Dear Neighbor,

It was another busy week -- lots to cover! 

On Monday, before I headed back to Washington, I was glad to join Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, emergency physician Dr. Cedric Dark, MD MPH, FACEP, and Former Volunteer Texas Chapter Lead for Moms Demand Action Norri Leder, for a town hall on gun violence prevention.  Public safety is the first responsibility of government.  Yet, across our country, we’re seeing increasing gun violence—and seeing mass violence in places where we come together in our communities, including schools, grocery stores, and places of worship.  As we have witnessed these incidents, people in our district have asked to talk about ways to prevent gun violence.  I am so grateful for the work and the partnership of our panelists, and I thank them, as well as our neighbors, for sharing their thoughtful perspectives at our town hall as we work to protect our communities from gun violence.

Earlier that day, I was glad to welcome new teachers as HISD’s New Teacher Impact Conference. 

On Tuesday, I returned to Washington, where the House passed the bill I introduced with Congressman Peter Meijer (MI-03), the Federal PFAS Research Evaluation Act, H.R. 7289, to implement a federal study to uncover the health and environmental hazards per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure presents to communities.  This legislation requires federal agencies with existing PFAS research to work with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on PFAS exposure and toxicity, and to develop a federal research and development plan to address PFAS exposure. 

On Thursday, the House passed the CHIPS and Science Act, H.R. 4346, to accelerate the manufacturing of semiconductors in the U.S., boost resilience in American supply chains, and secure American scientific leadership.  

The United States has long been a beacon for excellence in science, technology, and engineering, and so much of that pioneering work is done in our community in Houston.  The CHIPS and Science Act will boost our national investment in research and innovation, and ensure our continued leadership in the world.  As a member of the House Committees on Science, Space, and Technology and Energy and Commerce, I was glad to work on this legislation to strengthen our economy, protect our national security, bolster domestic supply chains, and enhance our country’s competitiveness for the 21st century, and to vote for it today.  Specifically, the CHIPS and Science Act provides:

• $39 billion for the CHIPS for America Fund to build, expand, and modernize domestic facilities and equipment for semiconductor production, research, and development;
• $10 billion for Regional Technology Hubs to support regional innovation and economic development efforts around the country;
• $1.5 billion for the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund to accelerate 5G integration, expand software-based wireless technologies, and fund pioneering technologies in the U.S. mobile broadband market;
• $2 billion for the CHIPS for America Defense Fund for the Department of Defense (DoD) to invest in onshore semiconductor prototyping, emerging technologies, and workforce training; 
• $200 million for the CHIPS for American Workforce and Education Fund to kickstart the development of the domestic semiconductor workforce, creating good-paying manufacturing jobs; and
• Increased investment for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support critical STEM research, education and training programs to advance U.S. science and technological leadership.

On Friday, I attended the enrollment ceremony for the bill with my colleagues on the Energy & Commerce Committee and the Science, Space, & Technology Committee.  What is an enrollment ceremony?  It is when the final copy of a bill or joint resolution that has passed the House and the Senate is formally printed before being send to the President for signature.

Also on Friday, the House passed the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022, H.R. 1808, which bans the sale, import, manufacture, or transfer of certain semi-automatic weapons.  Passing the Assault Weapons Ban is one way Congress can help make our communities safer.  Reinstating a ban on these weapons can meaningfully reduce the death and devastation in our communities, and for these reasons I voted for it and other efforts to keep us safe from gun violence.  Specifically, the Assault Weapons Ban:

• Prohibits the sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons, subject to grandfathering provisions and other exceptions;
• Requires that semiautomatic assault weapons be securely stored so that they are not accessible to those who are prohibited from possessing them;
• Allows states to use grant funds for voluntary buyback programs for semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity magazines; and
• Exempts the use of semiautomatic assault weapons for specific uses such as law enforcement and nuclear security.

The House also passed several other pieces of legislation this week:

• The Safe Connections Act of 2022, H.R. 7132, to help protect survivors of domestic violence by requiring mobile service providers to separate the phone line of a survivor from any shared contract with their abuser.  Survivors of domestic and dating violence, stalking, and human trafficking can often times be exploited by their abusers with family or shared wireless phone plans. 
• Reese’s Law, H.R. 5313, to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish product safety standards for batteries that pose an ingestion hazard for children. Rep. Kelly introduced this legislation after the daughter of one of her constituents was hospitalized after swallowing an unsecured button battery from a children’s toy.
• The Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0, H.R. 623, to authorize funding for lifesaving research of treatments and cures for childhood cancer. 
• The Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act, H.R. 3588, to provide grants to schools to help modernize the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. The bill will also provide teachers with professional development training and research opportunities at Federal laboratories and institutions of higher education.  
• The Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act, H.R. 5128, to require federal agencies to identify and address barriers encountered by rural-area entrepreneurs to help more of their small businesses grow and succeed.

This week, I co-sponsored the Strengthen Kids’ Mental Health Now Act of 2022, H.R. 7236, to amend the Social Security Act to expand the availability of mental, emotional, and behavioral health services under the Medicaid program.  And I joined my colleagues on several issues important to our community:

• A letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig expressing concern on the IRS status of the Family Research Council and requesting review of existing IRS guidance related to political advocacy organizations that self-identify as "churches;”
• A letter to Senate Majority Leader Schumer requesting that the reconciliation package include a fix for the Medicaid coverage gap; and
• A letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Brooks-LaSure urging the agency revise the final inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) rule to ensure hospitals have the resources they need. 

This week, I also led my Houston colleagues in sending a public comment to the Houston-Galveston Area Council regarding its planned distribution of funds from the  Hurricane Harvey Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) and expressing our concerns that Houston get a fair share of the funds as Congress intended.  

On Thursday, I joined my colleagues in the Democratic Women’s Caucus to tell the stories of people affected abortion laws across the country.  I shared the story of Elizabeth and James, Houstonians who were deeply affected by Texas’ S.B. 8.  We will continue to respond to the impacts of these laws, and to protect the rights of all Americans to make their own decisions about their health and families.

As always, it is great to see Houstonians in Washington.  This week, as the summer comes close to an end, I visited with our TX-07 D.C. summer interns–Ruhi, Carmen, and Meridian.

I also visited with TX-07 resident Suraj who is also interning on Capitol Hill this summer! 

I had a great visit with Houston METRO leaders who were in D.C. this week. 

I also met with representatives of Honeywell to discuss their work in Houston. 

The Houston Health Department has received shipments of monkeypox vaccines from the CDC, and Harris County Public Health has set up a hotline for monkeypox vaccine guidance.  Residents who have questions regarding testing, vaccinations, and more monkeypox guidance are encouraged to call 832-927-0707.

Also this week, the Biden Administration launched heat.gov, a new website to provide timely and science-based information to understand and reduce the health risks of extreme heat.  Extreme heat has been the greatest weather-related cause of death in the U.S. for the past 30 years.  It is important that families stay safe from extreme weather conditions, especially during this time of year.

Mark your calendars for our virtual town hall on this year’s Houston Area Survey with Dr. Stephen Klineberg.  I’m excited to hear from him about what he has seen this year and over the years in our community.  It’s a great chance to hear from him and ask question – and you can join from anywhere!  I hope you’ll join us. RSVP here!

As always, I am honored to represent you and I am here to help you.  Please call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 or email me at fletcher.house.gov/contact at any time to ask for assistance or share your thoughts.  My team and I look forward to hearing from you.

With best wishes,