It was great to be home last weekend to visit with people across the district.  I loved the chance to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts, a unique and important laboratory for experimentation at the intersection of art and ideas. I was honored to join Rice President Reggie DesRoches and his wife Paula, Moody Center Director Alison Weaver, and leaders from across our community in celebrating this innovative and important space.

I also had the joy of participating and the honor of speaking at the opening ceremonies for the new and newly renovated Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center (JCC), a beautiful space to gather, learn, and connect!  I was honored to join

JCC CEO Joel Dinkin, JCC Board Chairs Jeremy Samuels and Debbie Diamond, Mayor Sylvester Turner, and Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin to deliver remarks at the opening after participating in the groundbreaking just two years ago.  It was a joyful celebration of resilience and commitment to community. 

Later that day, I was glad to participate in the Community of Faith Church’s city-wide celebration of Black History Month to honor Rev. Dr. Samuel H. Smith and his decades of service to Mount Horeb Missionary Baptist Church and to our entire community.  I am grateful to host Pastor Bishop Dixon for welcoming me and giving me the opportunity to say just a few words about the importance of Black History Month.

I wrapped up the weekend at the Gee Family Association’s Chinese New Year dinner and scholarship banquet.  I was so glad to join Gee family members and others in the community who share the vision of supporting education for Houston's Asian community, including among them State Rep. Gene Wu and Miya Shay, State Rep. Suleman Lalani, and Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan, pictured below.

On Monday, I headed back to Washington for a short week on the Hill.  In the time we were there, we passed several pieces of legislation on a bipartisan basis, including:

• a resolution Responding to the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, H.Res. 132;
• the Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act, H.R. 538;
• the SECURE Notarization Act of 2023, H.R. 1059;
• the Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act, H.R. 1123; and
• a resolution to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to extend the authority of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant a license or construction permit through a system of competitive bidding, H.R. 1108.

We also debated the REIN IN Act (H.R. 347), a bill to require the President, acting through the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, to prepare and consider a statement estimating the inflationary effects of every “major” Executive order, defined as having an $1,000,000 annual gross budgetary effect.  Because this bill creates unnecessary hurdles, wastes resources, and delays action, I voted against this legislation.

This week, I re-introduced the Broadband Incentives for Communities Act.  One way that Congress can help ensure broadband expansion is by providing cities and local governments with resources to process the expected increase in permitting applications necessary to build out broadband infrastructure.  My bill creates a grant program that will provide this vital support, ensuring communities have the resources necessary to modernize their infrastructure.

I also co-sponsored four other bills this week:

• The Guard VA Benefits Act, to reinstate criminal penalties for unaccredited claim representatives who charge unauthorized fees while assisting veterans with filing a claim for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation benefits;
• The Original Black History Month Resolution of 2023, to recognize and celebrate the significance of Black History Month.
• A resolution to posthumously award a historic Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to Africans and their descendants enslaved within our country from 1619 to 1865, to honor the over 100 million enslaved men, women, and children who toiled in the American chattel slavery system; and
• A bill to designate a United States Postal Service facility in El Paso as the "Enedina Sanchez Cordero Post Office Building."

Following up on last week’s news that I secured $5 million in congressional appropriations for the Westheimer 82 BOOST Project, I sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in support of METRO’s application for a RAISE grant for the 82 Westheimer line.

As I mentioned above, the House passed H.R. 1108, which extends the FCC’s auction authority deadline to May 19, 2023.  I was glad to work with my Energy and Commerce colleagues on this legislation.  Spectrum policy is national security policy, and extending the FCC’s spectrum auction authority is critical for strengthening American leadership in innovation and our global competitive edge.  Passage of H.R. 1108 helps us ensure we have the time necessary to work with our Senate colleagues to adopt a strong spectrum policy for America to win the future of wireless technology.

On Tuesday, I participated in an Energy Subcommittee markup where we marked up several pieces of legislation that will be considered by the full Energy and Commerce Committee. 

On Tuesday, the Regional Leadership Council met with U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and White House Legislative Affairs Director Louisa Terrell to discuss implementation of the historic laws we enacted in the 117th Congress, including the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and the Honoring our PACT Act.

On Wednesday, I joined my colleagues in the House Antisemitism Task Force for a roundtable discussion with special envoys from the U.S. and around the world focused on combating antisemitism, including Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, and international Special Envoys & Coordinators for Combating Antisemitism Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission and Fernando Lottenberg, Organization of American States (OAS), pictured below.  TX-07 is home to the heart of Houston’s Jewish community.  In recent years, our community, like others around the country, has seen an increase in antisemitic activities and it is important that we work together to respond.

Later on Wednesday and on Thursday, I joined members of the House Democratic Caucus for an issues conference in Baltimore, Maryland.  We met to discuss our legislative priorities, hear from members about issues in their communities, and exchange ideas with key administration officials about implementing the legislation we passed in the last Congress and delivering real solutions to people across the country.  I was glad to have a minute to visit with President Biden about some shared priorities, and to hear from him and Vice President Harris about the work we can do together.

This short, full week didn’t give me much time in the office to meet with constituents, but I was glad to welcome members of the Greater Houston Partnership to Washington for their annual fly-in and to share some thoughts with them about the work we are doing and what we need to hear from Houstonians!

And even though I didn’t see too many Houstonians on the Hill this week, I’ve been so glad to see so many at home today!  Flying home last night, I was able to attend the City of Sugar Land’s State of the City address this morning, co-hosted by the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce.  I was glad to join Sugar Land Mayor Joe Zimmerman and community leaders to hear about their vision for the city.

Back home in Houston, our district team attended community events, including the LGBT Chamber’s Open House, City Council Member Ed Pollard’s Gun Safe Giveaway at HPD Midwest Police Station, and Central Fort Bend Chamber Health and Wellness Day.

This week, our office heard from Yasmin, who has been working toward her citizenship and had a unique issue with the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service for many years:

Although I am currently a U.S. citizen with a U.S. passport, and naturalized when my mother naturalized in 1995, USCIS had wrongfully denied my N-600 Application for a Certificate of Citizenship by erroneously applying a law that neither pertains to my case nor the time period of my birth…  Within hours of sending my email, your Constituent Advocate, Fatimah, answered my request. She was knowledgeable, efficient, intelligent, and always answered every email in less than 24 hours…  I am now scheduled for my oath ceremony and to finally receive my certificate after nearly 7 years of waiting.  I am eternally grateful to Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher’s office, the services and resources that she dedicates to helping her constituents, and most importantly the excellent help I received from Fatimah herself. Thank you all very much.

It is a privilege to be a small part of someone’s citizenship story, and I am so proud of our constituent advocates who work diligently to give stories like these the endings they deserve.

Mark your calendar!  Our first quarterly District Town Hall of 2023 will take place on March 21 in Sugar Land.  I hope that you will join to hear an update on Congress so far this year, ask questions, and share your thoughts.  RSVP by clicking here or on the graphic below!