The House took up several bills this week, many of them through a process called “suspension of the rules,” which means that the bills come to the floor without lengthy debate because a large, bipartisan majority of members support them.  (The bills are still debated, but debate is much shorter.)  Often, but not always, these bills pass the House on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis.  That was the case this week with several bills, including: 

• The Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act, H.R. 255, a bill to convene a working group to study how to streamline the process for conducting initial damage assessments following emergencies and disasters; and
• The Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act, H.R. 259, a bill to establish a centralized location to publish information on disaster assistance provided by federal agencies.

Other times, the House takes up legislation that has a longer debate and amendment process.  That was the case this week with the Strategic Production Response Act, H.R. 21, a bill to restrict the President’s ability to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) by placing new, burdensome requirements to create a plan to lease additional public lands when selling from the SPR.  As you may know, last year, President Biden issued an order to sell crude oil from the SPR to help increase supply of oil on the market to bring down the cost of gasoline for American consumers.  This effort successfully lowered the price at the pump for Americans and also weakened Russia’s ability to fund its unprovoked and unconscionable war against Ukraine.  The last sale was made last fall.

As a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, I participated in the debate on the bill on the House floor, explaining that, while I support domestic energy production, this bill does not reflect the reality of how oil and gas production works.  In Houston, we know that production of oil and gas, as well as other forms of energy, is a complicated ecosystem from upstream exploration and production to downstream refining because we are involved in every aspect of that work.  But this bill missed the mark on how to respond to the real barriers to increasing production or ensuring the SPR is full.  I explained that to my colleagues and why I would vote no on the bill. 

You can view my remarks by clicking here or on the photo below.

As your representative, I am ready to, and will continue to, bring your ideas to Washington and work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address the real barriers to domestic energy production and to support smart, effective energy policy. 

After the initial debate, Members of Congress offered 143 amendments to this bill, and debated each on Thursday and Friday.  The House took recorded votes on 56 of the amendments over two days.  In general, I voted against amendments that would make it harder for the President to use the SPR, which has been a critical foreign policy and energy security tool for more than 40 years.  And I voted no on the final bill, which passed the House and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

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

As I mentioned, the process of organizing the Congress takes a little while.  This week, we continued that process with committee assignments.  I am pleased to report that I was re-appointed to serve on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for the 118th Congress.

The Energy and Commerce Committee is the oldest standing legislative committee in the House of Representatives and has the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing committee.  Areas of jurisdiction for the Committee include energy, health care, telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health and research, environmental quality, and interstate and foreign commerce.  This Congress, I will serve on the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security as well as the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

Last weekend, I was heartbroken to learn about the mass shootings that occurred in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, California, and joined people across our district and across our country, especially our Asian American neighbors, in mourning these losses.  On Wednesday, I joined my fellow members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) for a meeting focused on the mass shootings and a discussion on gun violence.

Also this week, I joined my colleagues in the New Democrat Coalition for a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai for a wide-ranging discussion of trade issues, priorities, and challenges.  Trade is vital to Houston, and I have served as the co-chair of the NewDems Trade Task Force in the last two Congresses.  I look forward to working with Ambassador Tai, my colleagues, and my constituents on important trade issues in this Congress.

I’m always especially glad to meet with Houstonians on the Hill.  This week, I was happy to meet with Houston Firefighters who live and work in our community and a representative from the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund for a discussion of legislative priorities.

We talked about reforming the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), a modified-benefit formula that reduces the Social Security benefits of certain retired workers and affects public-sector employees like firefighters, teachers, and police officers.  I have previously cosponsored legislation to alter WEP to provide a more equitable distribution of benefits, and will continue to fight for retirement security for our teachers and public servants unfairly penalized by this provision.

As always, Team TX-07 was busy meeting with constituents and community members at home and in Washington!  Our team attended several Lunar New Year events, including events in Fort Bend County with Judge KP George and in Houston with Mayor Sylvester Turner.

And our DC team met with several groups from home, including American Physical Society members from TX-07 who came to discuss research and development funding for federal science agencies and other key issues impacting the physics community and scientific enterprise in our district (pictured below with Kevin from our legislative team).

This week, I got to announce that the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded grants to the Aurora Picture Show, DACAMERA, Silambam Houston, Stages, and editor and translator Samantha Schnee through several NEA programs.  These grant funds are available because Congress appropriated funding to the NEA for the support of projects and productions in the arts through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which I voted for in December of last year. NEA grant awards in TX-07 include:

• Aurora Picture Show: $15,000 through the Grants for Arts Projects program to support a year-round series of experimental media art works and related public programming;
• DACAMERA Society of Texas: $20,000 through the Grants for Arts Projects program to support presentations of chamber music with related educational activities;
• Silambam Houston: $10,000 through the Grants for Arts Projects program to support a performance of European Baroque and Indian Carnatic dance and music; 
• Stages: $10,000 through the Challenge America program to support a theater festival; and
• Samantha Schnee: $15,000 through the Literature Fellowship program to support the English translation from Spanish of the novel “Conspiracy of Romantics” by Mexican author Carmen Boullosa.

Houston has a thriving arts community, and I am so proud of the innovative and inspiring work that is created in our community.

Last week, the Treasury Department announced that the U.S. officially reached its debt limit, meaning the Department must now use extraordinary measures to fund federal obligations at least until early June to prevent the threat of default on our existing debt.  I have heard from many of you recently about this issue, asking Congress to raise the debt ceiling and avoid default.  

Raising the debt ceiling is about meeting obligations the government has already undertaken, not about spending new funds.  (By analogy, it is paying the credit card bill, not increasing the credit card limit.)  Raising the debt ceiling doesn’t cost the taxpayers, it doesn’t add to new spending.  It says we will honor the full faith and credit of the United States as we’re bound to do by the Constitution.  If the United States of America were to default on its debts—something it has never done—it would be catastrophic, at home and abroad.  I support raising the debt ceiling, which Congress has done routinely and consistently over the years, and I will work with my colleagues to respond to the irresponsible threats from some House members to let the United States default.  We can do that and continue to be fiscally responsible.  In fact, over the last two years, President Biden and House Democrats have reduced the deficit, bringing it down by 50 percent, while enacting historic legislation to support working families and boost economic growth.

I’ll be back in Washington next week for another week of legislative work, and the first hearings of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

In just a few weeks, it will be time for our annual Valentines for Veterans delivery.  I hope you will join me and our neighbors in sending notes of gratitude and love to Houston area veterans.  It is a joy and a privilege for me and our team to collect and deliver them on behalf of our district.  To join us, fill out the form here.  

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,