On Tuesday, the House convened the second session of the 118th Congress.  On my way back to Washington, I traveled to Dallas to attend the funeral of Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30), who retired at the end of the last Congress after representing Dallas for 30 years.  An icon and a trailblazer, Congresswoman Johnson was the first registered nurse elected to Congress, and the first woman and first Black person to chair the House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology.  Before coming to Congress, Congresswoman Johnson was first elected to the Texas House in 1972, and later to the Texas Senate, serving our state and country for more than fifty years.  As the Dean of our Texas congressional delegation—the most senior member—she was a mentor to me, and I served on her committee in the 116th and 117th Congresses.  She was a true public servant and has left an incredible legacy.  Later in the week, I joined my Texas colleagues from both sides of the aisle, as well as other members, in remembering her on the House floor and observing in a moment of silence in her honor. 

The House was scheduled to begin voting on legislation on Wednesday, but some Republican members prevented proceeding with debate, reportedly because they disagreed with the agreement Speaker Johnson announced over the weekend with the Senate.  More on that below in “Washington this Week.”

(As I have explained in previous emails, most legislation to be considered by the House can proceed only after the House votes for a bill that sets the rules for debate–how debate will proceed, how much time will be allowed for debate, whether and which amendments can be offered, and other procedural matters.  If the rule does not pass, the bills included in it cannot be brought to the floor.)

Trying again on Thursday, the House passed the rule and began debate on three bills.   Needless to say, these tactics—once unheard of—have become routine this Congress, leaving the House in a state of legislative paralysis. 

On Thursday and Friday, the House debated and voted on

• the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2023, H.R. 788, which would prohibit federal agencies from entering into or enforcing legal settlement agreements that include payments to third parties in cases of corporate misconduct.  I voted against this legislation because it would weaken the federal government’s ability to hold bad actors accountable in a way that addresses societal harms they may have caused, but the bill passed by a vote of 211 - 197.
• a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the Federal Highway Administration relating to “Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers”, S.J.Res. 38.  If enacted, this resolution would outsource Electric Vehicle (EV) charger manufacturing outside of the United States, create uncertainty for the EV industry at a time when many Americans are switching to EVs, and threaten the ability to put Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds to work in communities across the country.  For these reasons, I voted against this resolution, but it passed by a vote of 209 - 198.
• a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) relating to a "Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status," (H.J.Res. 98).  This legislation would overturn a rule that the NLRB adopted in 2023 that allowed workers with joint employer status the right to bargain collectively for higher pay, better benefits, and safer workplace.  I voted against this resolution, but it passed by a vote of 206 – 177.

The House also voted on one bill under suspension of the rules, the China Exchange Rate Transparency Act, H.R. 839, to require the U.S. Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to advocate for increased transparency with respect to China’s exchange rate policies.  I voted for H.R. 839, which passed the House on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis. The House also passed four suspension bills by voice vote: the Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 540), to require the U.S. to advocate for Taiwan’s participation at the IMF; the PROTECT Taiwan Act (H.R. 803), to require certain financial regulators to exclude representatives of China from banking organizations upon notice of threats to Taiwan; the No Russian Agriculture Act (H.R. 4768), to require the Treasury Secretary to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of International Financial Institutions to support projects that decrease reliance on Russia for agricultural commodities; and the OFAC Licensure for Investigators Act (H.R. 6370), to require the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to develop a program to partner with private-sector firms to conduct nominal financial transactions to investigate leads to find terrorists, Russian oligarchs, and corrupt government officials.

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

Over the last few weeks and this week, I co-sponsored several pieces of legislation and resolutions on issues important to our community, including: 

• the PFAS Action Act, H.R.6805, to establish a national drinking water standard for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), accelerate designation of PFOA and PFOS chemicals as hazardous substances, and provide $200 million annually to assist water utilities and wastewater treatment;
• the Menopause Research Equity Act, H.R. 6749, to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to evaluate the results and status of research related to menopause, perimenopause, or midlife women's health, to conduct and support additional such research; 
• the Adding Coccidioidomycosis to the FDA Priority Review Voucher Program Act of 2023, H.R. 6227, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to expand the tropical disease product priority review voucher program to encourage prevention and treatment of coccidioidomycosis;
• a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Korean American Day, which is this Saturday, January 13; and
• a resolution honoring Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by celebrating diversity, promoting tolerance, and condemning hate.

On Wednesday morning, I participated in a hearing on the Energy & Commerce Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee titled “Safeguarding Americans' Communications: Strengthening Cybersecurity in a Digital Era.”  Protecting our communications networks from cyber threats is essential because our communications sector touches all parts of the American economy, from health care to energy, to public safety.  My questions focused on protecting SMS text messages, including one-time passwords and two-factor authentication, from interference and promoting cybersecurity in generative AI models.  You can watch my questions here. 

Also on Wednesday, I testified before the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure to advocate for authorization of our projects and priorities in the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA). WRDA is a biannual water infrastructure bill that authorizes studies and projects across the country.  In my testimony, I advocated for an extension of, as well as the completion of the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study and a study for the Houston Ship Channel’s Project 12.  You can watch my testimony here:

As you may have seen and heard, Congress is facing yet another government funding deadline and, unfortunately, lots of uncertainty.  You may recall that in June of last year, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated a bipartisan budget agreement, which established spending levels for appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024 in exchange for lifting the debt ceiling.  This bipartisan agreement, which passed Congress on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis and was signed into law, came to be known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act. 

A few months later, as we approached the government funding deadline in November, Speaker Mike Johnson announced an unusual approach to an extension of government funding—the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, H.R. 6363.  The resolution, which passed Congress and was signed into law, continues to fund some federal agencies at current levels through January 19, 2024 (including the Department of Energy, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Transportation, and others), through February 2, 2024 (including Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and others).

Last week, as we approached the January 19 deadline, Speaker Johnson met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and agreed to fund spending for Fiscal Year 2024 at Fiscal Responsibility Act levels.  In other words, they agreed to follow the bipartisan law that was passed in June of last year. 

This week, however, some House Republicans used a variety of tactics–including voting down the Rule, discussed above–to force Speaker Johnson to abandon the spending deal.  While House Republicans have yet to come to an agreement, Senate Democrats are moving forward with a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded at current levels for a few more weeks until the twelve bills necessary to fund the government can be written and passed. 

It is still unclear how the House will move forward, but one thing is clear: a government shutdown would hurt our economy, our national security, and our neighbors at home and across the country.  I do not believe that shutting down the government should be on the table in any negotiations, spending or otherwise.  I am concerned about where we are headed, but I will continue to do everything I can to keep our government funded and avoid a shutdown.

In other news this week, I want to highlight that the IRS’s National Taxpayer Advocate delivered its semi-annual report to Congress on the state of the IRS.  The report notes that, “after several difficult years for taxpayers, the IRS, and society in general, tax administration in 2023 mostly managed to leave its COVID-19 problems behind.  The IRS eliminated most of its processing backlog, generally paid refunds timely, and answered taxpayer telephone calls at pre-pandemic levels.  The good news is that, with limited exceptions, we are back to business as usual.”  The report also noted, however, that “we can do better than the baseline level of ‘business as usual.’  Our country’s taxpayers deserve a 21st century tax administration agency that is fair and equitable, provides timely and clear guidance, makes it possible for all taxpayers to electronically file their tax returns, answers its phones and resolves most issues at the first point of contact, and allows taxpayers to conduct business on any follow-up matters through online accounts in the same way they conduct business with their financial institutions.”  As you know, there has been a lot of talk out of Washington lately about whether to eliminate funding for the IRS—which I have opposed.  It’s important to keep these challenges and opportunities to improve the system outlined here in mind.  I plan to meet with TX-07’s taxpayer advocate in a few weeks, and I look forward to talking to her about how we can make improvements for taxpayers.  As a reminder, my office is available to assist with IRS-related matters, and we have helped nearly 1,000 neighbors resolve issues with the IRS in recent years.  Click here for assistance. 

Before heading back to Washington, I had the chance to visit with TX-07 resident Bill May, who my team and I had the privilege of helping obtain a replacement for his U.S. Army Commendation Medal.  As a reminder, if you need help obtaining your medals from service in the military, our district team may be able to help. 

On that note, our constituent advocates were out and about in the district this week to talk about all the ways we can help, hosting a Pop-Up Constituent Services event at the Tracy Gee Community Center.  Our team is back at work meeting with and celebrating district residents at events across town.

Great news this week: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Alief ISD will receive an EPA Clean School Bus Grant Award for 20 electric school buses.  This grant was made possible with funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which continues to fund important projects in Houston and Texas.

Also this week, the Biden administration announced that Texas municipalities will receive $70 million from the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Corridor Program to build hydrogen fueling stations throughout Texas, including in Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio.  The stations will create a clean hydrogen refueling network for medium- and heavy-duty freight trucks.  This investment in Texas and in American energy is another direct result of the IIJA.

And even more IIJA funds are headed to Texas!  Today, the Department of the Interior announced that Texas will receive another $80 million in federal funding to plug orphaned wells across the state, made possible by the IIJA, which included my bill, the Revive Economic Growth and Reclaim Orphaned Wells (REGROW) Act.  As the lead House sponsor of the REGROW Act, I could not be prouder to see this funding reach Texas.  Orphaned wells can harm our environment and create public health risks for neighboring communities, and this funding will help eliminate dangerous environmental conditions and pollution across our state while creating good jobs here in Texas.

You may have seen in the news that the JN.1 variant is now the dominant variant in the latest COVID-19 surge.  As a reminder, every home in TX-07 and across the country is eligible to receive up to four free at-home tests, and delivery is free through USPS.  For more information, click here.  The best way to protect yourself and loved ones is to ensure you’re fully vaccinated and up to date with your vaccines.  To find a COVID-19 (or flu!) vaccine near you, click here.   

As you no doubt know, the National Weather Service has advised a cold front, which is expected to pass through the Houston area beginning Sunday, January 14, that will bring a hard freeze.  We know all too well the dangers this cold weather poses for our homes and families.  For information about warming centers throughout Houston, click here.  

On Monday, we will honor the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- celebrating the man, the movement, and the mission. We must continue our work to make ours a more perfect union, remembering the struggle and the principles of the movement this MLK Day and every day.

Congress will be back in session next Tuesday, and we expect to take up several bills and, hopefully, an extension of government funding to avoid a government shutdown.  I look forward to sharing another update with you at the end of next week. 

Until then, please don’t hesitate to call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 or email here to ask for assistance or share your thoughts.  I look forward to hearing from you.  I am proud to represent you and I am here to help you.

Best wishes,