Texas is receiving over $3.3 billion in federal funding — more than any other state — to expand broadband internet access the state. Much of that money undoubtedly will be pumped into the Houston metro area, where a little over 180,000 (about 7 percent) of the more than 2.6 million households have no internet access. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration… Read more »

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher announced on Wednesday that Harris County has received $32.7 million that will be used for a construction improvement project for the Poor Farm Ditch drainage channel. The channel moves stormwater from West University Place and Southside Place to Brays Bayou. The funding for the reconstruction includes local, federal and state funds. Harris County Flood… Read more »

On 6/28/23, civic leaders from all levels of government gathered to celebrate the acquisition of enough funding to finally begin renovating Poor-Farm Ditch. Poor-Farm Ditch runs from Greenway Plaza on the north to Brays Bayou on the south between West University Place and South Side Place. Harris County Flood Control District started studying ditch improvements more than 20 years… Read more »

364 DAYS SINCE DOBBS — Saturday marks one year since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion across the nation. The landmark case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, redrew battle lines across the country, including on Capitol Hill, where there are familiar fights playing out alongside fresh legislative questions. Democrats are fighting —… Read more »

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Black women in the United States are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. The statistics are worse in Harris County where Black women are three-and-a-half times more likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts. On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston) announced that $1.4… Read more »

Houston Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher announced Tuesday morning an additional $1.4 million in federal funding to be allocated to combatting Black maternal mortality in Harris County. The U.S. itself has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world, with Black women being disproportionately impacted. According to data released by the CDC in March, the national… Read more »

Congress should pass legislation that reauthorizes the FirstNet Authority “well in advance” of its scheduled sunset in 2027, because the organization has proven to be “an amazing success story, according to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Alan Davidson Davidson made the comments last week during a hearing of the House communications and… Read more »

A bill that would permanently authorize the FirstNet Authority was reintroduced yesterday in the House of Representatives by Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Tex.) as the entity charged with building and maintaining a nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) awaits its FCC license renewal and a potential sunset in 2027. When Congress passed legislation that established the First… Read more »

Today, a bipartisan bill earmarked to expand broadband internet to rural areas is scheduled for a Senate hearing in an attempt to gain approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to modernize the Universal Service Fund.  “We’re connecting every house in America to affordable, high-speed internet, including all of our rural communities. Strengthening the Universal… Read more »

With more than $42 billion in funding being distributed to states by the end of June to expand broadband around the country, House Republicans are pushing for changes to make the permitting process easier and faster. “While funding is a key piece to the puzzle, it’s not enough to make sure people have access to broadband,” Rep. Bob Latta, an Ohio Republican and chair of… Read more »