Dear Neighbor,

This week, the House returned to D.C. for votes and other legislative business.  After a quick weekend trip home, I’ll head back to Washington.

It was a busy week on the Hill.  We took more than 40 votes on pieces of legislation and amendments to them.  Here are a few highlights:

On Tuesday, the House voted to provide Ukraine with $40 billion in critical military aid and humanitarian assistance to help defend against Russia’s invasion in the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022, H.R. 7691.  The legislation passed the House on a bipartisan basis by a vote of 368-57.  This new package builds on our other actions to support Ukraine and punish Russia including the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, which has been signed into law, and the Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act.  Congress and the Biden Administration, together with our allies and partners, are committed to standing with the people of Ukraine as they courageously defend themselves and their nation. 

On Wednesday, the House passed the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022 to ensure that federal firefighters have the same access to workers’ compensation and benefits as other firefighters across the country, and I voted in favor of it.  Each day, roughly 15,000 Federal Firefighters stand ready to risk their lives for the health and safety of our communities.

On Thursday, the House passed Rights for the TSA Workforce Act of 2022 to provide TSA's frontline Transportation Security Officers, who have helped keep our skies secure during COVID-19, the same basic workplace protections as the rest of the Federal government, which I also supported.

Also this week, the House voted to rename the USPS office located at 5302 Galveston Road in Houston as the "Vanessa Guillén Post Office Building,” a bill Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia brought to the House and which I was glad to co-sponsor.

As a reminder, you can find all the votes of the week and links to how I voted here.

On Tuesday, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) and I led 100 Members of Congress in a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to urge the immediate enforcement of Medicaid’s free choice of provider requirement and allow Medicaid recipients to choose where they will get care.  The federal “free choice” provision, also known as the “any willing provider” provision, guarantees Medicaid enrollees the right to receive family planning services from any willing and qualified provider, including Planned Parenthood.  

This week, I co-sponsored several pieces of legislation on issues important to our community, and which many constituents have asked me to support, including:

• The Ethiopia Stabilization, Peace, and Democracy Act, H.R. 6600: a bipartisan bill to end the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia.
• The SERVE Act, H.R. 1309, to provide for eating disorders treatment for members of the Armed Forces and certain dependents and former members of the uniformed services.
• The CHIPPER Act, H.R. 1390, to increase support for State Children’s Health Insurance programs during the COVID–19 emergency.
• The Donald Payne Sr. Colorectal Cancer Detection Act of 2021, H.R. 1655, to provide for Medicare coverage and payment of certain colorectal cancer screening blood-based tests.
• The V.A. Employee Fairness Act of 2021, H.R. 1948, to restore full collective bargaining rights for Veterans Health Administration employees. 
• The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Reauthorization Act, H.R. 7255, which reauthorizes multiple suicide prevention programs and related activities with a particular focus on youth and young adults, through FY2027.
• A resolution supporting the goals and Ideals of National Hurricane Preparedness Week, H.Res. 1092: this bipartisan resolution encourages NOAA, the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, and other Federal agencies, to continue their critical work to educate the public about hurricane preparedness. It also encourages constituents to utilize these resources and develop safety plans as the upcoming hurricane season approaches.
• A resolution opposing the criminalization of essential health care services, H.Con.Res. 89: to oppose the criminalization of essential health care services, including the full range of sexual and reproductive health care, such as abortion, gender-affirming care, and contraceptive care, and to disapprove of the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes.

On that final issue, on Friday, I joined my colleagues on the steps of the Capitol to highlight the House passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act.  This is an issue I have heard from many of you about following the news last week of the draft opinion of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Finally this week, I joined several of my colleagues in the Texas Delegation in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen requesting the Treasury review Texas’ use of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to ensure they are not utilized for Operation Lone Star.  In response to the letter, the Treasury Department has opened an investigation as to whether funds were misappropriated.

On Wednesday, the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee marked up two of my bills, H.R. 7679 and H.R. 5218, moving one step closer to becoming law.  H.R. 7679 is a bill to improve and develop pediatric medical devices by reauthorizing the Pediatric Device Consortia (PDC) grant program and allow profits for certain Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) devices.  H.R. 5218, the Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner (COCM) Act, invests in the Collaborative Care Model, an evidence-based model that integrates behavioral health into the primary care setting to ensure Americans can access mental health care services when they need them.  The bills were included in two broader pieces of health legislation, the Food and Drug Amendments of 2022, H.R. 7667, and the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022, H.R. 7666, respectively.

I look forward to continuing to make smart investments to improve our country’s health system, and to provide the tools and resources needed to help Americans lead healthier lives.

Once again, it was great to welcome many of our TX-07 neighbors back to the Hill or to the Hill for the first time! 

I was glad to speak with several neighbors with the Energy Workforce and Technology Council, a member organization that represents more than 600 energy technology and service companies headquartered in Texas’ Seventh Congressional District.

In the office, I visited with The Galveston Bay Foundation and The Land Trust Alliance about federal issues related to conservation and land trust funding programs. 

Cameron on our team met with the We Are Home Coalition to discuss reinstating Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from various designated countries, including Ukraine.

And, Anne-Marie on our team met with the National Domestic Workers Alliance on their day of action. 

On Monday, I was thrilled to announce that the Promise Community School, an elementary school at BakerRipley, will receive $194,459.25 in funding from the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program.  This ECF Program grant will improve the students’ access to internet and technology by covering the costs of laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connectivity purchases for use by students and school staff. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the gap in access to and the need for high-speed internet to connect workers to jobs, students to schools, and people to one another.  The funds from the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program will provide students with resources to close the homework gap and expand their education.  I was glad to authorize this funding last year in the American Rescue Plan Act and look forward to continuing to work to get students and school staff the internet and device access they need to be successful.

Our team in Houston continues to help our neighbors with matters before federal agencies, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department.  Recently, we helped Tetyana F. get her niece the medical attention she needed after Russia bombed the hospital in Ukraine where she was being treated. 

Tetyana sent the following message, I’m glad to share: 

“We contacted Congresswoman Fletcher’s office because my niece was in a hospital after arm surgery in Ukraine when Russia started bombing the city of the hospital. We were concerned that the arm would become infected because she left with no medication. We had her transported to Romania where she received free care for her arm. Communication with the U.S. Embassy was not always clear so Ms. Fletcher’s office helped us understand the process. Thank you!” 

If you think you may need our help with a federal agency, click here.

My heart is heavy tonight thinking about the horrific shooting yesterday at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, that killed 10 of our fellow Americans and wounded three more.  And we have learned that the 18-year-old shooter told authorities he was specifically targeting the Black community.  This tragic hate crime speaks to so many of the challenges we face today, from rising bigotry to increasing gun violence—and the failures these represent for our communities.

That is why I hope you will join me for our district’s in-person Community Conversation on Public Safety and Hate Crimes next Monday evening (May 23) at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC.  We will discuss rising violence and hate crimes in our area and what we can do about it.

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,