Representative Lizzie Fletcher

Dear Neighbor,

It’s been great to be home in Houston this week! I’ve spent the week visiting with neighbors and attending events across TX-07. Glad to share a few highlights.

This week, I hosted a celebration highlighting our exceptional community: a reception honoring our district’s nominees for appointments to the United States Service Academies. Each year, I have the incredible privilege of nominating outstanding students in our district for an appointment to one of our country’s service academies. Each year, I am inspired anew by the dedication and patriotism of our applicants. This year’s nominees have demonstrated their commitment to service and excellence through academics, community engagement, and leadership. They represent the best of our country and should give us all hope for the future. It was a joy to present them with certificates recognizing their accomplishments.

Another highlight of the week: we broke ground on the Meyergrove Stormwater Detention Basin! I was thrilled to join Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin, Harris County Flood Control District’s Dr. Tina Petersen and Scott Elmer, and City of Houston Chief Recovery Officer Stephen Costello to mark the occasion and celebrate the collaboration between city, county, and Congress that made this happen.

If you drive down North Braeswood near 610, you can’t miss it. When it is complete—and it is expected to be later this year—the Meyergrove Stormwater Detention Basin will support water overflow for more than 27 million gallons of stormwater during heavy rain events. That’s the equivalent of 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools!

As I have shared before, I requested and secured nearly $10 million in congressional funding in 2021 to design and construct the Meyergrove Stormwater Detention Basin through the Community Funded Projects process in Congress. This week, we celebrated the special partnership that made it happen—and what it will mean for residents in the area. I’m excited to see it progress, and grateful to Harris County Flood Control for all its work to make it happen.

Later that day, I sat down with Bellaire’s new Mayor Gus Pappas and city leaders to discuss issues in the city and ways we can collaborate, including on water conveyance improvement projects.

February is Black History Month, so I appreciated the opportunity this week to visit College Park Cemetery and learn more about the efforts to preserve and protect this historic site with members of the College Park Cemetery Association. Founded in 1896, and located on West Dallas in our district, the cemetery is the final resting place of many religious, civic, education, and business leaders in Houston’s African American community, including Rev. Jack Yates. It is also the final resting place of African American service members, including soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, U.S. 24th Infantry Regiment, stationed at Camp Logan, whose 1917 convictions the U.S. Army recently overturned. I appreciated learning more about the story of the cemetery and those interred there, and look forward to partnering to preserve this important part of our history.

I visited many places and people across TX-07 this week, celebrating Lunar New Year with National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE) and the Asian Chamber of Commerce, getting an update at the annual Sugar Land State of the City address, answering questions at a town hall meeting at Phillips66’s headquarters in the Energy Corridor, and so much more.

Although I was in Houston this week for the District Work Period, I stayed in touch with colleagues across the state and country, and joined them in sending several letters this week, including:

a letter to Governor Greg Abbot expressing concerns for the safety and well-being of foster children in Texas and requesting clarification on Texas’ plans to improve foster care and access to federal funding;
a letter to America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) President & CEO Mike Tuffin expressing concerns that health insurance providers are not complying with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) contraception coverage requirement;
a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona expressing concerns with the rollout of the new Simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and urging the Department of Education to resolve technical issues so students and parents can submit their applications;
a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to implement a prosecutorial discretion policy for intercountry adoptees who have been deported or are facing removal proceedings; and
a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke urging the Department of Justice to investigate and address potential civil rights violations related to high-speed vehicle pursuits in connection with Operation Lone Star in Texas.

From D.C. to Houston, Team TX-07 is ready to Rodeo!

While I spent time in Houston this week, our team in Washington continued working on legislative efforts and meeting on all kinds of issues, from carbon capture to port expansion to tax matters to health care to veterans resources. A few highlights pictured below:

In the district, our team was out and about across the district and helping constituents with matters of all kinds. One important note, our team attended site visits and briefings at the North Houston and Missouri City Distribution Centers with senior leaders of the U.S. Postal Service about the recent mail delivery issues. You’ll be glad to hear that mail delivery is back to 98 percent operational and that the backlog in deliveries because of the facility and network modernization projects that were not properly executed have been addressed.

I am looking forward to spending more time in the district this week. Like the rest of the team, I am ready to rodeo! Loved seeing the trailriders making their way through the district!

The House is scheduled to go back into session on Wednesday this week, and we expect to consider additional legislative items related to funding the government and Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations. As you will remember, the funding bills for FY2024 have not yet passed the House or Senate (and most have not been considered yet.) We have passed several resolutions to continue funding the government, but some government funding will expire next Friday, March 1 and the remainder Friday, March 8, unless Congress acts. We do not know yet exactly what will be presented to the House for consideration, but I’ll be there to cast my vote.

At this point, the Speaker has not scheduled a vote on the Senate-passed supplemental appropriations bill for national security, which includes funding to strengthen our national defense, to ensure Ukraine can continue to protect itself from Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression, to support Israel, to increase assistance to Palestinian civilians, and to strengthen our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific. The House’s failure to act endangers our national security. The risks of increased Russian aggression toward NATO allies and expanded conflict throughout these regions will endanger more than 100,000 U.S. servicemembers and their families. Speaker Johnson must let the House take an up or down vote on this bipartisan, comprehensive national security bill. I will continue working with my Democratic colleagues to force the issue to the House floor. As the minority party, our options are limited, but our commitment is not.

Of course, I will keep you posted on developments on these and other matters.

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,