Transcripts For CSPAN3 Key 20240706 : vimarsana.com

CSPAN3 Key July 6, 2024

Represent the 35 cgressional district of and is one of neay 80 new house members in the 118tcongress. A former member of the austin, texas city, he told cspan about previous work as a community and labor organizer. His progressive philosophy and how his family first came to texas from, well, my mom and dad both came here shortly before i was born. My dad, a physician in texas, but actually my grandmother back and forth from mexico as well, because when there was violence in mexico in the teens, the twenties, her father was, her father was killed and so and her mother actually came pregnant over to texas and to el paso and then came back to mexico. And thats where they grew up in so many ways. My family does things just like some of the other families have of coming back and forth between mexico and texas, ultimately making texas a really great place to live. But i was born and raised in texas and im really proud of my state and honored to be able to represented here what part of texas i was born and raised in houston . Ive been a Community Organizer in austin, city council member, but my district stretches from downtown san antonio all the way up to east austin, ive done a lot of work in antonio and all the areas in between really those two cities are growing. So that there really working as a partnership now, even though theyre very different cities with different needs, its really becoming more and more one community. And so im really to be able to represent both san antonio and. Austin youve been a long time activist. When did that begin for you . For me, my mom always taught me, as my grandmother did, about caring for others and looking out for everybody else because. None of us are really ultimately different from one another. And so me, when i was in high school, some of the big marches, Immigration Reform were happening throughout houston and throughout the country. Some of the biggest demonstrations in this country in its history up until the black lives Matter Movement of just a few years, that was really inspiring to me. And then when i was a student i was working, i went to the university, virginia, and i was organizing there alongside students and workers for a living wage. And back in texas, over the summers doing summer work and advocacy and organizing particular early for workers that work outdoors in texas in the texas heat, there were no and our no rules guaranteeing people things like a basic rights to a water break. So the first law that i ever worked on getting as an advocate was bringing workers together, immigrants and us born together asking for city hall to pass a basic right to a water break. And that law stands do that today. Where does your in labor rules and activism come from . I see that american history, the Labor Movement and workers coming together to demand a better deal has been the biggest counter to exploit haitian in our democracy and at the workplace in our history. And so ive seen how people that get thrown aside or dont usually get considered by their government. They come together. They can make big change as. I talked about seeing construction workers come together and demand water. The law across, the country seeing fast food workers talk about a 15 an hour minimum wage that used to be thought of as some sort of naive ask something that was way too far flung to get to. But now so many folks believe 50 should be the absolute minimum, not something higher. And so i really that when people come together and use collective voice, thats when you can make the most change. So although im a member of congress, i dont come here thinking that i myself, the person thats going to drive significant change, i want bring people together, especially at their workplaces or in their neighborhoods, to make a big difference. I dont believe just in work organizing. Also things like tenant organizing. Ive done a lot of work bringing people together to form the first tenant organizations at mobile home parks and at buildings to make sure that people have a safe place to live or have water. Now, some of the demands coming of places like texas is just guarantees that the lights will turn on because saw our entire grid get shut down because of essentially a special interest privatizing our electric grid. So my my interest really is in seeing that within our history, people coming together and, and using their voices collectively whats move this country forward . Any plans to galvanize your fellow colleagues here in congress on a Grassroots Level to try to make some changes. I think as members of congress we can be organizers in chief. We can validate and support communities coming together with bolder ideas and bolder visions, whatever we think is possible. Even just in my first few weeks as a member of congress, i can see how it can grind you down to see how slow it can feel like progress really is. But in my view, its because it should be the people that lead and politicians that follow. And so if we as members of congress, actually empower people to demand change, thats, i think ultimately is the best whisper of votes. Im proud this congress to have been chosen by my peers to be the whip of, the congressional progressive caucus. And ill do my to bring progressives together in the house and to highlight the amazing work that do. But ultimately, i think the best whip is the American People demanding, demanding change. And so well hopefully be working and training fellow members, congress and walking side by side with alongside workers that are demanding a union are to bring people from our districts here to really try to demand change and try get things moving in the congress. For those that dont know, youre counting the votes, the progressive caucus and how many members are in that caucus. We have more strong progressives, this congress, than any other time in modern history. A record 103 members of the congressional progressive. And i expect that those numbers actually grow during this congress. And so the whip position has helping count votes, helping together. The caucus is Progressive Agenda and. And its a really exciting position. The number three position within the caucus alongside chair Pramila Jayapal and deputy chair ilhan omar. And so im as a freshman member really honored and humbled to have been given the responsibility. And im going to work as hard as i can on it. Who are your political heroes . My very political heroes have actually been people met while i was on the austin city council, people that were brave enough to come and advocate for us to make political change when they were enduring enormous pain. As people like hannah, sancho and marina garrett, who were suffered horrible Sexual Assaults in austin, oftentimes werent believed, had their cases left in a case backlog, they were told and time again that when they were bringing up issues, they were doing things like, quote, making mountains out of molehills or the kinds of things i heard said about them by people in power. But they kept on advocating until the council had to see the challenges for what they were and did things like clear the Sexual Assault kick backlog in our community and start addressing these cases much differently and demanding better from our prosecutors and our Police Department or people like vanessa bishop, whose cousin and really, really close member was needlessly killed on our streets when he was having a Mental Health crisis. So when people called the police to help him was horrifically killed and she has continued to advocate to make change in the community and so to me, our heroes that come from the community and make those sorts of demands they are what lead to things like the political heroes that know about from texas, like lbj moving forward the Civil Rights Act or the Voting Rights act or the Fair Housing Act took real acts of bravery and leadership on his part to sign that of and push through that kind of big legislation. But you dont always hear about the heroes that were the everyday people, especially in American South or in texas, that werenessee, and arizona. Republican Nathaniel Moran is the new member representing the firscoressional district of texas in the 118th congress. He told cspan about how seein rold reagan running for president sparked his own ve for politics and why he studied russian in college, and how his parents ended up raising him on the campus of a Bible College in texas. Rep. Moran in 1976, my parents moved from arizona to east texas to help start a Bible College there in southern smith county, i was just shy of being two years old, but me and my three brothers packed up in a car with my parents and moved across half the country to help start a Bible College in east texas. It was your family and others, what was the idea . Rep. Moran the idea was to follow that great commandment of matthew 22, to get out and love others. That is about serving god and serving others. My parents were involved in ministry for many years, and this was just their opportunity to help start something new in the center of the United States, in east texas, and help build that ministry for families going forward. How did the mission shape the man . Rep. Moran i really modeled after that commandment, but going up on a Bible College campus was fantastic. Because you get the energy of Young College student, you got to be around so much activity, but you get to see others giving to their communities, learning about the scripture and dedicated to a life of faithful service to jesus christ. What sticks with you today from that time or from your faith . Rep. Moran for me, that opportunity as a young boy for a fantastic for a number of reasons. And i still tell my stories to my kids today. We roamed the woods, we had county roads we went down every which way, we shot our guns off of the bridges and and in the woods, i had a wonderful time just growing up. Really being able to explore and live in independent life and an independent life and figure out life on your own. We had a clothesline in the backyard, where week play we play football, we climbed trees we did the things that , young men and women would expect to do, and along the way, we had four broken bones and a lot of bruises. When did you first become interested in politics . Rep. Moran it was in 1984, when, after we have established ourselves in the really big city of white house texas, just a local town not far from that. My dad helped bring me through that pathway of watching Ronald Reagan run for his second term in office, 1984. As we went through that journey together, and we did a mock election in amateur school, and elementary school, i remember that to this today day. I cast my ballot for president reagan, that began to instill a love of public service. My dad modeled that. He was a small town mayor growing up. But that is about getting back to your community, not about holding a position of authority. It is really about how can you serve those around you. It started there. What do you remember your father telling you about why Ronald Reagan should be president . Rep. Moran simply because you know, we are talking about liberty, we are talking about taking government out of our lives on a daytoday basis so we can make good decisions for ourselves and our businesses, so we could have opportunities to work hard and have those decisions create opportunities. That is what it is about. Government gets in the way most of the time. If we get government out of the way, people are left to be able to make their own decisions and see those decisions where fruit bear fruit down the road. My dad did that when we were in white house and started a business out of our garage. It was just him and a little vending truck and a bunch of candy and chips and cookies in our garage. He started a little vending company, got up every morning later than 4 00 a. M. , and by 30 years had passed, he and my brother had grown that business to a larger regional vending company. But it took years, in fact, decades of hard work. Tell us about your education. Rep. Moran i started my education adventure at the United States military academy at west point, i was there for two years. Loved that time there, they were valuable to shape who i was, the the moniker of duty, honor, country, was instilled in my heart. It still guides me as to who i am and who i want to become. Ultimately i decided to pursue the civilian career, so i transferred to texas tech university, got a russian degree, finished my russian degree, started that at west point. Then i got an mba and a law degree and began practicing law after i left texas tech in 2002. But i would not give up that time for anything, both places shaped who i am today. Why study russian . Rep. Moran theres a lot to be said about understanding other cultures, understanding not just the russian culture but other cultures worldwide, and knowing how we need to interface with those cultures, understanding that our perspective is not the only perspective. But truly we see today, and who knew back then, that area of study would be so important today. Understanding in some senses how do we push back against a foe that is really trying to be imperialistic, and do some things around the world that they should not be doing. Understanding their culture and their history is vitally important. When did you start your political career. Rep. Moran you know, i dont call it a political career, i call it a career of service. My first Elective Service position was on a city council back in 2005, i remembered to distinctly, my brotherinlaw telling me now when will you run for your first office . And you know what i thought now is the time to do it. I stepped out and one that first election in 2005. I was glad to serve on the council level, and then many years later at the county level. I have had both the city and county levels of experience. County judge, the last six years before i was in congress. But one of the things i love to talk about in that journey is right after my second term in office in 2009, i left the city council and had been elected there for the third time, and been elected mayor pro tem, but my son had needs, needed special schooling in houston. He is deaf. So my family knew we needed to get down to houston for him. And we walked away from that, and walked away from that time of service to give him that opportunity and the gift of speech. We were incredibly blessed to be able to do that. My son went from four years old and unable to speak to seven years old, three years later, speaking. It was a gift for him for the rest of his life. But we had to walk away from that vocational call of being a public servant. Never thinking we would ever be able to get back to that time. But in 2012, we moved back and began serving our Committee Committee again, community again starting a nonprofit and an education foundation, of america. Teaching sunday school, basketball teams, whatever we could do. And then in 2016i became county judge. You have had a lot of titles. High school teacher, trombone player, coach for your daughters basketball team, church deacon, which you like the best . Rep. Moran being dads number one, and being a coach. My little girl, not so little anymore, she is almost six feet tall, they loved calling me coach on the Basketball Court instead of dad, so they look that opportunity. Left that opportunity. And i think i love coaching that team, just about more than anything, and spending that special time in the cub scouts with my older son. My smallest son is a kindergarten and i am looking forward to when he starts getting big enough to play basketball, and helping with that team and showing him the ropes. How many kids . Rep. Moran for kids, my wife and i have been married 23 years, we had our first two who are now 17 and 60 we had then because of the need to focus on my oldest son we waited a year, and we got him on the right track and said lets have some more kids. We have a little sevenyearold and a little fiveyearold. Two boys and two girls. What was the reaction from your kids when you won the seat and he became a member of congress . Rep. Moran well, you know, back to kind of the days of campaigning, try to involve them as much as they could, the little ones dont quite understand, but they love to repeat the campaign commercials, and they are involved every step of the way. Love being here is part of the as part of the process. I am hopeful as they grow older they will see really what i am trying to do is to build in an opportunity for them. So that one of these days they can have the same opportunity, to come from a trailer home on a Bible College campus with parents that did not have anything more than a Bible College education to be able to achieve anything you want in life by working hard, by staying steady with good values, by treating people right and giving back to your community. I think that is the formula to get somewhere in life. Not for ourselves, but for others. I tell people all the time, that the point of government is to help people get to prosperity. Prosperity is not the end. Posterity should be the middle point. The endpoints generosity to others. Liberty should lead to prosperity should lead them to generosity and to others. Greg landsman is a former Public School teacher who is now the democratic representative for ohios first Congressional District. One of nearly 80 news house members of the 118th congress. He spoke to cspan about why he attendedarrds divinity school, some of his faithbased tattoos, and how we first got into Public School teaching before running for congress. Rep. Landsman my parents were schoolteachers, i grew up, you know, with educators. And with the core belief that everyone has inherent value. And it is up to the adults to bring that value out in children, to make sure they understand just how significant and powerful they are, and i was really drawn to that idea, and the profes

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