(Houston, TX) – Last night, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) hosted her third telephone town hall on COVID-19.  The telephone town hall focused on the different types of resources available to the community made possible by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  Nearly 2,000 constituents participated, asking questions about assistance for small businesses, unemployment insurance, and economic impact payments.

Congresswoman Fletcher was joined by representatives from critical agencies to help answer constituent questions: Lea Crusberg, Congressional Liaison for the Internal Revenue Service; Clay Cole, Director of the Unemployment Insurance Division at the Texas Workforce Commission; and Mark Winchester, Deputy District Director for the Houston District Office of the Small Business Administration

“I was glad to be able to facilitate a conversation with constituents and get answers to questions important to our community,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “I appreciated the time from our panelists and our constituents as we work together to combat the many challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has brought.  While the CARES Act provided $2.2 trillion in funding to help communities across the country, it is clear that many people in our community are having trouble accessing the support it is intended to provide.  I will continue to work to share information with my constituents about how to access resources, and work to provide the agencies the resources they need to meet this unprecedented need—among them, more resources for the Texas Workforce Commission to process unemployment claims and for the Small Business Administration to respond to loan applications and facilitate the programs Congress designed to get assistance to American families and small business owners as quickly as possible.”

This is Congresswoman Fletcher’s third telephone town hall focused on COVID-19 over the last month.  She has also hosted two Small Business Webinars in partnership with the Small Business Administration and released a Small Business Resource Guide to provide information about the different types of loans and grants available to small businesses and non-profits.  Her office is actively assisting her constituents each day with matters on the topics covered in the telephone town hall as well as other matters.

Congresswoman Fletcher will continue to hold telephone town halls and online meetings to connect with Texas’ Seventh Congressional District throughout this unprecedented health emergency and while Harris County’s “Stay Home, Work Safe” order is in place.

You can access an audio file of last night’s telephone town hall here.