Dear Neighbor,

It was another eventful week in Washington.  I was glad to come home in time for this beautiful weekend and for the Astros’ big win on Friday night!

Before getting to last week’s summary, a look ahead to this week.  Tomorrow evening we will have a community conversation on changes to the National Flood Insurance Program with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) representatives and Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin.  This one is a webinar format where FEMA will present important information you need to know about flood insurance and we will answer your questions. I hope you will join us. 

You can click here to RSVP.  My team will provide the link for the town hall by email on Monday, so be sure to RSVP by 3pm tomorrow. 

We returned to Washington this week to vote on several bipartisan bills, which passed the house with overwhelming support, including:

• Free Veterans from Fees Act, H.R. 1029, which waives special use permit application fees for special events at war memorials on land administered by the National Park Service in Washington, D.C., and its environs when a majority of attendees are veterans or Gold Star Families.
• National Centers of Excellence, in Advanced and Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Act of 2021, H.R. 4369, which amends the 21st Century Cures Act to provide the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the authority to designate institutions of higher education that provide research, data, and leadership on advanced and continuous manufacturing for pharmaceuticals as National Centers of Excellence in Advanced and Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing. Such Centers would work with FDA to craft a national framework for advanced and continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing, including workforce development, standardization, and collaboration with manufacturers.
• Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act of 2021, H.R. 3635, which amends the Public Health  Service Act to enhance the capabilities of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) in order to ensure the federal government can sufficiently respond to the ongoing coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic and prepare for future public health emergencies that require distributions of drugs, devices, vaccines, or other ancillary medical supplies from the SNS.
• Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act, H.R. 4028, which requires the Secretary of Commerce to report on and develop a whole-of-Government strategy with respect to the economic competitiveness of the information and communication technology supply chain.

The House also passed H.R. 3110, PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which extends break time and space protections for nursing mothers in the workplace.  It extends break time and space protections mandated by the 2010 Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act to cover workers currently excluded from overtime protections for several types of employees; it ensures workers who are nursing mothers can recover appropriate forms of relief in court violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act; and clarifies protections on pumping time so that hourly workers performing work duties during pumping breaks are compensated.

And, as you may have seen in the news, the House passed H. Res. 730, a resolution recommending that the House of Representatives find Stephen K. Bannon in contempt of congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena duly issued by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.  This resolution passed the House with bipartisan support, with 9 Republicans joining all House Democrats in voting to preserve the power of the House of Representatives to conduct oversight.

This week, members of the House continued our efforts to advance both the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Build Back Better Act. These bills will build on the President’s economic agenda by continuing to create good-paying jobs for American workers, cutting taxes, and lowering costs for working families. 

On Tuesday, I led a group of 23 members in sending a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer asking to persevere the American Rescue Plan Act’s Medicaid expansion incentives, which were based on my bill, the Expand Medicaid Now Act.  You can read the letter here.

On Wednesday, the Senate considered the Freedom to Vote Act.  I joined several colleagues in a letter urging the Senate to pass the bill.  The Senate voted against considering this important bill, but I am committed to working to protect the right to vote and access to the ballot box. 

On Thursday, I introduced the bipartisan FEMA Relief Extension Act with Congressman Tom Rice to extend Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) temporary housing assistance after disasters from 18 months to 24 months.  We know that after a disaster it can take time to understand the scope of the damage and figure out what assistance is available.  And we know that extending temporary housing assistance to give people recovering from disaster more time to secure the assistance they need to rebuild and to prepare for the next storm is one of the most helpful things we can do.

I’m always glad to see Houstonians on the Hill, and this week I got to visit with several of our neighbors who were in town – from our TX-07 office to the Capitol Steps, I enjoyed our visits and look forward to seeing more of you in D.C. in the months ahead.

I was glad to be home over the weekend to see neighbors, visit events, and celebrate the Astros’ big win on Friday

On Saturday, I was honored to participate in the Houston Fire Department’s Annual Memorial Ceremony, joining Fire Chief Samuel Peña, members of Congress, Houston City Council members, Houston firefighters and family and friends of fallen firefighters in remembering the Houston firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty, including four in the last year, and to acknowledge those who continue to serve our community each day. 

Each year, I have the privilege of nominating outstanding young residents of our district to four of the nation’s five service academies.  For those seeking a nomination this year, the deadline to apply is November 5. 

On Saturday, October 30, my office will hold a Houston-area Service Academy Day for students from across our area where they and their families can learn about the opportunities and the process of applying for a nomination. 

The deadline for internship applications for the spring semester are also coming up.  They are due on November 22!  Students can learn more and apply here.

I’ll be back in Washington this week for another busy and hopefully productive week on the Hill.  I look forward to sending you another update next week. 

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.  My team and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,