Honoring Those Going Above and Beyond

Nurses Appreciation Day, celebrated on May 6, brought new meaning this year as our health care providers have remained on the frontlines 24/7 battling the coronavirus pandemic. Rightfully so, our nation has come together to honor our doctors, nurses and first responders. While we continue to remain thankful for their work and service, this week I also wanted to highlight others going above and beyond to serve our communities during these challenging times: teachers and servicemembers.

If you are teaching your kids at home like Renee and I are, I'm sure you've found a new appreciation for our teachers. As our kids are out of school and engaged in remote learning, our teachers have adapted to keep our students prepared for next year's classes or for careers after school. I owe everything to my teachers through high school and at UNC Charlotte. But even when I was not at school, I had a teacher at home—my mother. My mom was an outstanding public school head start teacher. Growing up watching her teach opened my eyes to the struggles our teachers face every day. As we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week last week, it's true that now at this time more than ever, we need our teachers.

I have heard from teachers and superintendents in our community on the issues they are facing as we respond to coronavirus. After hearing their concerns, I wrote Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos asking for additional resources and flexibility for our teachers and schools. As we all adapt to a new normal for our daily lives and education, I'll continue to make sure teachers and schools have all of the resources they need to prepare our students.

In addition to thanking our teachers, last week we also kicked off Military Appreciation Month, a time to honor our service members and their families.

Along with first responders, North Carolina National Guard members have been on the frontlines fighting this virus across our community and the state of North Carolina. Every day, these men and women in our National Guard are assisting the delivery of lifesaving medical equipment to our health care providers.

Continuing my commitment to our military families, I recently cosponsored legislation toimprove military family readiness and support our military families. This important legislation establishes better communication between families and the Department of Defense, updates the Exceptional Family Member Program that provides healthcare, educational programs, and other services to families with special needs, improves childcare services, and connects military spouses with more job opportunities.

Our military members and their families are the best our nation has to offer, and I am proud to the lead the effort in Congress to get these families the resources they need. As Fort Bragg's Congressman, I am continuing to work on military issues and look forward to advocating for our military members and their families in this year's National Defense Authorization Act.

To health care workers, teachers, servicemembers and your families, thank you for your sacrifices. This is not the first time we as a nation have been tested and we will make it through this because of the tireless work these individuals are doing for our community.

I am continuing to work for you and if you or someone you know needs assistance with a federal agency, please contact my offices in Concord, Fayetteville, Pinehurst or Washington D.C. I am here to help and be a resource for you.