Dear Neighbor,

As many of across our community celebrate Passover and the beginning of Holy Week, I send warm wishes to you for a joyous day and Holy Season—a time of reflection, hope, and peace.

It has been another eventful week in our community and in Congress.  I remain committed to advocating for the needs of our district, and to sharing with you a summary of that work each week:

This week was a “committee work week,” a week dedicated to holding hearings on legislation and issues.  I participated in five Energy and Commerce Committee hearings this week on topics ranging from improving our health care, to investigating the failures during last month’s winter storm, to the role of disinformation on social media platforms. 

As Congress looks to advance transformative infrastructure legislation as the next major legislative package to help revitalize the economy, the Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on Monday on the LIFT America Act, a plan to modernize the country’s infrastructure, rebuild the economy, combat climate change, and protect public health and the environment.  The legislation invests more than $312 billion in clean energy, energy efficiency, drinking water, broadband, and health care infrastructure.  You can read more about the LIFT America Act here.

On Tuesday, we celebrated the 11th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, and it was appropriate that on that day, our Health Subcommittee held a hearing considering more than a dozen bills to lower health care costs, expand coverage, and protect Americans with pre-existing conditions.  The American Rescue Plan helped make health care more affordable, including my bill to incentivize states like Texas to expand Medicaid.  During the hearing, one expert testified that our state would get the “lion’s share” of federal funding provided for Medicaid expansion under the American Rescue Plan.  It is vitally important that all Americans have access to good, affordable health care, and I am glad to work with my colleagues to improve the ACA.

On Wednesday, the committee held two hearings relating to the failures during last month’s winter storm and the investments we need to make as we move forward.  Mayor Turner testified during our first hearing on the cascading failures during the winter storm that left nearly 4 million Texans without power.  You can watch me introduce Mayor Turner here, my opening remarks here, and my questions to ERCOT’s CEO here.  Our second hearing on that day focused on the country’s energy future and the need for investment in infrastructure resilience, grid modernization, and energy efficiency.

On Thursday, we held an important hearing on disinformation and social media's role in promoting extremism.  I questioned tech CEOs Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Sundar Pichai on the disinformation spread leading up to the January 6th capitol attack.  You can watch my questions and the responses here.

I’m glad to share that my bipartisan HELP Act passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week.  The HELP Act, born out of our community’s experience following Hurricane Harvey, eliminates unnecessary bureaucratic delays to beginning recovery projects by allowing certain eligible disaster mitigation projects to begin without the risk of losing potential federal funds.  The legislation is now one step closer to final passage in the House of Representatives.

In addition to this week’s committee work, I co-sponsored several bills, including:

1. The Hate Crimes Commission Act of 2021, to create a bipartisan commission to investigate and expand reporting on hate crimes throughout the United States.
2. The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, to address the ongoing hate and violence targeted toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) by providing greater assistance with law enforcement response to COVID-19 hate crimes and creating a position at the Department of Justice to facilitate expedited review of such cases.
3. The EACH Woman Act, to repeal current-law bans on abortion services and coverage in government-administered health-care programs.
4. The Jeanette Acosta Invest in Women’s Health Act of 2021, to increase availability of preventive, life-saving cancer screenings at safety net health care providers like Planned Parenthood health centers and other reproductive health care providers.
5. A House resolution mourning the victims of the shootings in Georgia and condemning violence against the Asian American community.
6. The Children and Media Research Advancement Act, to authorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to lead a research program on technology and media’s effects on infants, children, and adolescents in core areas of cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional development.

I am also glad to share that my colleagues on the Senate voted 97-2 on the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act, legislation I co-sponsored to extend the Paycheck Protection Program deadline to May 31.  The Paycheck Protection Program has been vital in keeping our country’s small businesses open through the pandemic.  The bill now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.  For those with questions about the application process, you can read through my Small Business Resource Guide for more details or contact my office with questions. 

In total, cities and governments in Texas’ Seventh Congressional District are estimated to receive $1.54 billion in funding from the American Rescue Plan: 

In addition to this direct allocation of funds to local governments, I was glad to announce that community health centers in our district and across Houston will also receive $61.9 million through the American Rescue Plan.  The funding will support and expand COVID-19 vaccination, testing, and treatment for vulnerable populations as well as deliver needed preventive and primary health care services to those at higher risk for COVID-19. 

A couple of reminders of upcoming dates to keep in mind:

• Texas’ Seventh Congressional Art Competition submissions are due by Friday, April 23.  Those who are interested can learn more and submit artwork here. 

• Texas’ Seventh Congressional District Internship Program applications are due by Monday, April 26.  My office encourages any college students and recent graduates who are interested in gaining valuable insight about congressional work to apply.  If you or someone you know is interested in interning in our office this summer, you can begin the application process here.

• NEW DATE: The Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to sign up for health care has been extended from May 15 to August 15, providing more time to take advantage of the new savings provided through the American Rescue Plan.  The extension provides new and current enrollees an additional three months to enroll or re-evaluate their coverage needs with increased tax credits available to reduce premiums.  If you want to access the SEP to enroll in coverage and see if you qualify for financial help to reduce the cost of monthly premiums, can visit HealthCare.gov or CuidadoDeSalud.gov to view 2021 plans and prices and enroll in a plan that best meets your needs.  Additionally, you can call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596, which provides assistance in more than 150 languages.

If you need anything at all, I am here to help.  You can call (713) 353-8580 or you can email here any time.  I am proud to represent you, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,