Dear Neighbor,  

It was another busy in Washington!  Here are a few of the highlights.

I also voted in favor of the Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs (ALLIES) Act, a bipartisan bill I co-sponsored to protect our country’s Afghan partners who have risked their lives to support American forces.  Our Afghan partners have provided vital support to the U.S. mission, despite the threats they receive as direct result of their service.  The ALLIES Act will ensure they are safe by addressing issues with Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applications, which currently has long processing times. Passing this legislation is an important step in demonstrating our commitment to our allies.

The House also passed the Consumer Protection and Recovery Act this week, legislation I co-sponsored to restore the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) authority to return money to victims of frauds and scams.  I’ve written about it here before, and I am proud to see the House act quickly to amend section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act to provide the agency with express authority to obtain both injunctive and monetary relief for all violations of those laws it enforces, following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that the statue was unclear in granting authority to obtain monetary relief.  Congress' quick response to restore the FTC’s ability to seek meaningful relief on behalf of Americans who have been defrauded could not come at a more important time.

In addition to these major pieces of legislation, the House of Representatives also passed several bills with overwhelming bipartisan support:

• The VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021: VOCA grants are the primary source of federal funding for victim service providers that assist survivors of various crimes as they recover.  Funding for VOCA’s Crime Victims Fund has declined in recent years, resulting in less financial assistance available to victims of drunk driving, trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes. This bill directs revenues collected from deferred prosecutions and non-prosecution agreements to be deposited into the Crime Victims Fund.  President Biden signed this bill into law on Thursday after the House passed it this week.
• The PHONE Act: Under current law, phone numbers can be reassigned if they are disconnected for more than three months.  This bill will allow disaster survivors who lost their homes to keep their landline phone numbers while they rebuild. 
• The Transportation Security Preparedness Act of 2021: This bill will require the Transportation Security Administration to develop a preparedness plan for communicable outbreaks to identify potential security weaknesses and ensure the safety of travelers and TSA workers.
• The State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act: This bill will create a grant program to provide states and local governments with funding to secure their networks from ransomware and other cyberattacks. This bill is in response to the growing threat of ransomware attacks on police departments, school districts, and other municipal agencies.
• The DHS Blue Campaign Enhancement Act: In 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) started the Blue Campaign to address human trafficking.  The Campaign enables and empowers the DHS workforce, and their partners, to recognize the indicators of human trafficking.  This bill will strengthen the Blue Campaign by creating internet-based training programs for Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement.

As you have likely seen in the news, there is a great deal of discussion about the American Jobs Plan, the bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget reconciliation bill.  This week, I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to House leaders urging them to support giving Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices as part of that plan.  I have heard from many TX-07 neighbors who are concerned about high costs of health care, and this is an efficient and effective approach to take.  I also joined colleagues in a letter urging Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs Ian G. Brownlee to immediately address the unprecedented passport backlog plaguing Americans around the country because of the COVID-19 pandemic, an issue we have seen here in TX-07.

Our Energy and Commerce Committee held a full committee markup on 24 bills, moving forward legislation on health care, cybersecurity, and more.  The Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a full committee hearing entitled “Spectrum Needs for Observations in Earth and Space Sciences” with industry experts about spectrum, which we use for weather forecasting and monitoring, climate science, and astronomy. 

Next week, the House will vote on seven of the twelve annual appropriations bills.  This year, members of Congress have the opportunity to include specific projects in our annual appropriations legislation, known as “Community Funded Projects.”  I am glad to share that all of the projects that I submitted for consideration are included in the final legislation we will vote on next week, totaling more than $13 million in federal funds.  These projects, listed below, will provide funding for the Harris County Flood Control District, the City of Houston Police, Fire, and Health Departments, and the Cities of Bellaire and Jersey Village.

Community Funded Project Requests:

• $9,950,000 for Harris County Flood Control District for the planning and development of the Meyergrove Detention Basin, a 7.5-acre stormwater detention basin for the conveyance of more than 50 million gallons of stormwater.  The basin will be located on the southeastern side of North Braeswood Boulevard just inside the 610 Loop, abutting main stem Brays Bayou in the Brays Bayou Watershed, to protect against flooding nearby homes, and businesses, which have repeatedly flooded.  
• $975,000 for the Houston Police Department for a Byrne Justice Assistance Grant to employ nine full-time crime victim advocates.  The advocates help the department provide a trauma-informed response for victims of violent crimes by responding to critical incidents and other violent crime scenes when requested by officers.
• $900,000 for the City of Houston Health Department to purchase a new Ambulance Mobile Stroke Unit to respond more quickly and appropriately to stroke victims and help increase their chance of survival without impairment.
• $782,000 for the City of Bellaire to address the deficient waterline infrastructure and improve water distribution and wastewater collection systems.  The funding will help repair and replace waterlines that are older than 50 years. 
• $624,835 for the City of Jersey Village for a full street reconstruction of Seattle Street in Jersey Village from Senate Ave west to the dead end, replacing water lines for approximately 55 homes and sewer lines for approximately 25 homes.  The whole street will receive new storm sewer lines that will help remove rain from the streets and hold it in the larger storm water pipes to help prevent street flooding.  
• $450,000 for the City of Houston Fire Department to support their Emergency Telehealth and Navigation (ETHAN) project, where on-scene mobile technology is used to connect EMT care for low-acuity 911 patients with emergency physicians who have access to primary care resources within the community.

You can find more information on these projects at this link on my website.

We closed out the week on Friday with a virtual Community Conversation on the Child Tax Credit.  I am grateful to Vincent Walker from the IRS and Cristina Cave from BakerRipley for helping to answer our community’s questions about this transformational credit.

As our Houston community continues to see an increase in COVID cases, this week Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo raised the COVID-19 threat level back to Orange.  The orange, or “significant,” level recommends Houstonians “minimize all contacts unless fully vaccinated.”  With the Delta variant spreading rapidly, the best action we can take to protect our family members and friends is to get vaccinated and work to stop the spread.

In case you missed it, our neighbor Dr. Jamie McCarthy, Chief Physician for Memorial Hermann Health System, was on Houston Matters on Friday for a concise, informative discussion about COVID-19 and our community that is helpful in understanding where we are today.  You can listen here.

I am proud to represent you, and am always here to help you.  Please do not hesitate to call me to share your thoughts and concerns or to let me know how my team and I can help you.  You can email here, or call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 any time.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

PS: Here in Houston, we value collaboration—and in Washington, we work to build consensus.  But that doesn’t mean we aren’t up for a little competition!  Right now, the House is having a spirited contest to see which Members of Congress can gain followers during the month of July.  (Last year, this weekly email won “Best Newsletter” in the same competition.)  

Please follow my accounts on whichever social media you use—and if you already do, please forward this message to a friend and ask them to follow, as well!  It will help me spread the work about my work in Washington, and help keep TX-07 at the top of the list of engaged and informed constituents!