Responding to Rep. Joaquin Castro and several other congressional Democrats from Texas, the U.S. Department of Commerce said in a letter that it will review whether positional vacancies at the National Weather Service have "impacted the agency's ability to effectively respond to high-impact weather events"—including the recent floods that devastated the Hill Country.   The… Read more »

The reality of today's cosmetics industry is that stuff we slather over our skin or lather into our hair isn't subject to much government oversight. While there are some regulations on labeling and ingredients, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t require that most over-the-counter beauty products be approved before they hit the market. As a result, it’s up to shoppers to figure… Read more »

A Texas lawmaker is among those who sent a letter to the U.S Treasury Secretary urging the department to examine how President Donald Trump’s tariffs disproportionately cost women more than men. U.S. Reps. Lizzie Fletcher, a Houston Democrat, and Brittany Pettersen, of Colorado, sent a letter this past week on behalf of the Democratic Women's Caucus to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent… Read more »

President Donald Trump’s trade wars continue to create global turmoil and churn for financial markets. Monday, May 12th’s move—a temporary suspension of his “Liberation Day” bombast and 90-day pause until massive tariffs are fully imposed on China—seemed in part prompted by warnings of a dire toy shortage and the sour reaction to Trump blathering about … dolls. “A young lady, a… Read more »

Over 100 Democratic lawmakers are pushing for Congress to restore $535 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the current federal budget. The two-year advance funding for public radio and television has been removed from the budget package by congressional Republicans, along with an additional $60 million for the public broadcasting interconnection system, which… Read more »

Nearly 100 House Democrats are calling on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore tens of millions of dollars in federal family planning grants to more than a dozen organizations that have been frozen for more than two months. In a letter to Kennedy sent Friday and seen first by The Hill, 95 lawmakers said the organizations that had their Title X… Read more »

One of Houston's busiest community centers and polling locations is set for a major upgrade, thanks to recently secured federal funds. The West Gray Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, managed by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, has been approved to receive a $1 million through a Community Project Funding Request made by Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher as part of the Housing and… Read more »

The Federal Emergency Management Agency faces an uncertain future as the Trump administration signals potential elimination of the disaster response agency, while Congress pursues competing reform efforts and internal reviews reveal the agency is unprepared for the upcoming hurricane season. "President Trump has been very clear since the beginning that he believes that FEMA and its… Read more »

Funding cuts to FEMA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have Houston-area leaders preparing to pick up the slack in the event of a hurricane, Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones said Friday. Ahead of hurricane season's first day Sunday, Briones joined U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston) and local emergency leaders to address the federal cuts under… Read more »

Worries mount as U.S. House Republicans advance a major tax bill that includes increasing private universities' endowment tax from 1.4% currently to up to 21%. The measure has been tucked into the text of a 1,116-page bill, dubbed “The One Big Beautiful Bill,” which made it out of committee last weekend in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill holds the majority of President… Read more »