Dear Neighbor,

It has been another eventful week as our community responds to a public health emergency that impacts every aspect of our lives.  As our district addresses the many related challenges together, I remain committed to advocating for the needs of our district.

This week, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the third bipartisan bill in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  As we continue to mitigate the full impacts of this coronavirus, this legislation will bring urgently needed relief to communities across our country, help small businesses, support health care workers and first responders on the frontlines of the crisis, and more.  While this bill is not a perfect piece of legislation, it addresses many of the concerns facing communities across the country, including ours. You can read a breakdown of the provisions here.

This legislation is part of the work we are doing in Congress, and we are already at work on the next major legislation, as well as other critical oversight.  Over the past week, I have:

• I led a bipartisan effort to secure PPE for Houston area-health care workers and first responders.  Houston is home to the largest medical complex in the world, and we need to ensure the more than 366,000 health care workers there and across our community have the equipment they need to do their jobs.

• With the unique challenges facing those who work in the energy industry in light of recent actions of OPEC and Russia and the effects of COVID-19, I led a bipartisan effort to urge Congressional leadership to protect the millions of workers in the oil and gas industry who have been affected.

• I partnered with Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia and Congressman Al Green to call on Governor Abbott to address the capacity issues of the Texas Workforce Commission so better help those who have lost their jobs successfully apply for unemployment insurance benefits.

• Our team has been working with our neighbors who have been stranded abroad.  So far, we have been able to help 12 people come back home, and we won’t stop working around the clock until everyone is back. With many of our constituents unable to get home from in Peru, I called on the Peruvian Ambassador to do everything in his capacity to work with the government to get them home during this uncertain time.  

I will continue to work with members of Congress—Democrats and Republicans—to respond to this public health crisis and its many impacts on our community and our economy with thoughtful legislation and advocacy to address our immediate and long-term needs.

On Thursday, I hosted my second telephone town hall on COVID-19 with State Representative Sarah Davis.  We were joined by Dr. Ronald Waters from the Harris County Medical Society, Dr. David Gruber from the Texas Department of State Health Services, and Stephanie Wright from the Harris County Office of Emergency Management.  More than 1,500 neighbors joined our town hall, and I am grateful to the panelists for providing key insights as our community works to mitigate the impacts of the virus.

We are working to schedule another telephone town hall soon to talk about some of the critical elements of the CARES Act, including its provisions to help small businesses. Watch your email for details soon!

At this time of great uncertainty, I am grateful to our community leaders, our medical professionals, our first responders, and our law enforcement officers who are working tirelessly to keep us safe, as well as to the essential workers in our who go to work each day for all of us – from stocking the grocery shelves to delivering items.

Medical experts in our community tell us that this week ahead will be an important one in our effort to “flatten the curve” and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our community.  I urge you to follow the “Stay Home, Work Safe” order for all of Harris County.  It is our opportunity to play our part, and also our obligation to keep our community safe.

I am honored to represent and to serve you.  Our team is here to help in every way we can.  Please do not hesitate to call us. 

Stay Home. Work Safe.