The House was back in session on Monday, and we voted on two bills under suspension of the rules, as we do most Mondays.  These are bills with wide bipartisan agreement, and are brought without needing a “rule” as to how they will be debated on the floor.  (More on why this matters below!)  This week, we passed two: the Encouraging Public Offerings Act, to codify a current U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule to allow all issuers of securities to use certain offering procedures that are available to emerging growth companies relating to initial public offerings (IPOs) and other matters, and the Middle Market IPO Cost Act, to require a study and report on the cost for small and medium-sized companies to undertake IPOs.

The rest of the week did not proceed as usual.  That is because, each week, before the House votes on certain bills, the House must pass a resolution setting out how debate will proceed on those bills, including how much time will be allowed for debate, whether and which amendments can be offered, and other procedural matters.  This is known as “the Rule.”  Because the majority party controls the House floor, chooses which bills come to the floor for a vote, and the terms of debate and amendments, and generally the minority party disagrees with the bills and procedure set out, these votes are typically party-line votes.  If the rule does not pass, the bills included in it cannot be brought to the floor for a vote. 

Throughout my time in Congress, both in the majority and the minority, the procedural vote on the rule is passed by the party in charge.  The only time I have ever seen the rule pass with votes from the minority party was last week, on the rule concerning the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 memorializing the agreement on raising the debt ceiling and limiting spending this Congress.  When that vote came to the floor last week, Republicans did not have enough votes to pass the rule and bring the bill to the floor.  With the crisis that would result from defaulting on our debt payments looming, House Democrats were resolved not to let the bill fail, and provided enough Democratic votes to pass the rule and bring the bill to the floor. 

On Tuesday, when the rule vote for the legislation the House would debate this week came up, eleven House Republicans voted against it.  The rule failed. 

The last time a rule vote failed was more than twenty years ago, in 2002.  The rule failure made the rest of the week uncertain.  We were on standby to return to vote throughout the remainder of the week, but that depended on a resolution of the rule vote between Speaker McCarthy and the eleven members who voted no.  We concluded the week with no resolution and no further votes. 

As I wrote to you last week, the exclusion of AM radio in electric vehicles is an issue of concern for many of our neighbors.  This week, the Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing on the issue entitled, “Listen Here: Why Americans Value AM Radio.”  In the Houston region, where more than 140 languages are spoken, AM radio serves an important role in providing emergency alerts as well as news and information that are accessible to all communities. You can see my comments and questions here:

Next week, we have several energy hearings lined up, and will continue the work on issues of importance to our community.

This week, I co-sponsored the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act, H.R. 537, to award a Congressional Gold Medal to 60 diplomats posthumously in recognition of their brave and vital service of saving Jews during World War II. 

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

• A letter to Senate leaders urging the swift confirmation of President Biden’s nomination of Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su to serve as the next Secretary of Labor; and
• A letter supporting the Special Diabetes Program and a request to reauthorize the program prior to its expiration at the end of September.

On Wednesday, I met with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and the Regional Leadership Council to talk about the programs HHS is working on.  I shared my concerns about access to affordable health care and making sure that Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients are get notice that they need to renew their coverage or sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.  Our team wrote to neighbors about this earlier this week and you can find my letter and relevant resources here.  Secretary Becerra noted the administration is actively working to negotiate prescription drug prices and ensure that Americans have access to quality, affordable health care. 

Later in the day, I led a roundtable discussion in my role as Chair of the New Democrat Coalition Trade Task Force.  It was a productive discussion with stakeholders on a variety of topics, with a focus on actionable and achievable items for our task force to pursue this Congress to develop and advance meaningful trade policy and to partner with the administration.

On Wednesday, I hosted a bipartisan briefing with Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute entitled "Combating the Country’s Youth Mental Health Crisis Through Collaborative Care."  Mental health experts in the briefing covered the current and unprecedented youth mental health crisis and how the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) allows for early identification and treatment of mental health conditions through primary care.  The CoCM provides psychiatric services in the primary care setting through a team of primary care physicians, behavioral health care mangers, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals to ensure patients receive timely, effective, affordable, and less stigmatizing care.  Last Congress, I introduced the bipartisan Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner Act to invest in the CoCM, and last year, President Biden signed into law provisions of my legislation to establish a grant program to implement integrated models of care, including the CoCM. 

Also this week, Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-02) and I launched the American Canadian Economy and Security (ACES) Caucus, a bipartisan coalition dedicated to advancing policies that strengthen the economic and security relationship between the United States and Canada.  

For more than a century, the United States and Canada have maintained a close partnership built on a foundation of shared democratic values.  Our strong cross-border trade, integrated economies, and national security interests are important drivers for our countries, which is why I am glad to launch the ACES Caucus with Congressman Amodei.  Canada is the U.S.’s largest trading partner, with nearly $2.6 billion in goods and services crossing our shared border every day.  The U.S. and Canada also have the largest market-based energy trading relationship.  And TX-07 alone is a top exporter to Canada, exporting more than $1.8 billion in goods and services to Canada annually.  I look forward to working with my colleagues to strengthen economic and security ties between the United States and Canada.

As always, it was great welcoming Houstonians to the Hill this week.  I had a chance to meet with Fort Bend County Judge KP George while he was in D.C. for meetings as well as with representatives from organizations and companies including the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Air Line Pilots Association. 

In Washington, staff members met with constituents visiting the Hill with representatives of the Greater Houston Builder’s Association; Promotional Products Association International; the American Israel Public Affairs Committee; and constituents advocating for democracy in Puerto Rico. 

And in Houston, Team TX-07 continue to join with community members across the district from the Heights to Fort Bend.  One highlight: the opportunity to join Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose for the announcement of four improved railroad crossings to keep Houstonians safe.

We are celebrating another milestone this week: our team has now resolved more than 11,000 cases on behalf of our neighbors.  These cases reflect help of all kinds with federal agencies, from immigration matters and passports, to communicating with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and General Services Administration (GSA).  We are here to help! 

We have a stellar team of Constituent Advocates who are dedicated to helping our neighbors, and I thank them for their exceptional work.  If you need help with a federal agency, click here to start the process or call our Houston offices at (713) 353-8680.

The House will be back in session on Monday.  But I am thrilled to be able to be home tomorrow for the ribbon cutting for our new Sugar Land office.  I hope you will consider stopping by for the ribbon cutting and our open house to check out the space and visit with our team.  We look forward to seeing you there!  To sign up, click here.

Also, June is time for our quarterly town hall update.  Mark your calendars for our Mid-Year Telephone Town Hall on Thursday, June 22 at 7:05 PM for an update on the work of Congress so far this year.  To register, click here. 

As always, 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,