[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 1, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



          Commemorating the Bicentennial of the Texas Rangers

  Mr. President, I also want to take time today to thank another group 
of Texans for the incredible sacrifices they have made to the Lone Star 
State over the span of 200 years--the Texas Rangers. This year, 2023, 
marks 200 years since Stephen F. Austin formed the Texas Rangers to 
protect people who had settled in Texas--to protect them from outlaws 
and hostile attacks.
  Over the years, the duties of the Texas Rangers expanded, and they 
played a key role in keeping Texas safe, from stopping an assassination 
attempt on President Taft, to tracking down the infamous outlaws Bonnie 
and Clyde, to doing the hard, painstaking work to arrest the cult 
leader Warren Jeffs. The Rangers are critical to law and order in 
Texas, where rural counties often don't have the resources they need to 
investigate crime. The Rangers are always ready to step in and serve.
  There is an old line in the State of Texas: ``One Riot, One Ranger.'' 
That is who the Texas Rangers are.
  I have been to the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in Waco, TX, where the 
Rangers have done a wonderful job of preserving artifacts and telling 
the story of the Rangers. Anyone stopping through Waco should visit. 
The story of the Rangers is the story of Texas and, in many ways, the 
American West. It is a story about seeking freedom, and it is a story 
about courage.
  That is why I am proud to introduce a resolution honoring the 
bicentennial of the Texas Rangers and in just a moment will propound a 
unanimous consent request in this body.