Violence in Mexico.  On Sunday, Mexico's army, backed by National Guard military police and special forces, killed the head of one of the country’s most powerful drug cartels, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, a major victory in Mexico’s offensive against drug cartels as the country faces pressure from President Trump to confront the cartels. The Mexican government said the United States had contributed intelligence that aided the operation against Mr. Oseguera and U.S. officials confirmed that no American troops were involved in the operation.  The killing, however, set off a wave of fires and violence across the country as cartel operatives sought to exact revenge.  As of Tuesday, the unrest had settled and shelter in place advisories had been lifted, including in Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, and Cancun.

Proposed New Flood Risk Map.  Recently, FEMA released a draft of its new flood risk map.  If approved, the map could reshape flood risk designations, insurance requirements, and land development rules.  The draft will now be reviewed by floodplain administrators and elected officials.  After their input, FEMA will move to a broader public release and open a formal comment and appeals process to allow for public input.  To view the draft map, click here or here.

Government Funding.  Congress has not made any progress on finding a path forward on reasonable restrictions for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection.  Negotiations continue between the Congress and the White House, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entered its third week of a funding lapse.

When the House returned on Tuesday, the House voted on two bills under suspension of the rules, as is the usual pattern. Consistent with my messages to you in recent weeks, I voted against these bills as a procedural—not substantive matter.  Suspension of the rules is a tool that normally helps move bipartisan legislation more quickly.  But things are not normal.  And this Congress is not normal.  And we cannot normalize the utter dysfunction in Washington.  As a result, I made the decision several weeks ago to vote against these suspension bills in protest of the Congress’ failure to address the lawlessness of the Trump administration and the killing of Americans in the streets with no response on the House floor.  My objection is not to the substance of any particular bill that has come through on suspension (although that could happen, too), but to the Speaker’s refusal to bring to the floor any bills that address the lawless actions of the Trump administration over the last several months.  That means that sometimes, I have to take tough votes against bills that I would otherwise support.  That was the case this week.

For the remainder of the legislative work this week, the House considered two more bills related to home appliances and home energy usage.  It has gotten ridiculous.  On Tuesday, the House considered the Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act (H.R. 4626) which makes significant changes to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) ability to finalize energy efficiency standards for appliances, adding cumbersome and duplicative standards to the DOE rulemaking process.  This bill creates new hurdles and delays for future standards for home appliances and empowers future administrations to revoke standards, causing confusion in the market and uncertainty for homeowners.  On Wednesday, the House voted on the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act (H.R. 4758), repealing repeals three sections of the Inflation Reduction Act and rescinds their funding, including $4.5 billion to help residential customers electrify their homes, $200 million to support energy efficiency and electrification workforce training, and $1 billion to assist with the adoption of building codes.  I voted against both of these bills, which passed the House 217-190 and 210-199, respectively.

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

On Tuesday, President Trump delivered his State of the Union Address.  I have not missed a State of the Union address since I have been elected to Congress.  This year, however, is not like any other.  And I could not treat this year’s address—or what is happening this year in Congress—as normal. 

Over the last year, President Trump has ignored, defied, and dismissed the Congress, the courts, and the Constitution, doing real and lasting harm to the people and the principles of the United States of America.  Anticipating dangerous and false rhetoric far beyond the scope of anything we have seen before (and I have attended two of President Trump’s previous State of the Union addresses), I instead spent my evening listening to community members who shared with me their experiences and observations about the state of the union.

I am grateful to the community members and representatives from organizations including the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, the Houston Area Urban League, FIEL Houston, the ACLU of Texas, and HOPE Clinic who shared with me their perspectives on priorities and issues affecting people in the greater Houston area. 

Our discussion made clear that the challenges of this moment are great—from affordability to accountability.  Costs are rising, wages are not.  People are struggling to afford food, housing, and health care.  Our community’s important support system cannot meet all these needs.  Systems that once worked are failing, and people are living in fear.  At the same time, our discussion highlighted the incredible work of people in Houston who devote their lives and work to serving our community and country, and it reminded me that, despite the challenges we face, when we work together, there is nothing we can’t do.  Our virtual discussion centered on four key themes:

• Affordability: The cost-of-living crisis is at the heart of the state of the union.  Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation Executive Director Hany Khalil emphasized the importance of fighting for fair wages and workers’ right to organize as important pillars of the effort to make life more affordable.  Houston Urban League President Judson Robinson III echoed the point that wages haven’t kept up with the cost of living—in Texas, the minimum wage is still $7.25 per hour—and shared the story of a 100-year-old service-disabled veteran struggling to pay utility bills.  Other participants who work on affordability issues drew attention to food insecurity and the Trump administration’s cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  39% of Houston and Harris County households are food insecure, well above the national average of 14%.  Many participants echoed the concerns that wages are simply not keeping up with costs, and the social safety net does not have the resources to meet demand.  Participants spoke about retirement-age seniors in our community needing to find roommates to afford rent, and working-age Houstonians needing to find supplementary sources of income to make ends meet, since one job increasingly will not pay the bills.
• Health Care:  Affordability and access to health care remain major challenges for our community, and again our social safety net faces great challenges.  Health care providers shared information about changes in its patients’ health insurance premiums since Republicans’ cuts to Medicaid and refusal to renew the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Enhanced Premium Tax Credits, noting that premiums are rising, many patients are losing health coverage, and many are choosing to pay health care costs out of pocket, hoping they don’t get sick.  Houston has the highest rate of uninsured people in the country, and hospitals are facing enormous financial pressure.  Currently, 790 hospitals in the United States have reported that they are at risk of closure, and 82 of those hospitals are in Texas.  Texas’ policy decisions coupled with the laws passed in this Congress are creating a crisis for patients and providers in Houston and across our state.
• Immigration Enforcement:  Houston is a city that welcomes immigrants, but the people in our community are concerned about the Trump administration’s immigration policies and increasingly brutal immigration policing.  From increasing detention to slower processing to delayed naturalization, people are experiencing new challenges and seeing little accountability.  Fear and uncertainty are impacting our restaurants and small businesses, as workers and patrons adjust to economic and other uncertainty.
• Americans’ Rights and the Rule of Law:  People at home are also concerned about the Trump administration’s actions relating to our rights and liberties, including the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict the right to freedom of speech, of assembly, and of association; the right and ability to vote in free and fair elections; and the implementation of a surveillance state that Houstonians and Texans have opposed for generations.  People expressed concern about the importance of protecting the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the rule of law from abuses, like the President’s imposition of unlawful tariffs that have driven up costs for all Americans.

I co-sponsored several other bills of importance to our community this week, including:

• the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act of 2026, H.R. 7613, to address the safety related recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the plane crash at Reagan National Airport on January 29, 2025;
• the ICE and CBP Constitutional Accountability Act, H.R. 7297, to provide a civil remedy for any person whose rights have been violated by an officer or agent of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol or U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement;
• the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, H.R. 1061, to amend section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit immigration enforcement actions at sensitive locations, and to clarify the powers of immigration officers at sensitive locations;
• the Insurrection Act of 2025, H.R. 4076, to provide limited authority to use the armed forces to suppress insurrection or rebellion and quell domestic violence;
• a resolution recognizing the cultural and historical significance of Lunar New Year in 2026, H.Res.1061; and
• a resolution recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights to protect and codify the rights of transgender and nonbinary people under the law and ensure their access to medical care, shelter, safety, and economic security, H.Res.1058.

In addition to these bills and resolutions I joined my colleagues in sending several letters this week, including:

• a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott demanding accountability and transparency regarding the training that ICE and CBP agents receive, including whether recent reported examples are a result of inadequate training or a reflection of ICE and CBP’s policies and directives;
• a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. opposing two CMS rules attacking access to evidence-based and life-saving medical care for transgender youth;
• a letter urging the U.S. Census Bureau to suspend immediately the use of the American Community Survey (ACS) and a citizenship question for the 2026 Census Test; and
• a letter urging President Trump to take immediate action to address the energy affordability crisis facing American families and businesses.

This week, I was glad to get a chance to visit with Houstonians in town for all kinds of reasons.  I was glad to share my thoughts on what is happening in D.C. with members of the Greater Houston Partnership during their D.C. Fly In this week.  And I appreciated the chance to sit down in the office with representatives from the Disabled American Veterans from Fort Bend Chapter 233 and from Local 2198 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (AFL-CIO), pictured below.

It was great to be in Houston last week and I was glad to have a chance to visit with neighbors across our district.  In a week full of wonderful visits, two big highlights to share:

Attending the groundbreaking for the Mission Bend Senior Center with Fort Bend County Commissioners Dexter McCoy and Grady Prestage.  The Mission Bend Senior Center is planned as a 23,543 square foot community center, including an indoor swimming pool, clinic space, fitness areas, and community event space.  It will be the first county-owned center solely dedicated to seniors in Texas' 7th Congressional District.  This $11.2 million project is largely funded by the 2023 Fort Bend County Parks and Recreation Bond, but I was glad to secure $2,000,000 for the construction of the Mission Bend Senior Center in the congressional appropriations process this year.  Earlier this month, the House passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148) which included funding for the Mission Bend Senior Center in the Transportation-Housing Urban Development bill.

Meeting with TX07 Mayors.  The week at home provided an opportunity to check in with all of the city mayors in TX07.  I enjoyed sitting down for breakfast tacos with Sugar Land Mayor Carol McCutcheon, West University Place Mayor Susan Sample, Southside Place Mayor Andy Chan, and Bellaire Mayor Gus Pappas and visiting Houston City Hall for a meeting with Houston Mayor John Whitmire.  As we begin what we call “appropriations season” it is time to talk about the kinds of community projects that Congress can help fund this year (like the Mission Bend Senior Center), and to share feedback I have received from constituents on issues of all kinds.

And, of course, #TeamTX07 is ready to RODEO.  Happy Go Texan Day!