The Rotary Club of Fort Worth’s regular lunch meeting on Friday (June 9) was a walking, talking civics lesson as the club welcomed three members of Congress, a former congressman, a former congressional staffer, and a civil rights pioneer.
Fort Worth community advocate Opal Lee, who was inducted into the club last June, opened the meeting with a prayer and message about the upcoming Juneteenth celebration.
Former 12th Congressional District Congressman and ex -U.S. Secretary of the Army Pete Geren, who served as president of the club in 1999-2000, introduced the three speakers, who then participated in a panel discussion about some of the pressing issues facing the country:
- 12th Congressional District Rep. Kay Granger, one of the first women in the world to be elected into Rotary and chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
- 25th Congressional District Rep. Roger Williams, chairman of the House Small Business Committee, a fellow club Rotarian whose father, Jack, was a member of our club for over 50 years.
- 6th Congressional District Rep. Jake Ellzey, who is not a Rotarian but frequently invokes the Rotary Four-Way Test in comments on the floor of Congress.
Kasey Pipes, former aide to Congresswoman Granger and now a public affairs/communications consultant, moderated the panel and pointed out how fortunate Fort Worth is to have such powerful leadership in Washington.
The greatest focus of the half-hour presentation was devoted to four key issues: the southern border, the recent budget bill, small businesses, and veteran services.
Rep. Granger opened by sharing that the border crisis is a terrible situation that has “gotten so much worse” and that the border issue should have been more completely addressed 10 years ago.
She noted that immigrants are coming from countries that we don’t even know about, and the fentanyl predicament is totally out of control.
Granger concluded her initial remarks by stating that other nations need to come to the aid of the United States in this international emergency.
Congressman Williams gave insights on his role as chairman of the Small Business Committee, which he described as “happy and bipartisan,” with consistent support from both sides of the aisle.
He identified one of the committee’s goals as “dramatically reducing regulations that require more than 200 million people-hours to accommodate each year.”
His next example was that procedures that previously required up to 11 years to obtain a permit have been revised to less than two years. He added that the Small Business Administration has lost track of $85 billion in EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loans) from the pandemic and stated that the SBA’s role in lending money is to become “the lender of last resort” when traditional banks will not make loans.
Williams said the Small Business Committee is providing valuable resources for veterans transitioning into the business world. In his words, these individuals have valuable life and professional experiences and discipline. He said his veterans initiative, “Boots to Business,” will help provide resources for veterans to start small businesses.
“The House has already passed our bill and the Senate is sitting on it,” he said. “We’re waiting for the Senate to act.”
Williams is encouraging large numbers of veterans to pursue lucrative careers through such trades as welding and plumbing that can offer jobs paying $100,000 and more.
The longtime North Texas car dealer also addressed an additional hot topic: Name Image Likeness (NIL) for college athletes. Williams, who was a star baseball player at TCU and later served as the team’s head coach, said the NCAA failed to fully define and regulate the concept and it may be up to Congress to place guardrails around NIL.
Congressman Ellzey works alongside both Granger and Williams with seats on both the Appropriations Committee and the Small Business Committee.
He described Granger as being the most powerful person in Congress as chair of the Appropriations Committee.
Having served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, one of Ellzey’s highest priorities is quality health care for veterans. He mentioned that the Veterans Clinic in Fort Worth is regarded as the very best in the entire system.
Speaking about veterans starting small businesses, Ellzey said that where a veteran chooses to live can define his business opportunities. He said a great number of veterans choose to live in rural areas, which sometimes limits their access to broadband services if they are too far from communications towers.
He also addressed the compromise legislation that raised the federal debt ceiling and staved off a government default, saying it was a good bill but not a great bill.
“There is something for everyone to love, and there is something to make everyone upset in this bill,” he said. “Nobody got all they wanted.”
The congressman praised the bill for retaining current spending levels on veteran services and health care. He said Congress was faced with a less-than-perfect compromise, a default, or a clean debt bill that would be followed by a special-interest-laden omnibus bill.
When the congressional roll call took place on the budget bill, Ellzey said, “I didn’t just vote ‘yes.’ I voted ‘Hell, yes!’”
Rep. Granger commented on appropriations procedures, agreeing with Ellzey that the omnibus bill was a non-starter. She said the new legislation will require 12 different appropriations bills that her committee must approve and submit for a vote.
Granger said she insisted that allocated but unspent funds must be clawed back and flow back into the budget rather than sit in limbo for a miscellaneous expense.
The three House members presented Rotary Club President Shawn Snell with a framed American flag that has been flown over the U.S. Capitol and a framed digital copy of the “One Minute” speech that Congressman Williams read on the floor of the House of Representatives recognizing the 110th anniversary of the Rotary Club of Fort Worth. That speech has gone into the Congressional Record.
There was a not-so-serious moment when Williams noted that he is manager of the Republican team in the Congressional Baseball Classic that takes place this Wednesday. He said Republicans have benefited from a “youth movement” that will add two 60-year-olds to the team.
The Rotary Club of Fort Worth observes its 110th anniversary this month and is celebrating the impact the club and its members have made throughout the years. Through member contributions, the club has donated millions of dollars to the Fort Worth community.
Club members have served not only in Congress but in the Texas Legislature, as Tarrant County Judge, as mayor of Fort Worth and as city council members as well as university and school trustees throughout the area. The members continue to place Rotary’s commitment, “Service Above Self,” into action.
John Fletcher grew up in Fort Worth and gained his entire education within three square miles – from Alice Carlson Elementary, McLean Junior High, Paschal High, and TCU, which he attended on a tennis scholarship. John is an award-winning Arlington-based public relations and communications consultant at Fletcher Consulting Public Relations. As a tennis player, he claimed to be “indirectly the #1 tennis player in the world.” That’s a story for another time.