[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 13, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING TEXAS RANGER ROBERT ``BRANDON'' BESS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BRIAN BABIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 13, 2024

  Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the distinguished 
career of longtime Texas lawman and my good friend, Texas Ranger Robert 
``Brandon'' Bess. On February 29, 2024, he hung up his signature 
Stetson cowboy hat and un-pinned the legendary Cinco Peso Ranger badge 
for the last time.
  Brandon is a native of Kirbyville, Texas, and graduated from 
Kirbyville High School in 1990. He earned a degree in criminal justice 
from Kilgore College before attending the East Texas Police Academy. 
After he graduated from the academy, he served as a patrolman for the 
Henderson Police Department and as a deputy in the Rusk County 
Sherriff's Office.
  In 1995, Brandon joined the Texas Department of Public Safety, where 
he served as a Highway Patrol Trooper from 1995 to 2005 and as a 
Sergeant and Special Agent in Criminal Intelligence from 2005 to 2013. 
In July 2013, he joined the prestigious Texas Rangers, the oldest law 
enforcement organization on the North Amencan continent with statewide 
jurisdiction. Since April 2021, he has served as the Unsolved Crimes 
Investigation Program ``cold case'' Ranger for Texas Ranger Company 
``A,'' encompassing thirty-five Southeast Texas counties.
  Brandon worked on countless major criminal investigations throughout 
the Lone Star State for the Ranger Division during his distinguished 
career. He perfected the use of DNA tracing and other cutting-edge 
technologies to bring multiple criminals to justice, often many years 
after the case was considered cold. It has been a privilege to assist 
him in cutting through the federal bureaucracy for several of these 
cases.
  Brandon married his wife, Mary Beth, on March 13, 1999. Together, 
they share children Marshall, Walker, and Mattie. The Bess family are 
active members of Anahuac Methodist Church, where Brandon has served as 
a Sunday School teacher, on multiple committees, and currently chairs 
the church's Board of Stewards. Additionally, he is a cancer survivor 
and veteran of the United States Army Reserve and National Guard.
  Mr. Speaker, in its two-hundred-year history, only the finest law 
enforcement officers have had the honor of calling themselves Texas 
Rangers. I am proud that Ranger Brandon Bess is among them. I wish him, 
Mary Beth, and their family all the best in the next chapter of their 
lives.

                          ____________________