Two topics dominated conversations in Washington this week: the Epstein files and Texas redistricting.

The Epstein files—and more specifically, the Trump administration’s refusal to release them after promising to do so—was the talk of the town.  People from across the political and ideological spectrum are calling for the long-promised release of the files. 

For months, Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had files on her desk detailing Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of underage girls that she was about to release.  Now, Trump and Bondi say there are no Epstein Files at all.  House Democrats are demanding the truth because the American people deserve the truth.  But every House Republican voted last week to block the House from even debating the release of the Epstein Files, protecting child sex abusers.  The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Trump two months ago that his name appeared in the Epstein files.  Speaker Johnson decided to halt floor activity rather than have the House vote on a bipartisan resolution to force the Trump administration to release the Epstein files.  The Trump administration said this week that it would ask a court to unseal the transcripts of the grand jury hearing in the Epstein case, but a court denied that limited, partial release request on the basis that the lawyers asking for the release did not meet the legal standard for doing so.

The other topic on everyone’s minds is the mid-decade redistricting effort in Texas, and the domino effect it may have in other states.  As I wrote to you last week, President Trump has stated that he wants Texas to redraw its Congressional map so that Texas elects five more Republican members.  The number of members of the delegation is fixed at 38, so five more Republicans means five fewer Democrats.  With the House margins so close right now, just a handful of seats can determine which party has the majority in the House and control of the agenda.  So, this mid-decade effort to redistrict Texas has gained national attention.  This week, reporting suggested that the Trump administration is now urging Republicans to redraw Missouri’s congressional map to eliminate one of two Democratic seats.  And Governor DeSantis said this week that he was considering redrawing Florida’s map.  Other states are watching this effort, and California and New Jersey have indicated that it will follow Texas’ lead and take steps to redraw its maps if needed to counter the effort in Texas.  As discussed below, this effort to redraw the Texas Congressional map is an attack on the voters of Texas.  All Texans, no matter who they vote for, should be outraged at the plan to take the power from Texas voters and hand it to political operatives who intend to discriminate against Texas voters.

This week, the Epstein files brought most of the floor activity planned for the House to a halt.  Why?  Because the House Rules Committee, which sets the rules for debate for the week, refused to meet so it could avoid voting on bipartisan resolutions and amendments to force the release of the Epstein files.  A privileged resolution to release the files would have been ready for consideration in the House at the end of this week, so Speaker Johnson cut the week short and sent members home early to avoid having to deal with a vote on releasing the Epstein files.

That left the House to take up only a handful of bills under suspension of the Rules, passing all of them, including the Improving Access to Small Business Information Act (H.R.3351), to enhance the ability of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to gather more effective and timely data on small businesses, and the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 (H.R.4275), to authorize and support funding through 2029 for the U.S. Coast Guard.

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

At home, our communities continue to grieve and recover from the tragedy in the Hill Country that took the lives of many of our beloved neighbors.  In Washington, I led my House colleague in two related efforts. 

I led the Texas Democratic delegation in sending a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking for an investigation into the whole-of-government preparation for and response to the Hill Country flooding.  The letter requests a GAO report on the coordinated federal preparation, alert system, and response to the catastrophic flooding and subsequent loss of life that occurred in the Texas Hill Country on July 4, 2025.  My colleagues and I requested that the report include recommendations across agencies, including NOAA, NWS, FEMA, and on the federal, state, and local levels for the steps taken ahead of the historic flooding to alert the community and prepare as well as the subsequent response and rescue efforts.  As members of Congress representing Texas, we must do everything we can to ensure that the response from the federal government adequately addresses the needs of our communities. 

I also joined my colleague Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33) in leading the Texas Flood Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2025 to provide $15 billion in federal funding for recovery efforts following the floods in Central Texas earlier this month.  During this difficult time, our communities have come together in support and partnership, and the federal government is an essential partner in the work to help Texans repair and rebuild lives and communities.  Government at every level has an important role to play in the health, safety, and wellness of our communities, and in times of disaster, that role is essential.

If enacted, this bill would provide $15 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) to help Texans recover and rebuild, specifically for:

• immediate disaster response and recovery operations;
• individual and public assistance programs, including temporary housing, home repair, public infrastructure restoration, and debris removal;
• pre-disaster mitigation and hazard resilience projects, including flood control, drainage, and buyout projects; and
• technical assistance and capacity building grants for local governments with limited disaster recovery infrastructure.

As you likely know, President Trump has repeatedly called to reduce the role of FEMA in the immediate response to and long-term recovery following natural disasters.  From ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program to denying states necessary funding via the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, the Trump administration has taken action to incapacitate federal disaster response programs.  Early reporting on this disaster indicates that FEMA has rejected 74% of applicants for Individual Assistance (Housing or Other Needs), and has rejected 86% of applicants for Housing Assistance.  This bill reminds us of the importance of FEMA to recovery in Texas and across the country, providing much-needed funding to Texas now to address the short- and long-term needs of our communities following this devastation.

Also this week, I introduced a resolution with my colleague Congressman John Garamendi (CA-08) reaffirming key constitutional principles, including the separation of powers, checks and balances, due process of law, the independence of the judiciary, and the power of Congress to control spending and declare war.  The Trump administration’s open defiance of the rule of law, its disregard for checks and balances, and its willingness to place loyalty over legality should alarm every American.  As Americans become increasingly alarmed by the Trump administration’s abuse of power and executive overreach, it is important that members of Congress are reminded of their duty to support and defend the Constitution.  Support for our Constitution should be neither partisan nor controversial, and something that every member of Congress should support, regardless of party.

I also co-sponsored several bills and resolutions on issues important to our community, including:

• the Stop NOAA Closures Act, H.R. 4392, to block President Trump’s plans to close NOAA facilities across the country;
• the My Body, My Data Act, H.R. 3916, to emphasize the need to strengthen digital privacy, and minimize the disclosure and misuse of personal reproductive health data;
• the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act, H.R. 4395, to increase research funding for uterine fibroids, improve awareness and training, and seek to measure costs to government payers;
• the Uterine Fibroid Intervention and Gynecological Health Treatment Act, H.R. 4392, to improve early detection, treatment, and research for uterine fibroids, with a focus on addressing racial disparities in care;
• the Uterine Cancer Study Act, H.R. 4396, to require Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health to coordinate and conduct a study on the relationship between hair straighteners and uterine cancer;
• the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act, H.R. 842, to allow, beginning in 2028, for Medicare coverage and payment for multi-cancer early detection screening tests that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and that are used to screen for cancer across many cancer types, if the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services determines such coverage is appropriate;
• the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, H.R. 4611, to reverse the Hyde Amendment and related abortion coverage restrictions;
• the LGBTQ+ Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2025, H.R. 4197, to eliminate the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense from the federal court system. The LGBTQ+ panic defense asks a jury to find a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity as justification for a defendant’s violence;
• the Rights for the TSA Workforce Act, H.R. 2086, to ensure that all Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees – including frontline Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) – are afforded the same worker rights, protections, and pay system afforded to other Federal workers under Title 5 of the U.S. Code;
• the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act, H.R. 3474, to direct federal agencies to identify energy saving and water saving measures in certain annual energy and water evaluations of federal buildings;
• the Tribal Gaming Regulatory Compliance Act, H.R. 3723, to ensure that all federally recognized Tribes that are eligible for gaming in the United States are regulated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA);
• a resolution demanding the immediate release of all Federal documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein, H.Res. 577; and
• a resolution expressing support for the designation of July 10th as Journeyman Lineworkers Recognition Day, H.Res. 575.

I also joined my colleagues in sending:

• a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin expressing concern that the EPA is reconsidering and potentially weakening key parts of its April 2024 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) drinking water rule, including delays in implementation and rollback of maximum contaminant levels of four PFAS;
• a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressing concerns with the Administration’s June 6, 2025, revised BEAD guidelines, known as the BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice (BPRN), which violates explicit statutory language within BEAD, delays broadband buildout by years, and enforces a strict 90-day timeline for states to implement guidance and complete another bidding round;
• a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging swift action to uphold protections for health information related to reproductive care in light of the Carmen Purl, et al. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ruling that vacated most provisions of the HIPPA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy; and
• a letter to House Appropriations Labor Health and Human Services Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro urging the House Appropriatons Committee to maintain funding for the specialized LGBTQ+ 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Our Energy & Commerce Committee was busy this week.  On Tuesday, I had two hearings happening at the same time.  The Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing on pipeline safety, an important issue for people who live and work in our district.  Houston companies control more than 58 percent of U.S. natural gas pipeline capacity and 33 percent of U.S. oil pipeline capacity.  The professionals who work in this industry know that pipeline safety is paramount.  The safety for our communities must remain a priority as the demand for more energy–and the infrastructure to deliver it–continues to grow. To that end, the safety of our pipeline infrastructure depends on a working partnership between the industry and government regulators, in this case the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA.  Unfortunately, as we’ve seen across the Trump Administration, the President’s cuts and chaotic deregulatory push have left PHMSA struggling to fulfill its statutory obligations. 

Since the beginning of this administration, more than half of PHMSA’s senior leadership departed, and several major rulemakings were abandoned in response to the President’s “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” Presidential Memorandum.  It is critically important that we work together to ensure pipeline safety and people in our district have a lot to say about how to do so.

At the same time on Tuesday, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a two-panel hearing on the organ procurement and transplant system.  The subcommittee has been closely monitoring recent reporting on concerns with the organ procurement and transplant system.  Members on both sides of the aisle shared concerns on recent reporting with troubling accounts on the organ donation system.  With more than 100,000 people on the national transplant list, including more than 11,000 Texans, creating a system that is transparent and safe for patients, donors, and their families is critical.

On Wednesday, the Energy and Commerce Committee held a full committee markup of two bills.  The first bill, the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, H.R. 4312, creates a federal framework for Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation for student athletes.  While I believe that it is important that we pass legislation to establish a national framework for NIL compensation, it is even more important that we pass the right bill that will protect student athletes, but the SCORE Act in its current form does not do that, which is why I voted against it in committee.  Throughout the markup, several amendments to improve the bill were introduced but none were accepted.  It is my hope that we can continue working on the issue of NIL compensation and pass a stronger bill in the future.  The second bill, the Over-the-Counter Monograph Drug User Fee Amendments, H.R. 4273, which reauthorizes the Over-the-Counter Monograph User Fee (OMUFA) program that allows the FDA to collect industry paid fees to assist them in regulating, reviewing, and approving new over the counter drugs, passed unanimously.

On Wednesday afternoon, I joined my colleagues in the Voting Rights Caucus and colleagues from Texas in a press conference at the Capitol on the current effort to redraw Texas’ congressional maps and how it impacts the voting rights of Texas as well as others.  This redistricting effort is an affront to the principle that people deserve to have their say in our government.  That principle is enshrined in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, providing that all citizens have not only the right but the ability to cast their ballots and elect candidates of their choosing.

In Texas, Republican partisan gerrymandering is racial gerrymandering.  It uses partisanship as a proxy for race, systematically “packing” and “cracking” minority communities to diminish and limit their voting strength to the fewest districts possible.

It is important to know that all but one of the 13 congressional districts in Texas represented by a Democrat has a majority minority population, including all four of the districts in Houston.  And in all 13 of those districts, minority voters elect their candidate of choice.  The Legislature cannot dismantle any of the districts currently represented by Democrats without diluting the voting strength of minority communities. 

And it should not. It is against the law and it is against the fundamental organizing principle of a democratic society that all citizens—not just the privileged few—have the right and the ability to have a say in our government.

In Washington, Team TX-07 met with constituents and groups advocating on their behalf, including the American Cancer Society, the Steel Tank Institute/Steel Plate Fabricators Association, and the Citizens Climate Lobby, pictured below, holding more than two dozen meetings this week.  Back home in the district, our team was out and about across the district, helping constituents and attending community events, including a meeting with the Arc of Fort Bend County, the Neartown/Montrose Super Neighborhood Meeting, the Tony's Place Professional's Happy Hour, and Judge Juli Mathew's Chai and Chat, pictured below.

Our team held another successful Constituent Services Pop-Up in Sugar Land this week, too.  We will keep you posted on the next one!

We have had a great response to our passport fairs this year, so I am hosting another passport fair at the Mission Bend Boys & Girls Club of Greater Houston.  Representatives from the Houston Passport Agency will be present to answer questions and accept applications for (1) first-time passport or passport card applicants and (2) renewal and replacement passports or passport cards.  Please RSVP here or by clicking the image below.

The House is now in recess for the month of August.  I am looking forward to being at home in the district, despite the heat.  I look forward to seeing neighbors from across the district while I am home, and I look forward to hearing from you any time.  Please call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 or email me here at any time to ask for assistance or share your thoughts.  I am proud to represent you and I am here to help you. 

Best wishes,