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Happy Veterans Day to all those who have served, across Texas and our country. I want to personally thank you for your courage, sacrifice, and dedication. We owe you our freedom, and it’s a debt that we’ll never be able to fully repay.
Today, I’m thinking of my grandfather, Gabe Allred, who served in the Navy in World War II. After the war, he worked as a customs officer and laid down roots in Brownsville. He was also an LBJ Democrat through and through.
When I was in Congress, it was one of the great honors of my life to be on the Veterans’ Affairs committee, working to increase access to the critical care and benefits that veterans like my grandfather earned.
Unlike most politicians in D.C., my proudest accomplishment wasn’t actually a bill (although there were many I was proud to have helped pass). It was the establishment of a VA hospital in my district.
At the time, there were about 200,000 North Texas veterans signed up for VA health care – but not enough facilities and resources to support them. To me, it was an inexcusable betrayal. Hardworking men and women had risked their lives overseas, only to come back home and not get the care they deserved. So in my first year in Congress, I decided to take action.
I brought together lawmakers from both parties and led the effort to establish the Garland VA Medical Center – creating 5,000 good-paying jobs, revitalizing the surrounding area, and most importantly, expanding health care to veterans who desperately needed it. The center opened its doors in April 2020, right when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and started serving the community immediately.
According to one estimate, the improved primary care that veterans have received has reduced emergency room visits by those same patients at other hospitals by 40%, reducing the cost to taxpayers.
It was inspiring to spearhead a project so impactful, and I kept fighting for more. A year later, I created a bill called the Major Medical Facility Authorization Act and was able to pass it in the House with bipartisan support. It authorized the construction of several major VA medical facilities across the country, including a spinal cord injury center here in Dallas – providing lifesaving health care and medical expertise to those who had sacrificed everything.
Here’s the thing, folks: If you want to serve Texas, you’d better be serious about serving veterans. Texas has the second-largest veteran population of any state (1.6 million) – and the most women veterans of any state. Soon, we’ll surpass California.
Just like our veterans’ service and sacrifice, our commitment to them must be sacred. It’s our duty to help them transition back to civilian life – to give them the health care and benefits they’ve earned, the tools and resources they need, and the support they deserve.
But right now, we’re not doing nearly enough for them. In fact, we’re doing the exact opposite. The Trump administration has fired tens of thousands of hardworking Americans (many of them veterans themselves) from the VA, including essential health care workers. Barriers are being put up restricting access to home loans and other important benefits. Veteran suicides are on the rise. It’s all deeply concerning, and we have to fix it.
So today, I’m taking the time to reflect on all of the progress we’ve made – and how much further we have to go.
Each Veterans Day, we’re called on to reaffirm our unbreakable promise: to ensure all veterans get the support, services, and care they need when they return home. Doing my part to fulfill this promise has been a top priority of mine throughout my life – and it will continue to be a top priority of mine as Texas’s next U.S. Senator.
– Colin
Colin Allred is a dedicated public servant who has spent his life fighting for everyday people. He’s committed to standing up for our veterans, especially in Texas, which is home to the second-largest veteran population of any state in the country.

With poll after poll showing him statistically tied with MAGA extremist and GOP frontrunner Ken Paxton, Colin can win this Senate race. But it won’t be easy, and it’ll take unprecedented grassroots support. Will you chip in what you can to help send a Democrat to the U.S. Senate from Texas for the first time in a generation?
Paid for by Allred for Texas

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