Dear Neighbor,

I was glad to spend this week at home in Houston for a district work week.  Here are a few highlights:

And I had a great visit to West Houston Assistance Ministries to learn more about the services they provide to residents in TX-07, visit with staff and volunteers, and talk about opportunities for partnerships across our community.  Even the rains couldn’t dampen the positive spirit or the important work of continuing to distribute food to families in need in our community.  The amount of need has increased sharply during the pandemic, and it is important to know that, while we see many signs of recovery across our community, people across our area continue to face many challenges from the pandemic. 

Those who have filed their 2020 tax return do not need to apply and will see the CTC arrive automatically.  To learn more about the program, visit ChildTaxCredit.gov.

It was also nice to spend some time back in the office with our district team and to hear about the things our team is doing to help.  I’m passing along some important notes from them:

Even if you do not have immediate travel plans, take out your passport and check its expiration date. Our TX-07 constituent services team has been inundated with requests to help constituents obtain updated passports.  While we are all excited to travel again as our family and loved ones get vaccinated and the world begins to open back up to tourism—many have been making reservations without checking their passports’ expiration dates first.

The U.S. Passport Agency has informed my office that turnaround times have reached as many as 18 weeks for standard passport renewal times, and even expedited passports can take as many as 10 weeks to be completed.  Please visit my website’s Passports page to learn more about what to expect and how to renew your passport.

I am excited to announce the opening of our 2021 App Challenge! Each year, my office hosts the TX-07 App Challenge to highlight the innovation and creativity of our district’s young coders.  So far, students in TX-07 have built apps to address food insecurity and keep people safe during the pandemic—engines for good, of which I hope we will see more.  Middle and high school students can learn more about how to take part and register at CongressionalAppChallenge.us/students.

On the topic of impressive students in our community, I was delighted to announce and visit with the winner of our Congressional Art Competition!  Congratulations to Memorial High School graduate Kunyang Li for his thoughtful piece, "Essential Cowboy," celebrating the essential workers who kept our community safe during the pandemic. His thoughtful piece reflects not only his skill but also the values of our community. 

I thank him and all of the students who submitted their artwork in this competition, demonstrating talent and community engagement that represents our community well.

As the COVID-19 Delta variant spreads more throughout our community, it is vital that we protect ourselves and our families.  As of July 6, about 41.6% of Texas’ 29 million people have been fully vaccinated.  I urge those who are not yet vaccinated to continue wearing a mask, social distancing, and washing your hands to protect yourselves and your loved ones, and to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

With six months of this Congress behind us, and a lot of important work ahead, I am proud to represent you, and am always here to help you.  Please do not hesitate to call me to share your thoughts and concerns or to let me know how my team and I can help you.  You can email here, or call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 any time.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

• Child Tax Credit Day, the day the child tax credit will begin to be deposited in bank accounts, is this Thursday, July 15. Learn more about it here.
• Internship Applications for this fall are due on July 25!  Students can learn more and apply here.
• Emergency Connectivity Fund —  Your school or library may be able to get funding provided by the American Rescue Plan to help get students, teachers, and patrons home internet access and devices to keep learning and stay connected at home.  Applications for the Emergency Connectivity Fund are open until August 13 – learn more and apply here.