Montgomery County Eagle Forum Joins Eagle Council 53 on Capitol Hill
Luis Pedraza, Lola Hurt, Ann Schlafly, Kris Ullman, Lisa Railey, Cindi Castilla, and Bob Bagley arrive at Eagle Council 53.
September 22, 2025 | Washington, D.C.
Montgomery County Eagle Forum board members Bob Bagley, Luis Pedraza, and Lisa Railey spent September 8-12 in Washington, D.C., as part of the Texas delegation to Eagle Council 53.
The Texas delegation also included Texas Eagle Forum President Cindi Castilla, Eagle Forum’s National Security Issues Chairman MerryLynn Gerstenschlager, and Dallas Eagle Forum Program Director Lola Hurt.
It was a week to remember with Eagle Forum leaders from across the nation. We experienced briefings from members of Congress, including Speaker Mike Johnson, members of the Trump Administration, and the Heritage Foundation. This was a working meeting to share Eagle Forum legislative priorities with our Senators and Representatives.
“Eagle Council was a national gathering of like-minded individuals spanning from states all across our great county,” Luis Pedraza explained. “Pro-family men and women from all walks of life, working with a common goal to further conservative public policies, individual liberties, and pro-family goals.”
Briefing at the U.S. Capitol
On Tuesday morning, we gathered in the U.S. Capitol to hear from members of Congress on a variety of topics. Eagle Forum Executive Director, Tabitha Walter, provided this summary:
Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) discussed the dangers of an Article V convention to alter the U.S. Constitution.
Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) showcased different pieces of legislation to protect children from online dangers. Senator Lee’s Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (S. 1671) would close the loophole that allows pornography to be presented to children. Senator Cruz’s Take it Down Act, which is now law, requires platforms to remove pornographic deep-fakes and acts of “revenge porn.”
Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) encouraged us to stand strong in faith. He said, “I will continue to be a stalwart defender of religious freedom in our nation’s capital and the cornerstone ideals that our country was founded upon.”
We also heard from two prominent conservative policy experts.
Grant Newman, of the Immigration Accountability Project (IAP), compared two immigration bills: last year’s Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2) and this Congress’s DIGNITY Act (H.R. 4393). Newman contrasted the strong border polices in H.R. 2 to the sweeping amnesty measures in H.R. 4393.
CatholicVote’s Tom McClusky provided a briefing on pro-life legislative priorities in recent legislation, including the One Big, Beautiful Bill. He also provided information on programs that still need to be defunded or eliminated, such as the COVID-era Affordable Care Act subsidies that can be used to subsidize Planned Parenthood.
Eagle Award Presented to Speaker Johnson
At the end of the briefing, Eagle Forum President Kris Ullman presented the Eagle Award to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). The Speaker remarked that he was triple-booked, yet wanted to spend time with Eagle Forum because of the strong work being done by our D.C. office and the respect conservatives have for our organization.
Ullman stated, “Congress elected one of the Godliest men I have ever met in my life as Speaker. Someone who knows the Lord, who loves the Lord, who is a transparent, open, and honest leader. We are a better nation for it.”
Visiting Texas Members of Congress
After the briefing, the Texas delegation divided up the list of Texas Representatives and Senators to visit and share our Eagle Forum priorities.
Bob Bagley, Luis Pedraza, and Lisa Railey spent the afternoon at the Cannon House Office Building and visited the offices of every Texas Representative in the building, including Morgan Luttrell, Dan Crenshaw, Ronny Jackson, Randy Weber, Chip Roy, and Michael Cloud.
Eagle Forum provided position papers to use during our lobbying efforts. We encourage you to read through them and contact your members of Congress to voice your opinion on these issues.
“It was a tremendous experience meeting with Senators, House Representatives, and Trump Administrative staff members to get current updates,” said Pedraza. “It was a great pleasure to visit many of our Texas House Representatives’ offices to discuss specific issues with their staffs.”
Bagley added, “It was especially memorable meeting with Senator Cruz, Congressman Chip Roy, Congressman/Dr./Lawyer Mike Kennedy from Utah, and the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, to name a few.”
At the conclusion of the day, we sat in on a gun safety debate in the House Gallery and visited with staff members in the Office of Veterans Affairs, where we discussed health care concerns for veterans with Deputy Director of Coalitions and Member Services, Dominick Namias.
Briefing at the White House
On Wednesday morning, we traveled to the White House for a special briefing from Trump Administration policy and political staff. The meeting was held in the beautiful and historic Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, directly across from the West Wing. The Eisenhower Building is part of the White House Complex and houses the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget, the National Security Council, and the majority of White House staff.
Advisors to President Trump spoke about the President’s Faith agenda, election integrity, President Trump’s policy priorities, strategies for the Midterm Elections, and the Administration’s efforts to make America healthy again.
Because we had been vetted by Secret Service, we were allowed to walk the halls of the Eisenhower Building and congregate directly in front of the staff entrance to the West Wing at the conclusion of the meeting.
“The sense of history during the briefing in the Indian Treaty room was enormous,” Lisa Railey said. “This is the location where President Eisenhower delivered the first televised press conference. Several of the advisors who met with us promised to take our questions and ideas directly to President Trump in their next meeting, with one advisor leaving our briefing to walk over to the Oval Office. It was inspiring to see the relationship Eagle Forum has with this administration and our conservative members of Congress.”
“Only Citizens Vote” Rally
Afterward, the Tea Party Patriots invited Eagle Forum to attend their rally at the Capitol in support of “Only Citizens Vote” and passage of the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), which prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections and directs states to remove non-citizens from their voter rolls. Eagle Forum President Kris Ullman spoke to the crowd about the importance of securing elections for every family in America. Then, it was back to the Capitol for more lobbying with members of Congress.
Honoring Charlie Kirk at the Heritage Foundation
While at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, we received the devastating news of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. We gathered together at the Heritage Foundation in the evening and spent time in prayer for his family.
Eagle Forum released a statement, saying in part:
May we find strength in our shared love for free expression and may Charlie Kirk’s passion for debate and discourse inspire a renewed vigor to engage — and never see free speech silenced by violence.
Briefing at the Heritage Foundation
Eagle Forum Executive Director, Tabitha Walter, provided this summary of issues covered during our evening at the Heritage Foundation:
Emma Waters, a Heritage policy expert on Reproductive Technology and Bioethics, spoke about complex issues surrounding the infertility industry, including ethical issues involved with in-vitro fertilization and healthier alternatives to help restore fertility.
Dr. Jay Richards presented model state legislation to protect children from the dangers of the transgender movement.
First Liberty’s Jonathan Alexandre graced us with his beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner and then updated us on important Supreme Court cases from the previous and upcoming terms.
Wrapping Up the Session
We concluded Eagle Council on Thursday by sharing concrete ideas to take home to our states.
Becky Gerritson, Executive Director of Alabama Eagle Forum, highlighted their efforts to promote religious liberty, sharing a video and information on ways to reclaim our religious freedom in the public arena.
Utah Eagle Forum’s David Kyle and Smart Approaches to Marijuana’s (SAM) Luke Niforatos uncovered the lies of the marijuana industry. Similarly, Utah Eagle Forum‘s Gayle Ruzicka exposed the harms of vaping on children.
To wrap up the morning session, Eleanor Gaetan from the National Center on Sexual Exploitation spoke about protecting children from online predators.
“The briefings we attended thoroughly prepared us to talk with our members of Congress while lobbying on Capitol Hill and I know it will help in our work in Montgomery County and at the Texas Capitol,” Railey said.
Attend the Next Eagle Council With Us!
Eagle Forum is an organization of “doers, not hearers only.” This working trip to Washington was a great opportunity to share our priorities with our elected officials.
“For years, Betty Anderson and I have talked about going to the National Eagle Forum Council Meetings, but the timing was never right,” Bagley shared. “This year, things were touch and go, but thankfully, our prayers were answered, and Lisa, Luis, and I were able to attend. Holding the meeting in Washington D.C. played a big part in making this an amazing experience. Bringing together Eagles from all over America and sharing our passions and desires to Make America Great Again, making new friends, and renewing old friendships was invaluable.”
We’ll share a short presentation at our October meeting covering the highlights of the trip, and will explain how you can join us at next year’s Eagle Council, celebrating the 250th Birthday of America.
Visit eagleforum.org to subscribe and support the work of Eagle Forum.