We returned to Washington this week anticipating a vote on a bipartisan, bicameral continuing resolution to fund the federal government through March 14, 2025.  

Early this week, House and Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle agreed on a bipartisan spending package that included more than $100 billion in disaster relief funding and assistance programs needed to help people across the country, including in our district, rebuild and recover, along with the text of other legislation that passed the House earlier this Congress.  This spending agreement took months of negotiations and included key priorities from both parties, in a good-faith, bipartisan effort to avoid government shutdown.

Hours after the bill text was released, however, President-elect Trump and his friend Elon Musk publicly opposed the bipartisan agreement, pressuring House Republicans to bend to their will and abandon the bipartisan spending deal altogether—preventing it from reaching the House floor for a vote.  Speaker Johnson never brought this bipartisan agreement to the floor for a vote, so my Democratic colleagues and I did not have a chance to vote for this legislation that took months of good-faith bipartisan negotiating. 

On Thursday night, one day before the government funding deadline, House Republicans hastily brought a new bill to the floor under suspension of the rules.  As a reminder, a bill that is brought to the floor under suspension of the rules means that the bill needs to receive support from two thirds of the House in order to pass.  

The bill House Republicans rushed to the floor was a sharp departure from the bipartisan agreement that was reached with the input of Democratic appropriators and leadership, slashing funding for disaster assistance, Social Security, and childhood cancer research.  This bill also included a last-minute provision to raise the debt ceiling for two years, at President-elect Trump’s request.  This inserted a new, major issue into the bill that has traditionally been a subject of much debate and negotiation, and has been opposed by many Republicans.

As soon as the new bill was introduced, it raised both procedural and substantive concerns for Democrats and many Republicans.  This bill failed to pass the House on Thursday night, bringing us closer to shutting down the government. 

Importantly, any spending package still has to be approved by the Senate, before it can go to the President and be signed into law.  House and Senate Democrats have consistently made clear that a government shutdown would hurt the economy, our national security, and the American people.  It is critical that Republicans work in good faith to fund our government in a responsible manner on a sustained basis.  It did not, and does not, need to be this way.

While the Continuing Resolution negotiations and votes took up the majority of the time and focus this week, the House also considered the Midnight Rules Relief Act, H.R. 115, a bill to allow multiple rules promulgated by federal agencies that are subject to the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and issued within the last 60 legislative days of a session of Congress to be nullified with a single vote.  Under current law, agency rules are eligible for nullification under the CRA if a joint resolution is introduced within 60 days of the rule being submitted to Congress.  Currently, the CRA only allows for one rule to be disapproved of at a time.  If enacted, it would give Congress the ability to undo agency rules without enough consideration and deliberation and it would also prevent these agencies from issuing substantially similar rules ever again.  For these reasons I voted against the bill, which passed the House by a vote of 210-201.

The House also voted to pass several bills under suspension of the rules, including the AUTISM Cares Act of 2024, H.R. 7213, a bill to provide more than $1.95 billion over five years to programs at the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, and Health Resources and Services Administration, which bill passed the House by a vote of 374-15.  The House also passed the Honor Our Living Donors Act, H.R. 6020, a bill to increase substantially the number of living organ donors that are eligible for federal assistance through the National Living Donor Assistance Center and allow more donors to qualify for wage, travel, and caregiver reimbursement when donating organs.

The House also passed the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2023, H.R.1377, which bolsters American technological leadership by bringing together key leaders and stakeholders to collaborate on standards-setting for 5G networks and for future generations of communications networks.

I also want to share news of a few votes on the other side of the Capitol.  This week, the Senate also voted to pass the bipartisan Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024, S. 4367, which authorizes water infrastructure studies and projects across the country.  Notably, the bill includes language instructing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study (BBTRS) by the end of 2025, which I requested be included in a joint effort with Congressman Wesley Hunt (TX-38).  Since my first term in Congress, I have prioritized protecting our community from flooding by supporting water infrastructure projects and studies—including BBTRS.  I am glad that after years of advocating for the completion of this study and collaborating with community leaders across our region, the bill requires a timely completion of the BBTRS so that we can begin work to authorize the identified solution in the future.  I am proud to share this legislation is now headed to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

The Senate is expected to pass the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82, which the House passed last month.  The bill would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), both of which unfairly reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for millions of Americans who have devoted their careers to public service, including teachers, firefighters, police officers, and federal employees.  Those who pay into Social Security should be guaranteed their full benefits upon retirement, but the WEP and GPO have created offsets that unfairly penalize certain workers.  I am glad to be a cosponsor of this legislation and to have helped bring H.R. 82 to the House floor for a vote.  Many of our neighbors have written to me about this bill, and I will be happy when this legislation is headed to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

As a reminder, you can always find a list of all of the votes I have taken for the district on my website.

Although this week didn’t have a lot of meetings, I was delighted to welcome #TX07 neighbor Khambrel Marshall and his family to our new office in Rayburn before their Capitol tour.  

This week, I was glad to meet with Texas’ Seventh Congressional District’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge winner, Cindy.  Cindy’s app, Oasis, is designed to support mental health by guiding users through introspective practices to foster self-awareness and emotional well-being through a personalized experience.  I am so impressed with Cindy’s creative talent and thoughtful purpose.  Cindy’s Oasis app is a creative and important contribution to helping young people access the mental health resources they need.  Her enthusiasm and resourcefulness are so inspiring.  I congratulate her on this accomplishment and look forward to seeing what she does next!

In Washington, Team TX-07 held several meetings with constituents and groups advocating on their behalf.  And the team was busy completing work before the end of the year, including working on our annual report. 

Back home in the district, our team was out and about across the district, helping constituents and attending community events, including Rep. Gene Wu’s Harris County Juvenile Detention Center holiday party, a Fort Bend Business Partnership meeting, and a SPARK Park ribbon cutting at Rodriguez Elementary School.

As discussed above, Washington this week was focused on government funding legislation and responding to the opposition to the bipartisan, bicameral bill from President-elect Trump.

As of this writing, it is not clear what will happen before the government funding deadline.  Shutting down the government is not governing.  Earlier this week, House and Senate leaders agreed on a bipartisan spending deal to keep the government funded and functioning that included more than $100 billion in disaster relief funding and assistance programs to help people across the country, including in Texas’ Seventh Congressional District.  House Republicans abandoned their own agreement, and they chose to bend to the will of Elon Musk and President-elect Trump.  This is no way to govern.  And it raises deeply troubling issues about how the Republican majority will try to govern next year. 

I am committed to assisting our neighbors affected by any potential interruptions because of the government shutdown.  As we face the growing possibility of a government shutdown, my team and I have been working to put together resources and information for you, including shutdown FAQs. We will continue to update them as we learn more. 

As the year comes to an end, I am looking back on the year and the Congress that is concluding and looking ahead to 2025.  I am looking forward to sharing some of the highlights of my work in 2024 in my Annual Report.  It will be in your inbox soon!

The 119th Congress will be sworn in on January 3, 2025.  Our offices will be closed some for the holidays.  We will be checking in, however, so if you need immediate assistance during this time period, please email fletcher.office@mail.house.gov. 

Assuming the House has been sworn in and has elected a Speaker, I am planning to host the virtual town hall we had previously scheduled for this month on January 8, 2025.  To help me focus the presentation on the issues that matter most to you, please submit your questions and RSVP here.