Representative Lizzie Fletcher

Dear Neighbor,

I returned to Washington this week after spending time at home in the district. When we reconvened, I thanked members of Congress who came to Houston to honor and celebrate Congressman Sylvester Turner at his funeral, and I spoke to the entire House Democratic Caucus about our exceptional colleague who personified the American Dream. The Caucus put together a beautiful tribute video, which I am glad to share with you here or by clicking on the image below.

A few highlights from my time at home. I visited the HOPE Clinic for a roundtable discussion with health care providers about the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid and what it would mean for people across our district. As I have shared in earlier emails this year, the House Budget Resolution, which House Republicans passed a few weeks ago, calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, which we will take up in my committee, Energy & Commerce.

What does cutting Medicaid mean for us in TX07? People across our district, our state, and our country rely on Medicaid for essential health care. 32 percent of children in our district rely on Medicaid. Across Texas, 61 percent of people living in nursing homes rely on Medicaid. And Medicaid covers 50 percent of births in Texas. Cutting Medicaid will block access to care for pregnant women across the state—both Medicaid beneficiaries and others who rely on the funds to keep hospital labor and delivery departments open. Quite simply the cuts being discussed in Washington would be devastating—for patients who have health care coverage through Medicaid and for all patients in a health care system that relies on Medicaid payments. The proposed cuts would reduce the quality and availability of health care services throughout Texas, the state with the highest number of people without health insurance.

I was also glad to join the team from Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston’s Meals on Wheels program to deliver food to and to connect with some of our neighbors in TX-07. Interfaith Ministries provides home-delivered meals to more than 4,000 homebound seniors and adults across Harris, Galveston, Montgomery, and Liberty counties. (Across Texas, the Meals on Wheels program delivers more than 16 million meals to more than 134,000 seniors on an annual basis.) These programs are critical to helping seniors maintain the choice to continue living independently in their own homes and communities. President Trump's grant funding freeze earlier this year put this and other important community programs at risk. We can't let that happen.

An Unprecedented Breach in National Security. This week, the talk of Washington was the astonishing report in The Atlantic that top Trump administration officials—including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe—discussed sensitive military operations in a group chat on a publicly available and insecure messaging platform—and included a journalist in the group chat—in one of the most shocking and outrageous security failures in decades. In doing so, the Trump Administration failed our troops, jeopardized our national security, and embarrassed our country. Rather than acknowledge this serious breach of systems in place to keep Americans safe, the administration has refused to accept responsibility, and sought to minimize the incident and, instead, discredit the reporter added to the text chain. But the evidence shows that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared highly sensitive information on the unofficial and unsecure messaging app. Then he lied to the American people about the content of his messages. Experts this week made clear: if an adversary accessed these messages, they could have shot down American planes or targeted American ships.

Congress has a responsibility to conduct robust oversight to protect our national security. There were two Congressional hearings this week—one in the Senate and one in the House, and there must be more. Republicans in Congress must join us to conduct a swift, serious, and substantive investigation to get to the bottom of what happened, hold others responsible accountable, and ensure a dangerous breach never happens again. The administration officials on this chat are responsible for the lives and safety of our troops, and of all Americans. Their careless, dangerous incompetence is inexcusable and disqualifying.

Dismantling of the Department of Education. Another issue on everyone’s minds: Last week’s executive order from President Trump to begin the process of dismantling the United States Department of Education. For nearly 50 years, Congress has appropriated funding for the Department of Education to provide critical services and support to students, parents, schools, colleges, and more to ensure every student has access to educational opportunities. As one of my colleagues said this week, the department’s purpose is really one of ensuring civil rights for all students. Eliminating the department will take away money and strip protections for students with disabilities; end enforcement of Title IX, which reduces opportunities for women and girls; and limit opportunities to pursue the American dream by cutting career and technical education, ending Pell Grants, and removing protections for student loan borrowers. President Trump cannot unilaterally dismantle a federal agency by executive order, however. Democrats on the House Education & Workforce Committee have already taken steps to demand transparency regarding President Trump’s escalating attempts to shutter the Department of Education and hold him accountable.

Erasing, Rewriting, and Propagandizing U.S. History. On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order relating to the Smithsonian Institution and calling for the replacement of memorials and monuments removed since 2020, largely Confederate war memorials often installed in the twentieth century—long after the Civil War—during the Jim Crow era. As Americans, we have a long and deep and complicated past. We have so much to be proud of. Our American story is one of independence and ingenuity and imagination. But in our story there are things that we are not proud of, moments where we failed each other as fellow citizens and fellow human beings. And those failures and their legacy is part of our history, too. We need to know and understand that history. All of it. Indeed, there is nothing more American than seeking a fuller understanding of the past so that we can, in the future, continue the work of the founders of this country to build a more perfect union. President Trump’s executive order titled ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History’ is an affront. It is an affront to the idea of understanding learning from our past, dismissing historical perspectives as “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.” It is an affront to generations of Americans—past and present—from every background whose stories matter and deserve to be told. It is an affront to generations of Americans who have worked together to acknowledge and overcome wrongs in our past. And it is a danger to our country: a revisionist and reductive rewriting of history that undermines the unity that comes from our shared understanding of the past and our shared effort to build a better future for all Americans.

This week, we had limited legislative activity. The House considered three principal bills.

First, the House considered two resolutions under the Congressional Review Act (CRA)—the third and fourth resolutions this Congress to dismantle energy conservation standards for appliances; here, Department of Energy efficiency rules for commercial refrigeration equipment and for walk-in coolers and freezers. Ironically, repealing these rules will increase energy costs for businesses and consumers. And because it’s a Congressional Review Act resolution, it prevents the Department of Energy from ever issuing substantially similar standards in the future. I voted against both bills. H.J.Res.24 passed by a vote of 203-182 and H.J.Res.75 passed by a vote of 214-193.

The House also considered the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious (DETERRENT) Act, H.R. 1048, which, if enacted, would require colleges and universities to disclose foreign gifts and contracts, restrict contracts with “foreign entities of concern” and report any gifts from those entities, and require individual staff and faculty to report their foreign gifts and contracts. This legislation would force colleges and universities to comply with burdensome and duplicative reporting requirements, resulting in unnecessary delays or denials of legitimate research agreements. And as you may recall, President Trump laid off half of the staff at the Department of Education, leaving little capacity for the Department to review the vast number of reports that would result from this bill. The bill also jeopardizes the global partnerships that play a critical role in the U.S. social, economic, and technological progress. For these reasons, I voted against the bill, which passed by a vote of 241-169.

As a reminder, you can always find a list of all of the votes I have taken for the district on my website.

Over the last two weeks, I have I co-sponsored several pieces of legislation on issues important to our community this week, including:

the Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 17, to addresses wage discrimination on the basis of sex, including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity;
the Border Workforce Improvement Act, H.R. 1930, to require the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to assess current staffing models and identify staffing gaps at the border;
the Major Richard Star Act, H.R. 2102, to provide approximately 42,000 retirees who have been discharged because of combat-related injuries access to their Department of Defense (DoD) retirement pay by repealing the unfair offset of DOD retirement benefits and Veterans Affairs disability compensation;
the GUARD VA Benefits Act, H.R. 1732, to reinstate criminal penalties for non-accredited claims representatives who break the law by charging unauthorized fees while assisting veterans in filing a claim for VA benefits;
the Protect Veteran Jobs Act, H.R. 1637, to reinstate veterans who were fired from their jobs as part of the Trump Administration’s mass firing of federal employees;
the Model Employee Reinstatement for Ill-advised Termination (MERIT) Act, H.R. 1835, to reinstate federal employees who were wrongly fired by the Trump Administration as part of the administration’s initiative that targeted federal workers;
the Honoring Our Fallen TSA Officers Act, H.R. 1159, to extend public safety officers' death benefits to Transportation Security Administration employees performing official duties related to protecting the nation's transportation systems;
the Preventing Illegal Weapons Trafficking Act, H.R. 2105, to require federal law enforcement to coordinate efforts to prevent the importation and trafficking of auto-sears, illegal gun modification devices that can convert semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons;
Ethan's Law, H.R. 1564, to create federal requirements for safe firearm storage and establish strong penalties for any violations;
the Keep Americans Safe Act, H.R. 1674, to make it illegal to purchase or acquire magazines that hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition;
the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 1684, to eliminate the cruel practice of "soring," which is the intentional infliction of pain on horses feet and legs, by ending the failed system of industry self-policing, banning the use of devices integral to soring, and strengthening penalties for soring;
the Humane Cosmetics Act of 2025, H.R. 1657, to prohibit new animal testing on cosmetics and their ingredients and prohibit the sale of cosmetics that have been tested on animals in the United States;
the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, H.R. 51, to provide for the admission of the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth into the United States;
the Respect, Advancement, and Increasing Support for Educators (RAISE) Act, H.R. 1611, to help boost the compensation of early childhood, elementary, and secondary school teachers through refundable tax credits of up to $15,000;
a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Freedom Riders, collectively, in recognition of their unique contribution to Civil Rights, which inspired a revolutionary movement for equality in interstate travel, H.R. 945;
a resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that every person has the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care, H.Res. 238; and
a resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization, H.Res. 70.

Since I last wrote to you, I led a letter with Representatives Lloyd Doggett and Marc Veasey to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Acting Director Susan Monarez expressing concern about the measles outbreak in the United States, especially in Texas, and requesting more information on the CDC’s plan to address the outbreak. And, I led a letter to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum urging him to resume cleaning up orphaned wells across the country as authorized and funded in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

I also signed my name to letters that my colleagues drafted, including:

a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressing concern regarding the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other parts of our nation’s weather response systems;
a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging the immediate and full renewal of the federal contract that currently provides legal representation to unaccompanied children in the United States;
a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought urging the OMB to reject proposed changes to three passport forms that would further implement President Trump's anti-trans passport policy;
a letter to President Trump urging the nomination of a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemtisim; and
a letter to President Trump expressing concern about reports that the Trump administration is planning to eliminate the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention.

On Tuesday, the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing on the state of grid reliability with witnesses from regional regulators across the United States, including the President and CEO of ERCOT, the Texas grid operator. In the hearing, witnesses testified that the United States is on the brink of a new boom in energy demand—demand that arises from data centers for A.I. development, from widespread electrification, and from reshoring manufacturing jobs. This is an area where smart policy is needed, and this committee and this Congress have an important role to play in setting that. As I said in the hearing, this is really core to what government is about—pooling our resources and our expertise to keep us safe. To make sure the lights come on, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. To make sure that we have the power we need when we need it. You can watch my comments and ERCOT’s answers here or by clicking on the image below.

It was great to see so many Houstonians in Washington, D.C. this week, including Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia, and Houston representatives from Memorial Hermann, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the Houston Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

In Washington, Team TX-07 held more than six dozen meetings with constituents and groups advocating on their behalf, including LULAC, OxFam, Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Consortium of Social Science Associations, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, World Wildlife Fund, Houston Apartment Association, and Texas Cattle Feeders Association pictured below.

Back home in the district, our team was out and about across the district, helping constituents and attending community events, including a ribbon cutting with Greater Heights Chamber of Commerce, Super Neighborhood meetings in Gulfton, Neartown/Montrose, Alief, and Eldridge/West Oaks (SN 17), as well as attending an event at the Texas-Africa Chamber of Commerce with Burkina Faso’s Minister of Infrastructure and Development Adama Luc Sorgo, pictured below.

Next Saturday, April 5, I will host a town hall with special guest State Representative Gene Wu at the Chinese Community Center. I will give an update on things happening in Washington, Rep. Wu will give an update on things happening in Austin, and then we will take your questions. Mark your calendars and join us! Space is limited, so please RSVP here or by clicking on the image below.

The deadline to apply for summer internships in our offices in Houston and Washington is next Friday, April 4. Students interested in learning about government service and policy can apply here.

Also, the annual Congressional Art Competition is underway! High school artists in TX-07 can submit their art for the competition and a chance to have it displayed in the U.S. Capitol for the next year. To learn more, click here.

And save the date: Team TX-07 constituent advocates will be at the Burnett Bayland Community Center on Monday, April 28 to help you. You can also visit fletcher.house.gov/casework or call my Houston office for help.

4.28 Constituent Services Pop-up Burnett Bayland

With events unfolding at a quick pace, staying informed is more important than ever. Whether you get your news from the radio, social media, or your favorite podcast, I want to know where you like to get your news. Click here to take my survey.

The House will be back in session and I will be back in Washington next week. I look forward to sharing an update with you then, and hopefully seeing you at our town hall when I am back at home next weekend!

As always, I am proud to represent you and I am here to help you. Please call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 or email here at any time to ask for assistance or share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,