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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) announced Saj Baldwin as 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,… Read more »

Democratic senators and representatives have introduced companion resolutions  calling on the Trump administration to reverse course on a decision to no longer require public input on changes to public programs and policies overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and… Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) led 17 of her House Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting that Congress protect funding to support emissions reducing technology in the energy sector.  “As you consider the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Energy and Water Development and Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies… Read more »

Washington, D.C.—Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Congressman Mike Quigley (IL-05), and Congressman Gabe Amo (RI-01) introduced a resolution opposing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) proposal to limit public notice and public comment for proposed rules. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), and Senator Angus King (I-ME) introduced this… Read more »