Representative Lizzie Fletcher

Dear Neighbor,

The House was back in session and I was back in Washington this week after spending last week at home in TX-07. I’ve included some highlights of my week at home at the end of this email, but will start this week’s summary with an update on things in Washington.

Here are a few of the things that are the talk of the town in Washington this week.

More Spending Matters: “Recissions”

On Tuesday, President Trump submitted a proposal to Congress to rescind $9.4 billion in current government funding under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. This proposal is referred to as “recissions.” It is not a part of the big budget bill the House passed a few weeks ago and the Senate is now considering. It is not a part of the appropriations process for next year, which the House is currently considering.

This proposal is another kind of request to cut spending—this time, for funds Congress has already directed the administration to spend by law. And the President is now asking Congress to rescind this direction to fund certain programs. As a practical matter, the administration has already announced that it will not spend most of these funds as directed—now, it is following the process to request permission from Congress. This has been a contested issue this year as many of us have objected to the failure of the Trump administration to spend funds as directed by law.

This recissions proposal—potentially the first of many—cuts $9.4 billion in spending. It cuts $8.3 billion from international development and humanitarian programs, like funding for the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), global family planning programs, U.S. contributions to UN peacekeeping efforts, global health programs, and migration and refugee assistance. It also cuts $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, including PBS and NPR, which will affect local NPR affiliates across the country, including Houston Public Media.

Under the Impoundment Control Act, after the President submits his rescissions proposal, Congress has 45 days to approve or deny this proposal. It can be passed with a simple majority in both the House and Senate—bypassing regular order. Speaker Johnson has not announced when the House expects to take up this legislation, but we can expect the House to vote on it in the next couple of weeks.

With so much discussion of government spending lately—and the budget reconciliation bill, annual appropriations, and, now, recissions—I found it helpful to review this interactive overview of federal government spending from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) (click link for more). I thought you might, too. The graphic below shows revenues and spending for Fiscal Year 2024, which is on the CBO site:

Travel Ban

On Wednesday, President Trump announced a travel ban restricting the entry of foreign nationals from 12 countries and partially restricting entry from seven other countries—primarily countries from the Middle East and Africa but also including Haiti, Venezuela, and Cuba. The travel ban, expected to go into effect on June 9, 2025, expands upon the list of countries imposed during President Trump’s first term in office, prohibiting certain people from traveling to the United States with some exemptions. As you may recall, President Biden repealed Trump’s first travel ban upon taking office, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.” I am a cosponsor of the NO BAN Act, which limits the President’s authority to impose discriminatory travel bans like this one.

Reversing EMTALA guidance

Also on Tuesday, the Trump administration rescinded guidance reminding hospitals of their obligations under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) to provide stabilizing care to all people experiencing medical emergencies, including pregnant patients in need of emergency abortion care. This guidance from the Biden administration became necessary after multiple states, including ours, put in place strict abortion bans with criminal penalties for providers with vague medical exemptions. Out of fear of criminal prosecution and massive fines, hospitals and providers are delaying or denying care with tragic consequences for patients. Doctors should be able to provide life-saving care to all of their patients without fear of retribution. Rescinding this guidance will lead to more confusion over whether they can provide emergency abortion care.

Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

On Wednesday, the Trump administration raised tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent, up from the 25 percent tariffs imposed in February. These tariff policies do not strengthen our economy or help make life more affordable for Americans—instead, they will impact the cost of cars and other industries that depend on steel or aluminum, including canned goods at the grocery store. Back in 2021, I led the New Democratic Coalition Trade Task Force in sending a letter to the Department of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to lift President Trump’s misguided tariffs on steel and aluminum, which placed undue burden on workers and domestic manufacturers across the United States. Last week, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that President Trump does not have the unilateral authority to impose reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries. In Congress, I have been working with my colleagues to take back our congressional authority over tariffs.

The Breakup

On Thursday, people across Washington were glued to Twitter as President Trump and Elon Musk put out various statements about each other. I don’t think I need to say more here, but it was the talk of the town.

This week raised several concerns that I have had this Congress, and I expressed those concerns with my votes on the House floor and in committee this week, as discussed below.

These are not normal times. And yet, much of the work in the House is proceeding as though they are. I confronted this issue this week when the House considered the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, H.R. 2483. This bill has passed in previous Congresses with bipartisan support and it contains many programs that I support and believe are important in addressing the substance use crisis in our country. The problem, however is that the Trump administration is dismantling the public health agencies that provide substance use and mental health programs that people depend on, including many in this bill. In March, the Trump administration fired hundreds of workers at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and eliminated 40 mental health and substance use programs at the agency, eight of which this bill reauthorizes. Just last month, President Trump released a budget proposal that eliminates almost all of the programs in the bill.

We cannot pretend that Congress is meaningfully responding to the opioid crisis by reauthorizing programs that Trump administration has dismantled and defunded. It is nothing more than a charade—pretending to address the opioid epidemic by passing a bill that cannot be implemented. That is why I voted no on this bill. It passed the House by a vote of 366-57.

The House also considered several bills related to restricting access to Small Business Administration (SBA) programs. The Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act, H.R. 2931, requires SBA to relocate local offices located in any “sanctuary jurisdictions,” with no definition and discretion for the SBA administrator, who previously said she would move regional SBA offices out of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Seattle. It passed 211-199. The CEASE Act of 2025, H.R. 2987, caps the number of SBA-licensed Small Business Lending Companies to 16 and fails to protect Community Advantage program licenses that provide small loans to new businesses or businesses that are located in low-income and rural communities. This bill passed 214-198. The American Entrepreneurs First Act of 2025, H.R. 2966, makes entrepreneurs with certain immigration statuses ineligible for SBA 7(a) loan and 504 loan programs, including lawful residents like DACA recipients, asylum seekers, refugees, and individuals issued a visa to remain in the United States. This bill passed 217-190. I voted against all of these bills.

Without much debate, the House also passed the Connecting Small Businesses with Career and Technical Education Graduates Act of 2025 (H.R.1642), to enhance connections between small businesses and graduates of career and technical education programs, and the 7(a) Loan Agent Oversight Act (H.R. 1804), to require the SBA to report annually to Congress on loan agents that help small businesses secure 7(a) loans, under suspension of the rules this week, and I voted for both.

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

This week, I led 27 of my Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) leaders, expressing our concerns about the public safety risks that DOGE-imposed staffing shortages at the National Weather Service (NWS) Center Weather Service Units (CWSU) are creating at the 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) across the country. These staffing shortages are impacting airports throughout the United States, including Intercontinental and Hobby airports. CWSU meteorologists provide tailored forecasts to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) staff and help them route air traffic through weather systems. These meteorologists are critical to ensuring aviation safety, especially during the summer months.

Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Griswold v. Connecticut ruling, which established the right for married couples to use birth control. (Single people got the right later.) I joined my colleagues Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-28), and Congresswoman Sharice Davids (KS-03) in leading a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging him to restore all funding for the Title X Family Planning Program (Title X) that Congress has appropriated and the Trump administration has withheld. It also urges HHS to work with Congress to ensure that all Americans have access to contraceptives. Established in 1970, Title X was introduced by then-Congressman for TX-07 and later President George H.W. Bush. I like to say, Title X was born in TX-07. Title X is a critical program that provides people across our community and country with access to contraceptives and reproductive health services.

June is Gun Violence Awareness Month, a month dedicated to raising awareness about gun violence and promoting common-sense gun safety laws to keep Americans safe. This week, I cosponsored the Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act, H.R. 3740, to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which provides firearm manufacturers, distributors, and dealers immunity from civil liability. I also cosponsored a resolution expressing support for the designation of June 6, 2025, as "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" and June 2025 as "National Gun Violence Awareness Month,” H.Res. 457.

This week and last, I also joined my colleagues in sending:

a letter to National Weather Service (NWS) Director Ken Graham expressing concern regarding the NWS decision to discontinue the translation of weather alerts and forecasts. While the NWS reversed its course, this letter urges the NWS to institutionalize safeguards to prevent future interruptions to multilingual services;
a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr urging him to improve access to life-saving information during extreme weather events and other emergencies, and encourage the FCC to implement Wireless Emergency Alerts;
a letter to President Trump urging him to increase funding for the Non-Profit Security Grant Program and other federal programs to protect faith-based institutions in his upcoming budget request to Congress;
a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting answers into how the State Department will implement the revocation of visas to Chinese students announced on May 28, 2025; and
a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick opposing the Department of Commerce’s recent announcement of its intent to withdraw from the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement (TSA) and underscores the critical importance of cross-border trade in fresh tomatoes for the economies of several Southwestern states, including Arizona, Texas, Utah, and California.

Amicus Alerts. Again this week, I joined my Democratic colleagues in filing another amicus brief, this one in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in the matter of in Trump v. Casa, Inc., which stands up for the essential constitutional principle of birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, and provides overwhelming evidence that President Trump’s Executive Order is unconstitutional.

I also joined my Democratic colleagues in filing an amicus brief in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the matter of National TPS Alliance v. Noem, which states Congress' clear interest in preserving Temporary Protective Status (TPS) designation for Venezuela in light of the Trump administration's unlawful revocation of status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. After last month’s Supreme Court order to permit the Trump administration to resume rescission of the TPS designation for Venezuela, the court challenges continue through the appeals process in the lower courts.

Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Letters

I also spearheaded several letters to the appropriations subcommittees about funding priorities for our community, including:

a letter requesting that Congress continue funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The effort comes as President Trump attempts to cut federal funding for public media, including NPR and PBS, which provides reliable news to millions of Americans and has historically received overwhelming bipartisan support. I am glad to report that 103 members of Congress signed the letter.
a letter with Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-28) and Congresswoman Sharice Davids (KS-03), joined by 143 of my Democratic colleagues, urging Congress to reject the Trump administration’s efforts to halt federal support for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Title X Family Planning Program (Title X) and to increase funding for the program to $512 million, allowing it to resume its important work. Established in 1970, Title X was introduced by then-Congressman for Texas’ Seventh Congressional District and later President George H.W. Bush. I like to say, Title X was born in TX-07. This vital program is critical in our community and across the country.
a letter with Congresswoman Val Hoyle (OR-04), Congressman Joe Neguse (CO-02), and 35 of our Democratic colleagues, requesting that Congress reject President Trump’s request to gut the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and instead fund it at a level of at least $656 million this year, which would allow OAR to continue its critical mission to prepare our communities for life-threatening natural disasters and to keep the U.S. at the forefront of atmospheric and oceanic research and science.
a letter requesting $45 million for Texans wrongly denied disaster relief after Hurricane Harvey under a duplication of benefits rule. It is important that we right this wrong and work to provide Houstonians the relief that they need.
a letter, joined by 72 of my Democratic colleagues, requesting that Congress allocate funding for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), to hire additional qualified immigration judges and provide them with sufficient case processing capacity—to address the backlog of more than 3.6 million pending immigration court cases and ensure due process in an impartial and timely manner. The EOIR is essential to a well-functioning and fair immigration system.
a letter, joined by 17 of my Democratic colleagues, requesting that Congress allocate funding for technologies and research to reduce emissions within the energy sector, specifically in natural gas development and related supply chains.

Along with the funding priorities listed above, I also advocated for funding for several other critical programs and priorities during the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations process, including funding for federally qualified community health centers, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), and more. I also supported efforts to include appropriations language to prohibit harmful changes to National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding, consistent with the letter I spearheaded to NIH Acting Director back in February.

Community Projects

In recent years, members of Congress have had an opportunity to request funding for projects in their districts that benefit their communities as a part of the annual congressional appropriations process. I was glad to work with community partners and local governments to identify projects that will make our community safer, more resilient, and more vibrant, and I have submitted them to the Appropriations Committee for consideration over the last several weeks.

This is just the first step of the process, and there is no guarantee that all or any of the projects will be funded. Last year, for example, several projects got approved in whole or in part in the committee process, but because Congress never passed a budget for the year, no project funding actually moved forward. We resubmitted several of those requests this year, as well as some new ones, including funding for renovation of the City of Houston’s Metropolitan Multiservice Center on West Gray, flood mitigation and drainage projects for the City of Bellaire, Mobile Command Posts for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, expansion of the Southwest Houston Redevelopment Authority hub, repairs to the Sugar Land Regional Airport runway, a STEM program connecting NASA and Alief ISD, digitization evidence tools in the Fort Bend County District Attorney's office, repairs to the sewer system in Southside Place, and more. You can see a more detailed summary of these submissions here.

On Wednesday, the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations held a hearing on robocalls and robotexts, something I know people across our district care about and want to see stopped. Abusive robocalls and robotexts are not just annoying—they are dangerous. During my first term in Congress, I was glad to support the TRACED Act to provide new protections against unwanted robocalls, and people across our district let me know how much they wanted that bill to pass. And I am happy to hear from the witnesses at the hearing that the resources, enforcement capabilities, and framework this Committee provided in the TRACED Act are working. They also stressed emphasized the need for additional enforcement and coordination between agencies. And again, we see the problem that the Trump administration has cut essential funding and staff at the agencies that protect consumers from robocall and robotext scams, including the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch. I asked the witnesses about how the Trump administration’s significant staffing and resource reductions across the federal government make consumers more vulnerable to robocall and robotext threats, and how enforcement of consumer protections will be impacted by the dismantling of these federal agencies. You can see my comments and questions here or below.

On Thursday, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy held a markup of 13 bills. I raised my concerns about the bills in an opening statement that you can watch below. These bills continued the theme of the week: they required studies and new obligations on agencies that have testified to our committee that they do not have the staff or resources to do them. The others continued the theme from the budget bill seeking to limit certain renewable energy sources. As I’ve written previously, U.S. energy demand is growing. It is vitally important that we invest in energy innovation and increase energy production from a variety of sources to keep the lights (and the heat and the a/c) on and to keep costs as low as possible for all of us who are paying the bill. Meeting the challenge of increasing energy demand should not be partisan, and I encouraged my colleagues to look to Texas, which generated more electricity and produced more oil and natural gas in 2023 than any other state. Texas also led U.S. states in wind-power generation. And it was second in solar generation and battery storage capacity. We’ve made great strides to make permitting and grid interconnection more efficient and timelier. You can watch my remarks here or below.

It’s always a highlight to connect with Houstonians visiting Washington, D.C. With the focus on massive proposed changes to our health care system in recent weeks, it was great to have the chance to visit with Houstonians representing several hospitals across our district, region and state as well as pharmacists and emergency physicians. I was also glad to catch up with the Houston Association of Realtors and Sysco about what is happening at home—from home prices to hospitality.

It was a big week for Team TX-07. The whole team gathered in Washington at the beginning of the week to share information and strategize about how we can best serve our district across offices and time zones. It was great to have everyone in one place for a few days, and we gathered on the steps to capture the moment!

Later in the week the Washington team held more than a dozen meetings with constituents and groups advocating on their behalf, including the American Academy of Emergency Medicine and American Association for Justice, pictured below. Back home in the district, our team was out and about across the district, helping constituents and attending community events, including the Passport Fair we hosted in collaboration with Commissioner Lesley Briones, a meeting with Gulfton Citizens Advisory Council, and the LGBTQ+ Chamber’s Pride in Business Celebration, pictured below.

Last week, I was so glad to be home for a week that marked the end of two important celebratory months in our district. I was glad to visit with leaders of our Jewish community during the last week of Jewish American Heritage Month—a time to honor the rich history, culture, and contributions of Jewish Americans. Thank you to the wonderful community and faith leaders from the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, the National Council of Jewish Women, and several of our TX-07 synagogues for meaningful, important, and fun conversations!

As we concluded Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage month, I was delighted to have the chance last week to visit with Asian American business owners across Texas’ Seventh Congressional District. I joined the Asian Chamber of Commerce in enjoying Pacha Nikkei’s delicious Peruvian-Japanese fusion cuisine. I also toured the H-Mart in Bellaire and bubble tea store Chicha San Chen with the Southwest Management District and was glad to meet with Lucky Nguyen, founder of Mr. Tai Goods. As we celebrated the business owners and community members in our vibrant AANHPI community here in Houston, I heard about some of the challenges and opportunities for our local Asian-owned businesses, from tariffs and sourcing issues to expansion plans and community engagement.

Of course, our Town Hall Meeting was a big focus for the week, as well. Thanks to everyone who attended our town hall with Fort Bend County Commissioner Dexter McCoy at the Boys and Girls Club in Mission Bend! With so much happening in Washington, it is critical that our community stay engaged and informed. From cutting Medicaid and health care access, to implementing barriers to Social Security, to cutting funding for medical research, recent actions and inaction are undermining the rule of law, separation of power, and the progress we have made as a society. I was glad to join Commissioner McCoy to hear from TX-07 residents about their priorities and concerns at a time when it is more important than ever to work together for our community and country.

It was great to see community partners and constituents in and out of the office last week, including City Controller Chris Hollins, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Harris County Flood Control District, Cub Scout Troop 266. I loved the chance to present certificates of accomplishment, visit with neighbors, and even make my way down to Space Center Houston at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for a visit and update.

I stopped by Houston Matters last Friday morning (you can listen here if you missed it), before joining Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones to raise awareness about Hurricane Season, which started last Sunday. It was a great week at home.

It’s June! That means it’s PRIDE Month. I am so proud to represent the diverse and dynamic LGBTQI+ community across #TX07 and look forward to celebrating with people across the district this month. As a Vice Chair of the congressional Equality Caucus, I'm proud to help lead the fight for the dignity, freedom, and equality of all Americans.

Our Constituent Advocates will be at the Chinese Community Center next Friday, June 13 to help residents.

If you or someone you know has an issue before a federal agency and would like assistance, come to our next Constituent Services Pop-Up. Or you can visit fletcher.house.gov/casework or call our Houston office for help any time.

The House will be back in session next week, and we expect to vote on the President’s recission request I outlined in the opening of this email. Our committees will be meeting. And I’ll send another update with you at the end of the week.

Until then, 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 am proud to represent you. I am here to help you. And I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,