As a reminder, in May, Congress passed and President Biden signed into law the Fiscal Responsibility Act, H.R. 3746, a bipartisan bill which, among other things, set spending levels for congressional appropriations for Fiscal Year 2024.  As you may recall, this was a compromise agreement reached in connection with lifting the debt ceiling.  I voted for the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and it passed Congress on a bipartisan basis.  You may also recall from my prior emails that the House considers twelve different appropriations bills to fund the government each year, the Senate does its own parallel versions of appropriations bills.  A group of members from each body meet and confer to resolve differences between the House and Senate bills, and both chambers must then pass the same bill to send to the President to sign into law.  The Fiscal Responsibility Act bypassed part of that annual process by setting the overall spending amount for the fiscal year as a part of that agreement, but the committees continued to meet to determine exactly how the funds are to be spent.

It has been clear in recent weeks that there is no way that the full appropriations process can be completed before the end of the fiscal year on September 30.  In the Senate, Democrats and Republicans are working together on bipartisan legislation to keep the government funded while the appropriations process is completed—a continuing resolution.  (And the Senate is also working on bipartisan appropriations bills that are consistent with the Fiscal Responsibility Act.)

The story in the House is completely different.  Several extreme House Republicans have stated they will not support a continuing resolution of any kind.  And many of the same members have also said they will block any appropriations bills that are consistent with the spending levels in the Fiscal Responsibility Act—they are demanding huge cuts to spending of all kinds.  They have also threatened that they will remove Speaker McCarthy from his position as Speaker of the House if he works with House Democrats to find a bipartisan solution.

This is not what you expect or deserve from Congress, but that is what is happening right now.  Instead of working out a deal on keeping the government open—with realistic deadlines in mind, if nothing else—the House instead spent the week voting on four of the twelve appropriations bills and amendments to them, which was the demand of a group of extreme House Republican members.

The House considered the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2024, H.R. 4365.  Our military servicemembers and their families make sacrifices on behalf of our country.  They deserve—and have traditionally had—bipartisan support.  Unfortunately, this year’s Department of Defense appropriations bill—politicized with irrelevant, harmful provisions instead of investing in our national security—undermines our military readiness and recruitment and reverses bipartisan policies that support our servicemembers and their families.  It bans travel expenses for service members and their families forced to travel for reproductive health care.  It prohibits the flying of pride flags at Department of Defense facilities.  It undercuts the Department’s efforts to counter the spread of misinformation.  It bans funding for the implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.  It cuts $1.1 billion in salaries for civilian personnel, worsening the Department’s struggle to recruit and retain personnel while burdening service members with additional duties.  It reduces the salary for the Secretary of Defense to $1.  And more.

The House also considered the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, 2024, H.R. 4367.  Unfortunately, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill does not meaningfully address challenges in our immigration system and border security.  It makes our communities less secure to internal threats.  And it opens the U.S. to increased cyberattacks and foreign influence.  It cuts $2.4 billion in critical funding for Customs and Border Protection’s border management and fails to fund a planned third processing center where asylum-seekers can be responsibly and more efficiently processed.  It spends more than $3.7 billion on an ineffective and outdated border wall while ignoring ports of entry and Border Patrol checkpoints that intercept illegal trafficking.  It slashes funding for humanitarian programs, like family reunification, immigration detention oversight, refugee processing, and naturalization and civic integration programs, by more than $796 million.  It cuts funding to combat terrorism, extremism, and cybersecurity attacks by more than $232 million.  It defunds non-profit and faith organizations that help the U.S. government process asylum seekers and provide food, shelter, and clothing assistance to asylum seekers and other vulnerable populations. 

The House also considered the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024, H.R. 4665, to the floor.  This year’s bill cuts critical funding for global programs and activities, putting our national security and global health at risk.  It eliminates the International Organizations and Programs account, endangers support for United Nations Women, UNICEF, and the UN Development Program and prohibits the U.S. from contributing to the United Nations Population Fund, which helps improve reproductive and maternal health worldwide.  It also prohibits funding for the Clean Technology Fund and for biodiversity conservation.

These three bills passed largely on a party-line vote, and I voted against them for the reasons set out above.

Following these bills, the House considered the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024, H.R. 4368.  At a time when high food costs and threats to our global food supply continue to pose significant challenges for families across our district, our country, and the globe, we have an opportunity to provide real solutions.  Unfortunately, this legislation does the opposite.  This bill cuts funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—a  critical food assistance program—by $31.9 billion, and imposes unnecessary burdens that would result in the loss of food assistance for millions of families.  It also reverses the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone (a pill used for abortion), which occurred more than 20 years ago.  And it prevents agencies from addressing discrimination and ensuring that vital U.S. Department of Agriculture resources reach minority and underserved communities.  This bill failed, with Democrats and some Republicans voting against its harsh provisions. 

Friday, with a lapse in appropriations just a day away, the House considered a continuing resolution different from the Senate proposal and at odds with the Fiscal Responsibility Act.  While I believe we need to pass a continuing resolution, this one was not a serious proposal.  As presented, this 30-day resolution would cut nearly all government funding by at least 30 percent, with some programs cut much more.  Some of the harmful provisions include: 

• Defunding law enforcement, reducing the numbers of FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents and other Federal law enforcement officers, and eliminating hundreds of state and local law enforcement officer positions across the country.
• Cutting essential food programs for children, families, and seniors, cutting the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) funding it by 30 percent while reducing funding for other nutrition services, like Meals on Wheels, for more than 1 million seniors.
• Closing Social Security Administration Field Offices. The Social Security Administration would be forced to close field offices and reduce access to in-person services, and people applying for disability benefits would wait additional months for processing of claims.
• Cutting funds to the Army Corps of Engineers Construction activities by 31 percent.  With $2.7 billion slashed from the Corps of Engineers’ construction activities, projects critical to waterway navigation of supply chains, reducing flood and storm damage, or providing ecosystem restoration would freeze.
• Undercutting our critical allies like Israel and Ukraine through cuts to Foreign Military Financing.
• Curtailing mineral and energy development, reducing inspections, and derailing permitting for energy and other infrastructure and renewable energy projects, bringing the associated jobs and economic growth to a standstill.
• Slashing resources for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and Opioid Use Disorder treatment by 38 percent.
• Cutting resources for schools by cutting Title I and IDEA funding—the equivalent of removing nearly 150,000 teachers and service providers from classrooms in underserved communities and for students with disabilities.
• Cutting by 75 percent the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, cutting 5 million low-income households off from heating or cooling assistance or reducing their access to the program.

Moreover, the resolution also includes new policy inconsistent with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and not appropriate for such a funding resolution by 

• Creating asylum eligibility requirements that would effectively end asylum and violate existing refugee law; 
• Restricting U.S. Customs and Border Protection responsibilities to process arrivals at ports of entry fairly and efficiently;
• Prohibiting the Office of Refugee Resettlement from funding legal counsel for unaccompanied children;
• Defunding non-profit and faith organizations that help the U.S. government process asylum seekers and provide food, shelter, and clothing assistance to asylum seekers and other vulnerable populations;
• Eliminating funding for alternatives to immigration detention that are more humane and cost-effective and provide important services like legal orientation, human and sex trafficking screenings, and other social services; and
• Restarting construction of the border wall. 

For these reasons, I voted no on this misguided resolution.  It failed to pass the House.

There is, however, a path forward.  The Senate paved the way for a vote this weekend on a bipartisan continuing resolution to fund the government.  The bipartisan Senate resolution is a practical one that meets our immediate needs and is consistent with the Fiscal Responsibility Act.  It extends current government funding levels for six weeks, addresses the urgent need for disaster funding, and extends the FAA’s authorization through the end of the year.  As soon as the Senate concludes its consideration, it will head to the House, where I hope Speaker McCarthy will bring it to the floor for consideration.  I believe the Senate resolution would pass with the full support of House Democrats and many House Republicans.

Although the potential government shutdown and the failure of the House to respond meaningfully were the focus of the week, I did do a few other things.  On Tuesday, I introduced the bipartisan Connecting Our Medical Providers with Links to Expand Tailored and Effective (COMPLETE) Care Act, H.R. 5819, with Congresswoman Michelle Steel (CA-45), Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-08), Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03), and Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) to help primary care providers improve mental health care access for Medicare beneficiaries in primary care settings.  If enacted, The COMPLETE Care Act would help primary care providers implement evidence-based integrated care delivery models into their practice and would provide mental health care services for Medicare beneficiaries by enhancing Medicare payment rates.  

This week, I co-sponsored the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act of 2023, H.R. 4663, to ensure federal buildings are maximizing energy efficiencies, resulting in taxpayer savings and emissions reductions.  Mechanical insulation improves working environments, lowers energy costs, and creates tens of thousands of American jobs.

I also joined my colleagues in sending several letters on issues important to our community, including: 

• a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Appropriations Committee leadership requesting robust funding for public safety in this year’s government funding bills, in contrast to the bill brought to the floor this week that defunds law enforcement programs that support state and local law enforcement agencies and cuts funding for FBI agents and analysts who work to stop cybercrime, terrorism, and violent crime; and
• a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding the State of Texas’ failure to comply with federal requirements concerning the processing of applications for food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 

Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security held a hearing titled “Powering America’s Economy, Security, and Our Way of Life: Examining the State of Grid Reliability.”  We heard from grid operators across the country, including the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and the challenges before them, the changing energy source mix, and increasing demand.  I had a chance to ask ERCOT about progress in developing a reliability standard to improve grid performance in Texas and things that could impact reliability. 

I enjoyed having a chance to meet with a few Houstonians visiting Washington this week, including students in Fort Bend County Judge KP George’s internship program, “Learners are Leaders.”

In Washington, Team TX-07 continued to take meetings with groups including the Auto Care Association, NASA, the American College of Rheumatology, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

And in Houston, our district team attended Alief National Night Out, the Fort Bend County Mobility and Parks Bond Public Information Meeting, and events with the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber and the Central Fort Bend Chamber.

Throughout the week, our Houston constituent services advocates visited community hubs at Tracy Gee Community Center, Alief Community Center, and Tarrytowne Estates to provide information on how our team can help with federal agencies and to process requests.  It was great to meet with people at the pop-ups, but you don’t need to wait for one in order to ask for help.  Call our Houston office at (713) 353-8680 or fill out the form on our website to get started!

As I mentioned a the end of the vote summary above, there is a bipartisan path forward that I hope Speaker McCarthy will take to avoid a lapse in appropriations and resulting government shutdown.  The House and Senate will be in session for votes this weekend, and I will keep you informed of developments.  As we face the growing possibility of a government shutdown, however, my team and I have been working to put together resources and information for you, including our shutdown FAQs.  We will continue to update them as we learn more.

I want to highlight some new information we learned just this week:  If you are planning a trip to Washington, D.C. in the near future, please know that, during a government shutdown, the Capitol Visitor Center will be closed and there will be no public tours of the U.S. Capitol building.  All Library of Congress buildings, the U.S. Botanic Garden, the White House, the National Archives, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Treasury, and the FBI Building will be closed to the public.  Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo will continue operating through at least Saturday, October 7.

I am planning to host a Telephone Town Hall next Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. (central) to share information and answer your questions about the government shutdown.  Interested in participating?  RSVP here.