Latest News

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher Votes Against Disastrous Republican Budget Reconciliation Bill

| Posted in Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted against Republicans’ Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget reconciliation bill – which they call the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, H.R. 1, and which is estimated to add trillions to the national debt while cutting essential programs. “At a time when families across our community and our country are struggling with rising costs, the House Republican b...

As Trump Administration Cuts Weather Service Offices, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, Congresswoman Val Hoyle, and Congressman Joe Neguse Lead Effort To Support Funding for Federal Natural Disaster Research and Preparedness

| Posted in Press Releases

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Congresswoman Val Hoyle (OR-04), and Congressman Joe Neguse (CO-02) led 35 of their House colleagues in sending a letter to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies requesting that Congress reject President Trump’s attempt to gut the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Rese...

As President Trump Fires Immigration Judges, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher Leads Effort To Address Immigration Court Backlog

| Posted in Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) spearheaded a letter joined by 72 of her House colleagues, to the House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee requesting that Congress allocate funding for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). The Trump Administration’s sweeping changes to our immigration system, terminat...

Why Dan Crenshaw was called a 'jerk' during debate over GOP Medicaid cuts

| Posted in In the News

The divide between Republicans and Democrats over the future of Medicaid was well encapsulated this week by two of Houston's congressional members during an all-night rumble that resulted in one Democrat calling U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw “a jerk.” Crenshaw and U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, are both members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee that advanced a plan that will either save Med...

ICYMI: Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher Fights Back Against House Republicans’ Plans To Defund Planned Parenthood

| Posted in Press Releases

Today, during the Energy & Commerce Committee’s consideration of the Republican budget bill, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) introduced an amendment to stop Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. Federal funding helps Planned Parenthood provide annual exams, cancer screenings, pap smears, STI testing, family planning, and other essential health care for women in every state across ...

House panel advances measure to cut off Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funds

| Posted in In the News

A key House panel on Wednesday advanced legislation that includes a provision aimed at cutting off Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, a longtime goal of congressional Republicans. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees health care as part of its wide-ranging portfolio, voted along party lines to approve its portion of congressional Republicans’ tax cut and spending bill,...

Advocates warn GOP changes to Medicaid will affect Texas hospitals, patients

| Posted in In the News

Texas lawmakers are at the center of the debate on health care cuts as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending plan. This is happening as Texas hospitals and health care experts worry the proposed reductions in Medicaid funding will mean the most vulnerable patients, including children and those with disabilities, will lose coverage. On Capitol Hill, the fight over Medicaid was ...

Medicaid cuts: Democrats pan Republican plan to change major payer in U.S. health care

| Posted in In the News

Massive cuts to Medicaid will set up the nation for a health care disaster, said Democratic lawmakers opposing Republicans’ federal spending plans. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colorado), and Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) met online with Leslie Dach, the leader of Protect Our Care, a health care advocacy organization that works at the federal and state levels. The thre...

Houston Democrats pressure Trump on region's NWS staff shortage

| Posted in In the News

Houston Democrats are demanding answers from the Trump administration on how it will address major vacancies at the region's National Weather Service office ahead of hurricane season. Why it matters: The push comes as NWS offices nationwide face funding cuts and staffing shortages amid President Trump's federal hiring freeze. Driving the news: Reps. Lizzie Fletcher, Sylvia Garcia and Al Green sent...

Congresswoman: Houston/Galveston weather office has 44 percent vacancy rate

| Posted in In the News

In October 2023, Otis went from a tropical storm with sustained 70 mph winds to a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 165 mph in six hours before it slammed into Acapulco, Mexico, killing dozens of people. That storm’s rapid intensification was fueled by increasing water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, which have made hurricanes harder to predict. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric ...

Houston’s weather service office missing key staff—lawmakers call for urgent action

| Posted in In the News

With hurricane season fast approaching, three Houston-area Democratic members of Congress are demanding answers from federal officials about critical staffing shortages at the National Weather Service (NWS) office that serves Southeast Texas. U.S. Reps. Lizze Fletcher, Sylvia Garcia and Al Green sent a letter this week to the Department of Commerce requesting information about when the 11 position...

Houston lawmakers demand answers about National Weather Service vacancies ahead of hurricane season

| Posted in In the News

Three Houston-area members of Congress are asking why the National Weather Service's office in the region has nearly a dozen vacancies ahead of hurricane season. On Monday, three House Democrats — Reps. Lizzie Fletcher, Sylvia Garcia and Al Green — sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) asking why the National Weather Service’s Houston/Galveston office will soo...

Lawmakers want answers after reporting reveals crippling vacancies at hurricane-prone National Weather Service office

| Posted in In the News

With less than a month until hurricane season, three House Democrats have expressed concerns over staffing shortages, including vacancies in all management positions, at the National Weather Service’s Houston-Galveston forecast office in a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s acting head. The letter follows CNN’s reporting that revealed there are no managers in place at ...

As Hurricane Season Approaches, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher Leads Houston Democratic Delegation in Demanding Answers From Trump Administration About Weather Forecasting Staffing Shortages

| Posted in Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) led her colleagues in the Houston Democratic Delegation in sending a letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) leadership, expressing their concerns about the staffing crisis at the National Weather Service (NWS) Houston/Galveston Forecast Office and requesting information about how the agency plans to continue providing vital ser...

Lizzie Fletcher Announces 7th Congressional District Art Competition Winner

| Posted in In the News

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) announced on Monday that Saj Baldwin is the winner of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition for Texas’ Seventh Congressional District for his piece, Brothers. Saj is a sophomore at Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. His painting will hang in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. for the next year, along with artwork from other winners from ...