Fighting for You, From Fort Worth to Washington

Dear Friends,

There’s a good reason the title for a Member of Congress is “Representative”. As your Representative in Congress, it is my highest duty to be your voice in government and advocate for you every day. I have always seen constituent services— directly resolving constituents’ issues—as among my most important responsibilities as your Representative. I’m so proud that this year, the Congressional Management Foundation is recognizing my team as a national leader in constituent services and as a winner of the 2020 Democracy Awards in the Innovation and Modernization category. As the Congressional Management Foundation has recognized, I and my District team—Charlie Cripliver, Courtney Renken, Josie Flores, Justin Allbright, and John Walker—are always available to help you navigate federal bureaucracy to get you what you need. Whether your concern is related to Social Security, Medicare, veterans’ benefits, immigration services, or any other federal agency, we aren’t afraid to get a little creative to deliver results.

My staff and I always put constituent service ahead of politics, no matter how partisan the legislative process in Washington gets. Should there be a caseworker in another North Texas Congressional office that can help solve a constituent’s concerns, we work with that office for the better of our community. I’m proud that we’ve inspired other North Texas offices to unify behind that spirit. In 2016 my office created and still leads the North Texas Casework Roundtable, a bipartisan group meeting between federal agency representatives, my office caseworkers, and their counterparts at other North Texas offices. The Roundtable serves as an important forum to discuss best practices in helping constituents and allow myself and our region’s other elected officials to be more even effective at advocating for North Texans like you.

My District team works around the clock, helping real people in real ways: Since January, my office has successfully resolved nearly 750 constituent cases, an above-average number, and since last year, we have both received and successfully closed an average of 15 new constituent cases every week.

Many of these cases were resolved through my staff’s innovative—now award-winning— use of modern communication tools like text messaging, photographs, and social media to cut red tape. A mother, for example, was encountering bureaucratic delays in getting federal benefits that would allow her time away from work to care for her amputee infant son. In another case, a veteran visited my Fort Worth office with a tumor in his stomach, and stories of how he was having difficulty accessing care through the VA. In both cases, my office sent photos and other multimedia to illustrate the complexity and severity of their situations. After my office intervened, the mother successfully obtained the federal benefits she needed, and the veteran was scheduled for an appointment with the VA for the very next day.

I am honored that the Congressional Management Foundation has recognized my commitment to my constituents, as well as the dedication, compassion, and ingenuity of my District team. While I and my staff can’t travel to Washington to receive the award in-person, we’ll be traveling another way—through Zoom—and while my staff can’t use as much in-person interaction to address your concerns for now, we’re still here for you. Thanks to the modern technology that my staff so expertly deploy, we are always accessible. Visit my website or give us a call if you need help with something. For my staff, constituent service is more a calling than an obligation. I congratulate Charlie, Courtney, Josie, Justin, and John for this well-deserved recognition. We are proudly at your service.