I was also glad to join Congressman Al Green in welcoming our colleague and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Judy Chu to Houston to meet with community members about legislation filed in the Texas Legislature—Senate Bill 147 and Texas Senate Bill 552—which prohibit immigrants from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from purchasing property in Texas.  Our TX-07 neighbors are deeply concerned about the impacts of this legislation on our community, and I appreciated the chance to hear from and to address community members.

Later in the week, I was glad to attend Southwest Management District’s March on Crime Law Enforcement Appreciation and Officer of the Year Awards, and to connect with community partners focused on public safety.

I also appreciated some time in our district office to meet with people from across our community about issues of all kinds, from small business to space to emergency medicine.

And I was delighted to join Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Lesley Briones, Harris County Public Health Executive Director Barbie Robinson, and Legacy Health Services CEO Dr. Bobby Hilliard for a press conference about Accessing Coordinated Care and Empowering Self Sufficiency (ACCESS) Harris County program, a program that operates across departments within Harris County to ensure people in vulnerable communities can get the assistance they need. 

I was thrilled to announce that I obtained $1 million for this program through the congressional appropriations process and to talk about what that will mean for Harris County residents.

This week, I was delighted to welcome Ambassador Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), to Houston, where we convened a roundtable discussion with women leaders in Houston to mark Women’s History Month and talk trade. 

The United States Trade Representative is a Cabinet-level position that serves as President Biden’s primary advisor and negotiator on trade matters and oversees the agency responsible for developing and promoting U.S. trade policy.  I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with Ambassador Tai through my work as the NewDem Trade Task Force Chair, and I was so thrilled she came to Houston.  I am grateful to the leaders from local chambers of commerce and organizations for sharing their insights, and to Ambassador Tai for visiting with us about her efforts to develop worker-centered trade policy and ensure the benefits of trade reach people across our communities and country. 

After the discussions, we headed to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for an informative and fun evening!  Ambassador Tai and the USTR have secured some important wins over the last two years to open up markets for farmers and ranchers, including agreeing to increased opportunities for U.S. beef exports to Pakistan; removing long-standing trade barriers to allow imports of U.S. pork and pork products into India; and reaching an agreement with Japan that will lead to increased exports of high-quality U.S. beef to Japan, among others. 

It was an honor to join her and show her around her first rodeo—and a ton of fun!

(Also, earlier in the week, I loved participating in the Rodeo’s Grand Entry—appropriately, in Wagon 7—and snapped this fun photo!)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is awarding Harris County nearly $150,000 to assist residents with completing and submitting an application for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) – a discount internet service program for eligible households to ensure families can afford the broadband they need for work, school, health care, and more.  The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) created the ACP – I was glad to vote for it, and I am glad to see it benefitting our community. 

More than 33,000 households in TX-07 are signed up for the ACP, which makes up only 16 percent of eligible households in our district.  I am pleased that Harris County was awarded this funding to increase the number of households signed up for the ACP.  

As a member of the Regional Leadership Council, I am working to ensure Democrats’ legislative accomplishments, including the IIJA, touch every corner of our country.  I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Communications and Technology Subcommittee this year to support this program to bridge the digital divide. 

Our constituent advocate, Fatimah, recently helped our TX-07 neighbor, Gurunathan, get the necessary documents to update his driver’s license by inquiring with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) about his case:

“I was struggling to renew my drivers license which was under SAVE verification for long time. I had all the necessary documents but still verification was taking so much time and my old license had expired. I cannot commute to work legally with my expired drivers license. I had to find a way and I found Lizzie Fletcher. 

“I did reach out to Lizzie and her team to help me expedite the verification to secure my renewal of driver's license as I'm a resident of her congressional district. The team was fantastic with their follow ups and also reaching out to USCIS to check the status. They succeeded in contacting the right person and helping me get SAVE verified sooner than I expected. 

“I truly appreciate the support provided by Lizzie and her team.”

If you can't get an answer from a federal agency in a timely fashion, or if you feel you have been treated unfairly, our team may be able to help resolve a problem or get you the information you need.  While we cannot guarantee you a favorable outcome, we will do our best to help you receive a fair and timely response.  To request assistance, click here. 

Our district is home to schools in some of the largest and most diverse Independent School Districts (ISD) in Texas, including Alief ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Houston ISD (HISD), and Lamar Consolidated ISD.  On Wednesday the Texas Education Agency (TEA) made final its decision to take over HISD with the intention of replacing HISD’s superintendent and other elected trustees with an appointed superintendent and board of managers within the next few months.  This week, I connected with community leaders and colleagues about this news, and issued the following statement:

As always, Team TX-07 was also busy this week!  In Washington, Kevin met with representatives from Intel and Representative of German Industry and Trade to discuss bills passed during the last Congress, including the CHIPS and Science Act, and priorities for the 118th Congress.

In Houston, Team TX-07 has been out at events over the last few weeks with community leaders speaking out against the TEA takeover of HISD, including this week’s joint press conference of the Houston Federation of Teachers (HFT) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  Our team was also on hand during last week’s groundbreaking of the Montrose-area Covenant House, where young people experiencing homelessness can seek shelter and services.

The Consumer Price Index report released on Tuesday showed that annual inflation is down nearly 35 percent from last summer, and unemployment rate remains near a 50-year low.  Supermarket prices – including eggs! – dropped.  I will continue working to lower costs for Houstonians and for Americans. 

And, in more good news for our country, Novo Nordisk announced they will lower their insulin prices by 75 percent, following Eli Lilly’s recent action to cap out-of-pocket costs of insulin at $35 per month.  This is a direct result of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – which I voted for last year and President Biden signed into law – and caps insulin at $35 for seniors.  Now, millions of American families will pay less for this life-saving drug. 

It’s time again for our annual Congressional Art Competition for students across our district!  The Congressional Art Competition is open to all high school students in TX-07.  The winning artwork will be displayed for one year in the United States Capitol with artwork from contest winners in other congressional districts across the country.  Learn more and sign up here.  Submissions are due on Friday, April 21 at 11:59 PM.   

I’m looking forward to a few more days at home before heading to Washington next week.  I hope you’ll join us for our town hall next Tuesday evening!

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,