Dear Neighbor,

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  While this year has brought many challenges, it has also shown us the blessings of our community.  Like many of you, I had an unusual Thanksgiving, visiting with family over Zoom and the telephone, but I had the opportunity to reflect on grateful I am to be able to be of service to you at this time.  I hope you will remember to contact me if there is anything I can do for you.

In addition to Thanksgiving, there were several other highlights this week:

I had a great time speaking with a group of Girl Scouts about representing our district in Congress and what it’s like to work in Washington. They are well on their way to earning their Democracy badges!  I also had several conversations with community members on topics ranging from foreign policy to gun safety.  I also enjoyed participating in a project with a TX-07 resident and Bill Archer Fellow on advocacy and public policy as well as my experiences in Congress.

I’d love to hear your thoughts!  If you have any thoughts or questions or would like to set up a meeting, let me know here.

• Medicare: The deadline for Medicare Open Enrollment is Monday, December 7. Learn more about Medicare and consider your coverage needs for 2021 here.
  
• ACA Marketplace: Those who need to sign up or change their ACA coverage have until December 15 to do so. Start the process here.
  
• Economic Impact Payment (EIP): If you have not received your EIP yet, the IRS can only issue payments until December 31.  To learn more about obtaining your EIP, click here or call (800) 919-9835. 

Positive cases of COVID-19 continue to rise across the country, and as we head into cooler weather, health officials expect those numbers to go up.  Positive cases in Texas went down in mid-November after a spike at the beginning of the month, but general and ICU COVID-19 hospital admissions in the Houston area trend upward.  We remain at Threat Level 1: Stay Home.  Learn more about what that means for you, your family, and our community here.

Mayor Turner, Judge Hidalgo and regional health officials have urged residents to stay home as much as possible as we move into the holiday season.  It will be a challenge for us all for many reasons—but now is the time to remain vigilant and to keep each other safe.

I will be back in Washington this week.  Please don’t hesitate to call me to share your thoughts and concerns or to let me know how we can help!  You can email your thoughts here, call my office at (713) 353-8680 to voice your opinion, and click here get help with a federal agency.

I am proud to represent you, and I am here to help you.

Best wishes,