congressman Moran is leading a new vanguard of AI policy in the Republican Party by proposing legislation to fix that without dictating how companies innovate. The United States leads the world in AI, and this bill extends that advantage while preparing for systems of unprecedented scope and capability. We urge Congress to take it up without delay.”

The legislation directs Commerce to develop reporting thresholds in consultation with AI developers, academic researchers, cybersecurity experts, and national security officials, ensuring the framework reflects technical realities and avoids unnecessary burden on industry. Developers would be required to submit initial reports followed by supplemental disclosures as additional information becomes available. The bill includes protections for sensitive, classified, and security-relevant information and permits inter-agency sharing with the intelligence community and law enforcement where appropriate. It also encourages good-faith reporting, allowing companies to file initial disclosures and follow up with more complete information.

To read the bill text of the AI Incident Reporting Act, click here.

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