Representative Lizzie Fletcher

Dear Neighbor,

As I am sure you saw, this week was eventful and productive. Although I had anticipated spending a week at home in the district, I returned to Washington on Tuesday for proceedings on the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

As I wrote to you last week, the United States has been facing an early June deadline to obtain additional funds to pay our bills. You most likely saw that, after months-long negotiations about fiscal issues, including raising the debt ceiling and future spending, President Biden and Speaker McCarthy reached an agreement over the Memorial Day weekend. I participated in numerous briefings with the White House and the House Democratic Caucus before heading back to Washington on Tuesday to consider the legislation memorializing this agreement, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, H.R. 3746.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act lifts the debt limit for two years and sets spending caps for the 118th Congress. As I have said throughout this process, Congress has the responsibility to ensure that the United States fulfills its obligations and pays its bills. The Fiscal Responsibility Act makes it possible to do so and prevents a catastrophic default on our obligations, a default that would have devastating impacts not only here at home but around the globe, creating a financial crisis and damaging our long-term interests. It represents a compromise agreement that eliminates the prospect of default while protecting key investments—including improving our infrastructure and ensuring our country’s competitiveness—and takes important steps on permitting reform for energy projects. I am committed to ensuring Congress addresses our country’s debt and spending responsibly while protecting the American people. For these reasons, I voted yes on this bill. It passed the House on a bipartisan basis, 314 to 117, on Wednesday night. The Senate took up the bill on Thursday, and passed it by a vote of 63 to 36.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reviewed the bill and found that, if enacted and followed, it would reduce the agency’s projections of budget deficits by about $1.5 trillion over the 2023–2033 period. You can read CBO’s full report here.

While we were in Washington to consider this legislation, the House also took up a few matters under suspension of the rules. As we concluded Jewish American Heritage Month, the House voted unanimously for a resolution (H.Res. 382) condemning the rise of anti-Semitism and calling on elected officials to identify and educate others on the contributions of the Jewish American community. With the heart of Houston’s vibrant Jewish community in our district, this resolution is particularly important to me. I was saddened to read in the Anti-Defamation League’s most recent annual report that anti-Semitic incidents reached historic levels in 2022, a total of 3,697 incidents reported across the United States, and that more than half of the 73 reports for the southwest region were from Houston.

The House also passed the Promoting Opportunities for Non-Traditional Capital Formation Act (H.R. 2796), Enhancing Multi-Class Share Disclosures Act (H.R. 2795), the Small Entity Update Act (H.R. 2792), and the Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act of 2023 (H.R. 2797), all bills relating to financial services that passed with broad bipartisan support.

This week, I co-sponsored a resolution expressing the need for the federal government to establish a national biodiversity strategy for protecting biodiversity for current and future generations, H.Res. 195.

Before I flew back to Washington on Tuesday morning, I held a press conference with Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Harris County Public Health (HCPH) Director Barbie Robinson to highlight HCPH’s Maternal & Child Health Program and to announce that HCPH will receive $1.4 million in federal funding that I requested, advocated for, and obtained through congressional appropriations for the program. The funding will be used to support the program, which focuses on Black mothers and helps eligible families navigate their parenting journey through an evidence-based home visitation model that provides education tools, resources, and access to health care opportunities.

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of all developed countries, and Harris County has the highest maternal morbidity rate among metropolitan areas in the United States. I was glad to partner with HCPH and Harris County officials, especially Commissioner Rodney Ellis, to support this important work, and I look forward to continuing to work together for our district, our city, and our region.

Studies have consistently found higher pregnancy-related mortality risks among Black women, and Black mothers in Harris County are 1.4 times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than mothers in the rest of the country. Some of the key contributing factors include inadequate and inaccessible care before, during, and after pregnancy. The Black Maternal & Child Health Program directly addresses these alarming findings by matching Community Health Coordinators with mothers to help them navigate every step of the prenatal and postpartum process. HCPH expects to assist 300-400 families over a five-year period through the program.

The program is currently recruiting individuals and families to enroll. For more information on the program, click here.

While we had to postpone a few events we had scheduled to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month, I enjoyed the chance to stop by Jewish Herald Voice’s headquarters in TX-07 to visit the newsroom of the longest-running Jewish newspaper in the Southwest and one of the oldest in the United States, to honor the memory of the late Jeanne Samuels, who edited and led the JHV for 50 years, and to visit with her family carrying on this important work.

And while I was home, I loved joining students, parents, and community leaders at Sinclair Elementary School in TX-07 for the dedication of the new SPARK Park! What a joy to see the new trail, see-saw, rock wall, surface spinner, and, most important, many of the kids that will learn, grow, and thrive there!

I also met with several neighbors living and working in the district to talk about the important work they’re doing in our community and their legislative priorities–from grants programs to health care policy.

Back home, Team TX-07 attended events throughout the district. District Director Shirley met with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough when he visited the VA Outpatient Clinic in Sugar Land. Other members of Team TX-07 also attended the swearing-in ceremony for West University’s Mayor and City Council as well as the opening of two new soccer pitches at Burnett Bayland Park with Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones and members of the Houston Dynamo.

Save the Date! Our District Team and I are excited that our Sugar Land office is almost ready to open! We are planning a ribbon cutting and open house next Saturday, June 10. We look forward to seeing you there! To sign up, click here.

Also, June is time for our quarterly town hall update. Mark your calendars for our Mid-Year Telephone Town Hall on Thursday, June 22 at 7:05 PM for an update on the work of Congress so far this year. To register, click here.

I will be back in Washington next week, and I look forward to providing you with another update on our work in Congress next week. As always, 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,