Dear Neighbor,
I spent this week at home in Houston. It has been an exciting week in Harris County as we broke records of early voter turnout! More than half a million Harris County residents have already cast their votes. We have gotten many questions about voting in our office, so we’ve pulled together information on our website (link here), which I hope you will find helpful, and of course you can find detailed and up-to-date information at HarrisVotes.com. Whoever you plan to vote for, I encourage you to make your voice heard in this election and participate in our democratic process.
This week, our office reached an important milestone. We have successfully closed more than 3,000 constituent cases for residents of Texas’ Seventh Congressional District. Since taking office in 2019, our team has worked to provide assistance to residents working with federal agencies. We have worked with residents on issues ranging from assistance obtaining veterans’ and Social Security benefits to obtaining visas and passport renewals, and more. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have also helped small businesses obtain federal relief, ensured constituents received their economic impact payment from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and helped individuals navigate unemployment benefits.
I am so proud our team has helped more than 3,000 people in our district obtain the help they need. It is a privilege for me and my team to be able to provide assistance to district residents, especially in these difficult times. I encourage any residents seeking assistance with a federal agency to contact our office here. You can find testimonials for those who have worked with us on my website here.
I was also glad to announce this week that the Gulf Cost Workforce Board has received a $1.3 million grant to support their efforts to address the workforce-related impacts of COVID-19 in Texas’ Seventh Congressional District. The Gulf Coast Workforce Board focuses on re-employment, helping employers and candidates to fill job openings and providing training to applicants. I am glad to see that they have received this grant and will be able to continue their important work in our community.
This week, I visited with more than a dozen small businesses from our community to discuss COVID-19’s continued impacts. Moving a coronavirus relief package through Congress remains my priority and also a source of frustration; it has been nearly five months since the House passed the Heroes Act to provide relief to frontline workers, working families, small businesses, and state and local governments. I know our small businesses—and all of us—are doing everything possible to keep going during this time, but Congress must also act and ensure that any relief bill that is passed actually supports families, workers, and small businesses.
Seven months into the pandemic, Texas’ daily new case count of COVID-19 is beginning to rise once again. It started Tuesday with 5,050 new cases, and then 4,564 on Wednesday, 4,615 Thursday, and on Friday, there were 5,682 new cases – the highest number the state has seen since August. While the majority of these increases are from outside Harris County, we are also a part of this trend. The Harris County dashboard counts the number of confirmed cases at nearly 154,000, with nearly 22,000 active cases. The virus isn’t going away, but we can all work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by wearing our masks, limiting our gatherings, and washing our hands.
As a reminder, you if you think you have been exposed to COVID-19, there are many locations throughout Harris County to get tested. You can sign up for COVID-19 testing at mobile and stationary testing locations through covidcheck.hctx.net,or surge testing site through www.doineedacovid19test.com.
I hope that during this time, you know that you are welcome to reach out to my office with any questions or concerns. We are here to help. Please let me know what my team and I can do for you by emailing here or calling (713) 353-8680 at any time.
I am honored and proud to represent you.
Best wishes,
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