The 2023-2024 School Year Has Started!   Irving, TX - As many North Texans started school this week, I hope all students, teachers, and families have a great 2023-2024 school year! I recently hosted a North Texas law enforcement roundtable with officers from Euless, Dallas, Grapevine, and University Park Police Departments, Tarrant County Sheriff’s office, and State Representative Freddy Frazier, who also serves as Vice President of the Dallas Police Association. It is always an honor to bring community leaders together for roundtable discussions, which are extremely valuable in informing my work to improve our public safety. I also had the chance to tour Amazon’s fulfillment center in Grapevine! Amazon provides meaningful employment to thousands of North Texans. It was great to take a look behind the scenes to get a better understanding of their transportation, logistics, and workforce needs. I had a great meeting with AARP Texas at our district office to discuss policies that support family caregivers and older Americans. I’m committed to supporting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare, which is why I introduced resolutions to protect these vital programs. I also toured John Peter Smith Hospital, a Level 1 Trauma Center in Fort Worth, TX. It was a pleasure to meet many of the doctors that keep this hospital running, thank you for your service! Our TX-24 interns are such an integral part of our team. Thank you Keith at our Washington D.C. Office and Sydney at our District Office, for spending the summer interning with us! I wish you both the best of luck in all future endeavors! Have you ever wanted to serve your community in a Congressional office? Applications for our fall internship program are now OPEN! We’re looking for hard-working interns to join us in our Washington, D.C. and Addison, TX offices. Please visit my website to learn more and to apply. Texas-24 Work of the Week As chairman of the House Committee on Small Business’ oversight subcommittee, I’m working to hold the SBA accountable for its continued disregard for helping small businesses and for wasting taxpayers' hard-earned money. This week, I helped lead a letter to Administrator Guzman of the Small Business Administration demanding answers about the agency’s timeline for returning to the office. TX-24 Veteran Commendation The Congressional Veteran Commendation has been created to honor the distinguished veterans around the country and in TX24 and to preserve their stories for future generations of Americans. Veterans who are nominated must live in the 24th District of Texas (you can check here) and have served our nation with honor consistent with the finest traditions of military service. The nominated veterans must also have served their community as a civilian. Click here to complete and submit the nomination packet no later than October 13, 2023 at 5pm. Texas-24 Hometown Hero This week's Texas-24 Hometown Hero is Hollis Owens, the founder and Executive Director of To Be Like Me, a nonprofit organization based in Dallas. To Be Like Me offers field trips to North Texas schools hosted by individuals with disabilities. These individuals, called LEADers, provide disability awareness education to students and teachers.  During To Be Like Me's program, students rotate through five interactive experiences where LEADers discuss what it's like to have a disability in different environments and the tools they use daily that help them adapt. The experiences also teach students about mental health and medical devices and assistive technologies used by people living with disabilities. About 50 LEADers work for To Be Like Me, providing them with meaningful employment and advocacy opportunities. I want to thank Hollis and To Be Like Me for providing a program that fosters more compassion and empathy for North Texans living with disabilities! Do you know someone who goes above and beyond for our community? Nominate a Texas-24 Hometown Hero here. Rep. Van Duyne in the News Watch Rep. Van Duyne on Spectrum News Rep. Van Duyne on Twitter Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your voice in Washington. To stay up to date on what's happening each week, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Please do not hesitate to contact our office if we can ever be of service to you. Sincerely, Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (TX-24) Rep. Van Duyne | 1725 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!