Over the course of two meaningful days—May 1 and 2—I had the opportunity to travel to Tyler and Longview, Texas, to lead our signature Principles & Priorities federal budget exercise for U.S. Representative Nathaniel Moran. Congressman Moran, who represents Texas’s 1st Congressional District, invited East Texas constituents to roll up their sleeves and attempt something Congress routinely struggles with: assembling a fiscally sustainable federal budget.
The response was inspiring.
More than 100 participants at each event, ranging in age from local high schoolers to a proud 92-year-old Naval Academy graduate, took part in the interactive sessions. These weren’t just casual conversations—they were focused, substantive exercises in civic engagement. Working at a dozen breakout tables at each event, the groups debated tradeoffs, asked tough questions, and in many cases, found paths to reduce projected deficits by trillions of dollars over the next ten years. Some groups identified over $5 trillion in savings.
Thursday night’s event at the Holiday Inn in Tyler was especially robust. I was joined by our dedicated Texas Fiscal Lookout, Jeff Harper, who also penned an op-ed for the local paper to highlight the event’s impact. We were thrilled to see both print and TV reporters in attendance, capturing the energy and seriousness with which constituents approached this challenge.
What stood out most was Congressman Moran’s deep engagement. Rather than delivering a speech and leaving, he spent time at each table, listening to constituents’ budget priorities, answering questions, and absorbing the real-world concerns and ideas from those he represents. It was a refreshing reversal of the typical town hall script: instead of the congressman being peppered with demands, he got to hear directly from his district about what they would do if they were in Washington.
Too often, town halls across the country devolve into shouting matches or partisan finger-pointing. But in East Texas, we saw once again that when you bring people together for civil, solutions-oriented dialogue, the results are constructive—and hopeful. Each breakout group submitted its recommendations directly to Congressman Moran’s office, providing his team with a roadmap shaped by the people he serves.
The residents of Tyler and Longview have demonstrated that this kind of thoughtful, bipartisan civic engagement is not only possible—it’s powerful. They’ve shown Washington that progress can be made, one community at a time.
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