U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, whose Houston-based 7th Texas District includes part of Fort Bend County, told an audience at the Safari Texas Ranch event center last week that the area serves as a model for how politics at the national level and work better.

First elected in 2018 and reelected twice since, Fletcher, a Democrat, has represented the eastern-most part of Fort Bend after redistricting following the 2020 U.S. Census. The district's new boundaries took effect January 2023.

"I love representing Fort Bend County and getting to know the folks in Fort Bend County," she said.

"My district in particular is very special compared to many of my colleagues," she said, referring to the very diverse district, ethnically and socioeconomically, which stretches from inside the 610 Loop to far west Houston and into Fort Bend County. She said that residents and officials in the district have a "collaborative nature."

She said she and the other Congressional representatives who serve the area - fellow Democrat Al Green of the 9th Texas District and Republican Troy Nehls of the 22nd Texas District - "work together whenever we can" on areas of common interest for residents.

"The way things work here in the district is kind of in sharp contrast with the way things work in Washington," she said. "What we see here is that people work together at every level of government - county, city, state, federal - work together for Fort Bend County."

She bemoaned the distance between that attitude and that which many see as how things work in the current Congress, which in the last year has seen acrimonious changes of leadership and threats of government shutdowns in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Fletcher discussed some of the legislative projects she's been involved in since taking office, especially in her first term, in which both houses of Congress and the White House were all held by Democrats, In her current term, in which government is divided, has been a bit more challenging, she acknowledged.

She said in the current Congress she has helped secure more than $16 million in federal funding for various projects throughout her district through called "Community Project Funding," formerly known as "earmarking," including several specifically in Fort Bend County.

Fletcher noted she serves on the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, which she said many call "the most important committee in Congress" since it has oversight over a wide swath of the economy, both nationally and globally. Her seat on the committee is particularly important to the greater Houston region because of its preeminence in the energy industry.

She said there is a "wide conversation" going on among governmental and business leaders, both nationally and locally, on how to transition to a more "green" energy landscape to address environmental concerns stemming from climate change.

Fletcher addressed the contentious issue of immigration reform, noting that one in four people in her district is foreign-born, both documented and undocumented.

"We love that, right?," she asked. "We love that we are a place that people want to move to from whether across the country or around the world. And one of the things I think makes us special is everyone's welcome. We want people to move here."

Congress has "dropped the ball" on immigration reform, she said. However, she said, people throughout the district are working to "advance the ball" on the issue.

"We can do things, and there are more opportunities for agreement than meet the eye," she said. "I do think it's important not to give up."

Fletcher's talk was hosted by the Fort Bend County Chamber of Commerce.