The House of Representatives took up several pieces of legislation before the end of the legislative year. 

On Thursday, after many months of votes, debate, and conference, the House passed the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (FY24 NDAA) Conference Report.  As I have mentioned, the NDAA is annual legislation to authorize spending on our nation’s defense.  Most years, it passes the House with bipartisan, although not unanimous, support.  In June, the House Armed Services Committee passed the bill out of the committee on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis.  By the time the bill came to the House floor and was amended, however, it had become a deeply problematic, partisan bill, and I voted against it as written, knowing the House and Senate would confer on the final legislation.  That “conference” bill is what we voted on this week, and I am glad to report that the legislation conferenced between the House and Senate is a bipartisan and bicameral effort to strengthen our national security and support our service members.  The FY24 NDAA contains provisions for a 5.2 percent pay raise for service members, improvements to family and medical leave, investment in child development centers, support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and support for military spouses and families with investments in housing, child care, career opportunities, health care, and more.  The bill also reaffirms our commitments to allies and partners; continues to invest in innovation, technology, and modernization; and bolsters our domestic industrial base and military readiness.  The conference version of the NDAA no longer includes harmful provisions that target access to reproductive health care and gender-affirming care for service members and their dependents, efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, and climate programs within the Department of Defense.  I voted in favor of this final version of FY24 NDAA, which passed the House on a bipartisan basis, by a vote of 310-118.  The Senate passed the NDAA on Wednesday, so the bill is now headed to the President’s desk for signature.  

Also on Thursday, the House passed another bill important to members of our community, the Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act (H.R. 2365).  This landmark legislation aims to unite the federal government in a mission to cure and prevent Parkinson’s disease by creating an advisory council comprising members of every federal agency that supports research, care, and services for Parkinson’s disease, plus caregivers, patients and other non-federal experts.  This council will work to create a national plan to end Parkinson’s disease and diseases like it, and reduce the financial impact of the disease on patients and the federal government.  I am a co-sponsor of this bill, which has the support of the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society.  The bill passed the House by a vote of 407-9.  Prior to the vote, I spoke in favor of the bill, named in part for my friend and colleague Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (VA-10) who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Parkinson’s earlier this year.  To watch my remarks, click here or on the video below. 

We also voted for the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act (H.R. 5378).  This bill adds much-needed transparency to our health care system, including price transparency for hospital services and for Pharmacy Benefit Manager practices.  It also includes a historic $15 billion in investments for safety net and workforce programs like Community Health Centers, the National Health Service Corps, and the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education program.  Earlier this year, I introduced a bill to reauthorize the Community Health Center fund and the NHSC and was glad to see these important programs included in this package, which passed the House by a vote of 320-71.

Throughout the week, we considered and passed many bills, which I voted for, including: 

• the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Extension Act of 2023 (H.R. 3224), a bill to reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, which passed the House unanimously;
• the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2023, Part II (H.R. 6503), a bill to extend the Federal Aviation Administration’s authorities through March 8, 2024, which passed by a vote of 376-15; 
• the Duck Stamp Modernization Act (S. 788), to allow hunters access to an electronic duck stamp via smartphones to meet the requirement to purchase a Federal Duck Stamp and carry it while in the field.  Since this bill already passed the Senate, it now heads to the President’s desk for signature, which passed by a vote of 403-20; 
• the Protect Small Business and Prevent Illicit Financial Activity Act (H.R. 5119), a bill to fix a loophole that allows Chinese shell companies to operate throughout the U.S. without detection by the U.S. government, which passed the House almost unanimously, by a vote of 420-1; 
• the Foreign Affiliates Sharing Pilot Program Extension Act (H.R. 5524), a bill to extend the timeline for the implementation of an anti-money laundering pilot program, which passed the House by a vote of 396-28; 
• the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4531), a bill to reauthorize and expand the SUPPORT for Patients Act, and to bolster prevention, treatment, and recovery services for Americans with substance use disorders and mental illness, which passed the House by a vote of 386-36; and
• The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2023, H.R. 1147, a bill to revise the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National School Lunch Program requirements for milk to allow schools to serve whole milk and reduced-fat milk.  Did you know that Texas is the fifth-highest milk-producing state in the country?

It was good to end the week, and the year, with these important and productive bipartisan bills.  Unfortunately, that was not the entirety of the week.  You may have seen that the House voted on party lines to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Biden (H.Res. 918).  In September, Former Speaker McCarthy announced an informal impeachment inquiry, delegating work to three House Committees.  After nearly 12 months of investigation, and after reviewing tens of thousands of pages of documents and dozens of hours of witness testimony, House Republicans have found no evidence of any wrongdoing by President Biden.  This baseless impeachment inquiry sets a dangerous precedent.  I voted against this legislation, but it passed the House along party lines.  You can watch this week’s debate on the bill here. 

The House also considered the Ensuring Accountability in Agency Rulemaking Act (H.R. 357) to increase restriction to the initiation of rulemaking in federal agencies, requiring a “senior appointee” at a federal agency to initiate rulemaking and the signature of a Senate-confirmed Presidential appointee.  Currently, Acting Secretaries and Directors can carry out the rulemaking process at agencies and departments they oversee.  If enacted, this requirement would result in unnecessary delays in the regulatory process when Senate-confirmed positions are temporarily filled by senior officials while nominees await confirmation and would add unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles that would encumber the rulemaking process without providing any additional benefits.  Lately, people across our district have shared concerns that we need rules and guidance more quickly, and this legislation—which also divided the Congress on party lines—does the opposite.  For these reasons, I voted against the bill.  It passed the House by a vote of 218-203.

The House also considered a resolution condemning antisemitism on university campuses (H. Res.927).  On an issue where there is bipartisan agreement, the resolution was needlessly partisan and problematic because it not only condemned antisemitism on college campuses but also the testimony of three university presidents in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce last week and suggested that they should resign.  I do not believe it is appropriate for the Congress to legislate on matters of hiring or removal college presidents, and I disagreed with the inclusion of the language in the resolution, as did many of my colleagues.  I share the concerns of people across our district about the rise in antisemitism on college campuses and the safety of Jewish students and, with the option of voting yes or no, I voted in favor of the resolution subject to my objection to the call to remove the three women college presidents who testified before Congress last week.  I am deeply concerned about the attempts we have seen in Congress recently to turn antisemitism into a political wedge issue, and will continue to object to this dangerous trend.

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

On Thursday, I introduced the PFAS Risk-Communications Strategy Act, to require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a risk-communication strategy to inform the American people about the potential hazards of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  My bill was included in a larger bipartisan package of bills, the PFAS Action Act, which was introduced today by Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-08), and Congressman Pat Ryan (NY-18).   As a reminder, PFAS are a large, diverse group of long-lasting, durable, water-and-oil-resistant, and heat-resistant chemical compounds used in a wide variety of common applications and consumer products across industries.  Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS can be found in non-stick cookware, water-resistant fabrics, cleaning products, cosmetics, plastic water bottles, food packaging, and more.  It is critical that people understand the threat PFAS chemicals pose to our communities.  Understanding the hazards can help us determine how to reduce those risks and protect our communities and environment.

If enacted, the PFAS Risk-Communication Strategy Act would require the EPA to:

• disseminate information about the risk of PFAS in products, land, air, and water;
• notify the public about exposure pathways and mitigation measures though outreach and educational resources; and
• consult with states that have demonstrated effective risk-communication strategies for best practices in developing a national risk-communication strategy.

I also co-sponsored several pieces of legislation on issues important to our community this week, including: 

• the Expanding the VOTE Act, H.R. 5295, which provides federal grants to distribute translated voting materials for non-English speakers and conducts a study on expanding the covered language minority groups under the Voting Rights Act;
• the LGBTQ+ Panic Defense Prohibition Act, H.R. 4432, which requires federal agencies that collect demographic survey data to collect voluntary data on sexual orientation, gender identity, and variations in sex characteristics (sometimes referred to as intersex traits); and
• the Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act, H.R. 396, common-sense gun safety legislation that requires bump stocks to be treated like machine guns and subjects them to the strictest standards. 

I joined my colleagues in sending several letters on issues important to our community, including: 

• a letter to House and Senate leaders requesting that Congress fix the looming 3.37 percent cut to Medicare physician payments that will go into effect on January 1, 2024, if Congress does not address them;
• a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young and White House Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu supporting $269 million in critical funding within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Construction account for the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Study (Coastal Texas Program);
• a letter to House and Senate Transportation & Infrastructure Committee leaders supporting the House Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization provision urging the maximum hiring of air traffic controllers in any negotiations with the Senate; and
• a letter to Acting Executive Secretary Elizabeth Whiteman at the Foreign-Trade Zones Board at the U.S. Department of Commerce expressing support for Phillips 66 Rodeo Renewed Refinery’s application to repurpose existing equipment for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. 

On Wednesday, our full Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on artificial intelligence (AI) with witnesses from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.  I asked the witnesses about guardrails to protect people from AI-generated disinformation and increase AI literacy.  To watch my exchange with the witnesses, click here or on the video below. 

On Wednesday, I joined my colleagues in the Regional Leadership Council in a meeting with Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman.  In the last three years, more than 14 million new small business applications have been filed and SBA’s lending portfolio has increased by 32 percent.  

As the semester and year are coming to an end, I also met with our TX07 interns to thank them for our work for our district and hear about their experiences.  Our fall 2023 interns in Houston and in Washington have done critical work for our district, and we are sad to see them go!

I always enjoy getting to visit with Houstonians on the Hill.  This week, I was glad to visit with Fort Bend County Treasurer Bill Rickert and his daughter Annelise.  I also enjoyed sitting down with Mark Lashier, CEO of Phillips 66, to discuss the work they are doing on renewable fuels. 

Before heading to Washington, I was thrilled to cut the ribbon for a new portion of the Brays Bayou Greenway between Arthur Storey Park and Archbishop Fiorenza Park in Alief.  I was glad to join Mayor Turner and community leaders to celebrate the occasion and the progress toward the auspicious goal of ensuring that 1.5 million Houstonians live within 1.5 miles of the Bayou Greenways.  

In Houston, our team was out and about this week.  A few highlights: Our team hosted a successful Constituent Services Pop-Up at the Chinese Community Center and joined in the fun at Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan’s toy drive. 

And in Washington, our team met with representatives from Generation Ratify, Quanta Services, the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, and Sysco Corporation. 

Miss your chance to meet with our constituent advocates at the Chinese Community Center earlier this week?  Join us at the Tracy Gee Community Center on January 10 between 9:30a.m. and 11:30a.m. to meet with our constituent advocates. 

I am glad to be home for the holidays, and looking forward to spending time at home over the next few weeks.  When we go back to Washington next, we will have a full legislative agenda, including, hopefully, voting on annual and supplemental appropriations funding to keep the government open and to fund national security priorities.    

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,