Dear Neighbor,

It was great to be back in Washington after spending some time with my Energy and Commerce Committee colleagues last week. Before I tell you about this week, I’ll share a little bit more about last week, as promised.

Last week, I joined several of my colleagues from the Energy and Commerce Committee, including the chairman, as part of a Congressional Delegation to the Mediterranean.  Focusing on issues in our committee’s jurisdiction, we began our trip in Greece.  (I was so proud to tell everyone there what a strong Greek American community we have here in Houston!)  Our delegation met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakisas as well as the ministers for Foreign Affairs, Energy and Environment, Economic Development and Investments, and members of Parliament, getting briefings on the issues in Greece and Europe, particularly concerning energy supply, energy security, and infrastructure in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  From there, we visited a NATO naval installation and the U.S. Naval Air Station in Sicily, where we received extensive briefings.  We concluded our trip with more meetings in Sicily, again with a focus on energy issues and opportunities for partnership on energy transition and energy security issues.  We returned to Washington just in time for votes on legislation.

On Thursday, the House passed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, S. 3522, to allow the United States to provide weapons and military supplies to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries impacted by Russia’s invasion without requiring recipients to pay for the equipment up-front.  The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act is based on the Lend-Lease Act from 1941, which provided military assistance to countries fighting Nazi Germany in World War II.  The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act allows the U.S. to cut through red tape and deliver urgently needed weapons and military assistance faster. I joined my colleagues in the House in passing this bill on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, 417 to 10, and now heads to the President’s desk for signature. 

We took up several other bills in the House this week, and passed many on a bipartisan basis, including:

• The Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act, H.R. 6930, to enable the U.S. to use the proceeds from the assets of Russia and its cronies that are frozen as sanctions to use the proceeds to help the people and government of Ukraine rebuild.
• The Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act of 2022, H.R. 6445, which amends the Small Business Act to reauthorize the Small Business Development Centers and require an annual report on entrepreneurial development programs run by SBDCs.
• The Women’s Business Centers Improvement Act of 2022, H.R. 6441, amends the Small Business Act to improve the women’s business center program.
• The Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture Act, H.R. 3525, establishes a commission to study and report on the potential creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture in the District of Columbia and its environs.
• The Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park Expansion and Redesignation Act to recognize other Americans whose own cases were merged into the landmark civil rights case.
• The National Liberty Memorial Preservation Act, H.R. 6201, extends the authority for the establishment of a commemorative work to honor enslaved and free Black persons who served in the American Revolution.
• The Protecting Semiconductor Supply Chain Materials from Authoritarians Act, H.R. 7372, directs the President to create a working group to address semiconductor-related shortfalls that have arisen out of Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine, and to consider other potential geopolitical events that could impact the semiconductor supply chain.

This week we had several important deadlines for annual appropriations requests.  Thank you to the many of you have called, written, and met with me and my team about your priorities.  I am glad to support your priorities, and joined my colleagues in advocating for them to the House Appropriations Committee.  I’ll highlight two here:

On Monday, I led my Houston colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting $45 million for Texans wrongly denied disaster relief under a duplication of benefits rule.  It is important that we right this wrong and work to provide Houstonians the relief that they need.  To read the full letter, click here.

And I sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting that Congress ensure guidance on how local governments can use Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLRF) grants to expand broadband infrastructure and deployment in their communities by directing the Department of the Treasury to clarify that communities can use this funding to hire personnel and purchase necessary equipment to expand and strengthen their zoning and permitting offices to contribute to the efficient deployment of broadband networks.  To read the full letter, click here. 

On Wednesday, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Xavier Becerra testified before the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on the Fiscal Year 2023 HHS Budget.  During the hearing, I asked Secretary Becerra about the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health (ARPA-H) that Congress authorized earlier this year and advocated for the Texas Medical Center to become the new agency’s home.  The Texas Medical Center is uniquely situated to house ARPA-H with its existing infrastructure, world-leading research institutions, and incredible people.  I was glad to advocate for Houston (as always).  For the full discussion between Secretary Becerra and me, click here.

On Thursday, the Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a full committee hearing on the urgent need for climate action.  During the hearing, I asked witnesses to identify major barriers to effective climate action and how we could accelerate efforts to combat climate change.  You can watch the full hearing here. 

It was another full week of meetings and activity in Washington.  A few highlights here.

On Wednesday, I spoke with a room full of members of the Greater Houston Partnership who were in Washington for their annual fly-in.  I shared with them my perspective on energy issues in Washington and how we can and must position ourselves here in the energy capital of the world. 

I also met with Houston City Councilmember David Robinson and the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, with HISD Superintendent Millard House, representatives from the Texas Restaurant Association and the Texas Farm Bureau, and former Congressman Pete Olson, to discuss a lot of different issues and priorities for TX-07! 

It was also time to say goodbye to our spring interns.  It’s hard to believe we’re approaching the end of the semester!  I enjoyed visiting with our spring interns about their experiences this semester and future plans – and I am grateful for the work they do for our office. 

And the TX-07 Houston team was busy this week too, with several members of our team meeting with Interfaith Ministries, Houston City Council Member Sallie Alcorn, and the Sharpstown Civic Association. 

I was glad to return home in time to attend the investiture of Texas Southern University’s 13th President, Dr. Lesia Crumpton-Young on Saturday morning, as well as to visit with people across the district over the weekend.  And I am looking forward to spending this week at home meeting with TX-07 neighbors on all kinds of issues. 

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,