I returned to Washington on Tuesday, where several important conversations are taking place.  As you may have heard, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has notified Congress that the United States could default on its debt as early as June 1 if Congress does not increase our country’s borrowing authority.  Many of us are deeply concerned that we must act quickly to address this potential crisis—one that will have devastating impacts not only here at home but around the globe, creating a global financial crisis and long-term damage to the United States.  For many months, I have joined my colleagues in urging Speaker McCarthy to bring a bill to the floor to avert this disaster by raising the debt ceiling, something Congress has done many times over the years, including three times during the Trump administration.  As I wrote to you a few weeks ago, House Republicans passed a plan to raise the debt ceiling for a few months in exchange for many years of spending cuts that would be devastating to people across our country, including veterans, seniors, teachers, first responders, and many others.  For those reasons, I voted no on their plan.  And the Senate will not consider it.  But something must be done.  President Biden met with Speaker McCarthy, Leader Jeffries, and Senate leaders earlier this week, and talks continue about how to move forward.  House Democrats are ready to work with Republicans to pay our bills and prevent a default on our debt, and I am hopeful that we will return to Washington with a workable plan to do so.  

The House focused most of its debate time this week on two major bills, discussed in more detail below.  I am glad to report that the House passed other pieces of legislation on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, including the Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act, H.R. 676, to support coastal communities, like ours, that are grappling with ocean acidification.  The bill would require the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration to collaborate with state and local government entities on ocean acidification vulnerability assessments, research planning, and information sharing to protect critical fisheries resources like Galveston Bay oysters. 

On Wednesday, the House began debate on the Secure the Border Act, H.R. 2.  While I agree that we have complex border security and immigration policy matters that Congress must address, the proposals in the bill brought to the floor this week do not address them, they exacerbate them.  I spoke with several of my colleagues who represent border communities this week about these proposals, which, if enacted, would:

• Create asylum eligibility requirements that would effectively end asylum and violate existing international law with respect to refugees; 
• Restrict U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) ability to process arrivals at ports of entry fairly and efficiently;
• Prohibit the Office of Refugee Resettlement from funding legal counsel for unaccompanied children;
• Defund non-profit and faith-based organizations that help the U.S. government process asylum seekers and provide food, shelter, and clothing assistance to asylum seekers and other vulnerable populations, including organizations doing that work here in our district;
• Eliminate funding for alternatives to immigration detention that are more humane, more cost-effective, and provide important services like legal orientation, human and sex trafficking screenings, and other social services; and
• Immediately restart construction of the border wall. 

For these reasons, I voted no on the bill.  But we can’t stop with no.  We need to get to yes on a plan for comprehensive immigration reform and a safe and secure border.  We need legislation that addresses the very real concerns in our community, treats migrants humanely and fairly, and honors our country’s principles and obligations to allow those fleeing persecution and human rights violations in another country to seek asylum. 

Houston is a city of immigrants.  We celebrate our diversity and our history of welcoming immigrants and refugees.  In the last year alone, Houston organizations have assisted nearly 25,000 new arrivals.  We know firsthand the challenges before us and are ready to continue to offer meaningful solutions to these complex challenges in partnership with our fellow Texans.

The House also took up the majority’s proposal to address accidental overpayments and fraudulent payments of pandemic unemployment insurance benefits, the Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act, H.R. 1163.  If enacted, H.R. 1163 would: 

• Cut federal investments to fight fraud by $400 million, weakening successful anti-fraud programs and letting criminals off the hook; 
• Stop the modernization of antiquated unemployment insurance systems in states across the country meant to ensure timely and accurate delivery of benefits to eligible workers; and 
• Allow states to punish workers who received accidental overpayments through no fault of their own by sending them surprise bills for overpayments of unemployment benefits.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for an efficient unemployment insurance system to stabilize our economy, protect hardworking Americans who lose their jobs, and assist American families.  I know this because more than 800 constituents in TX-07 came to our team for assistance with unemployment issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.  While I have supported efforts to safeguard unemployment insurance programs, fight fraud, and protect against identity theft, this bill only moves us further from those goals, and for these reasons, I voted no.

To combat climate change, we must work to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.  As leaders and partners in this effort, energy companies are developing technologies that will help reduce harmful emissions, but we need meaningful federal investment to get these technologies off the ground.  The CLEAR Act creates a new program at DOE to help identify technologies to reduce emissions at refineries and to invest in demonstration projects to get these technologies off the ground.

If enacted, the CLEAR Act would invest in the research, development, and commercial deployment of projects capable of making significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at refineries by: 

• Authorizing a new $200 million program at DOE for commercial-scale demonstration projects that will reduce emissions at refineries;
  • Qualifying projects include carbon capture and sequestration technology, energy usage reductions, and use of advanced catalysts. 
  • Awardee would be required to apply the funding for technology that has completed pilot testing and is designed to reduce carbon intensity and greenhouse gasses, or to capture carbon.  DOE shall provide awards for these projects once the project is reviewed for financial strength, construction schedule, market risk, and contractor history. 
  • DOE would require cost sharing in the commercial-scale demonstration of these projects; and
• Requiring DOE to submit a plan within 180 days to Congress outlining opportunities for the research, development, and commercialization of projects capable of making significant reductions in greenhouse gas and carbon emissions, and requiring DOE to establish the new program 180 days after the plan is submitted to Congress. 

I also joined my colleagues in several letters this week on issues important to our community, including: 

• A letter to House leaders calling for bipartisan collaboration to address increased migration to the U.S. and highlighting the many reasons the Secure the Border Act, H.R. 2, fails to meaningfully address those challenges;
• A letter to Senate leaders urging the Senate to confirm President Biden’s nomination of Julie Su for U.S. Secretary of Labor; and
• A letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott urging him to work with the Texas Legislature to change the school funding formula to an enrollment-based model to ensure all our students can receive a quality public education.

I also co-sponsored several pieces of legislation this week, including: 

• A resolution expressing that the U.S. Postal Service should reinstate reliable mail service standards to improve overnight delivery of first-class mail and reduce postal delays, H.Res. 277; 
• The Raise the Age Act, H.R. 2870, to  apply the 21-year-old minimum age standard to buyers of semi-automatic centerfire rifles;
• The Do No Harm Act, H.R. 2725, to restore the Religions Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to its originally intended purpose of protecting religious freedom and clarify that it may not be misused to harm others; 
• The Supporting Safety Net Hospitals Act, H.R. 2665, to amend Title XIX of the Social Security Act to eliminate pending cuts to Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments; 
• A resolution honoring Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, H.Res. 390; and
• A resolution celebrating the cultural and historical significance of Nowruz (Iranian New Year), H.Res. 215.

On Thursday, the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, & Grid Security held a hearing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget request for the Department of Energy (DOE).  Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm testified before the subcommittee on the Department’s work and funding priorities.  I had a chance to ask her about DOE’s work to lead a whole-of-government approach to accelerate viable Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage projects.

On Thursday, I had a great meeting with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to discuss how the Department of Commerce is turning the provisions of the CHIPS and Science Act into opportunities for communities like ours, and the state of the department’s work to ensure reliable, affordable broadband access across the country.

Did you know?  The United States is Thailand's 2nd largest goods trading partner.  On Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting with Thailand Ambassador Tanee Sangrat and discussing his recent trip to Texas, trade, energy, and Thailand-Texas connections.  With more than 500 Thai American households in our district, it was a privilege to welcome the ambassador and to connect on so many issues on behalf of our community.

Although I was out in meetings, hearings, and votes much of the week, I was glad to meet in the office with the Vietnamese American Community Leaders of Texas, including one of our TX-07 neighbors, who highlighted the importance of supporting human rights in Vietnam.

I was also glad to meet with Houstonians in town for the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance’s National Housing Policy Symposium.  I had a chance to address them to discuss Congress’ work to eliminate housing discrimination and more broadly to strengthen protections for the LGBTQ+ community.  I look forward to welcoming the Alliance to Houston later this year for their national conference! 

Before heading to D.C., I had a little time in Houston on Monday to meet with a few of our neighbors, including representatives from iEducate to discuss their pilot program to recruit and place tutors in underserved classrooms.

Welcoming new residents to TX-07 is one of the joys of this job!  One of our newest neighbors dropped in for a visit.

And, I joined our Houston team for a thank-you to our spring interns, who helped our neighbors and listened to their concerns every day this semester!  We are sad to see them go – we loved having them in our office this year!

In Washington, our team stayed busy with meetings of all kinds, including in office with the Indian American Muslim Council, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Push for Empowered Pregnancy, and out of the office at the REALTOR® National Block Party, featuring TX-07’s own Ed Wolff.

In Houston, Team TX-07 celebrated at the Eid Gala hosted by Fort Bend County Judge KP George and Chairman of the Ibn Sina Foundation Nasruddin Rupani, attended the Asian Chamber of Commerce’s AANHPI Heritage Month Luncheon, and presented a copy of the Congressional Record to the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce from when I welcomed them to the Capitol on the House Floor.

They also met with representatives from United Chinese Americans, RiseAAPI, Women’s Freedom Forum, Fugro, the American College of Radiology Association, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, the National Association of Chemical Distributors, the American College of Rheumatology, and the American Waterways Association.

May is Jewish American Heritage Month.  I am so proud that our diverse and dynamic district includes so much of Houston’s thriving Jewish community.  From places of worship to places of community, from schools to service organizations, our district is home to Jewish individuals and institutions that demonstrate commitment to community every day.  I am glad to highlight, honor, and celebrate them this month!

The House will be in session and I will be back in Washington next week.  I’ll share a report again next week, but until then please remember that 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,