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Dear Neighbor,
It was another busy week—at home and in Washington. Here’s a more detailed look at the highlights from this week:
On Monday, I visited West University Elementary and spoke to fourth graders who were learning about government and civic engagement. I had a great time speaking along with State Representative Sarah Davis about the difference between federal and state government and our work. The students had great questions and were active participants!
This weekend, I hosted a press conference to mark the one-year anniversary of the passage of H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2019 with gun violence survivors, gun safety advocates from Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, and my colleagues Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia. I have received more calls from constituents asking me to support this bill than any other piece of legislation this Congress. Together, we called on the Senate to pass this comprehensive background check legislation that will help make our communities safer.
The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee and Environment Subcommittee held a hearing of great importance to our region on federal flood maps. Our committee hearing was focused on ensuring that the most up-to-date science to predict flood risk could be accessible and easy to understand in order to make our communities more resilient.
The Transportation and Infrastructure’s Water Resources Subcommittee heard testimony for the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), legislation we are drafting this year to authorize water infrastructure projects. Work on WRDA is one of my top priorities in Congress, working to authorize the project to widen and deepen the ship channel at the Port of Houston and to advance flooding infrastructure projects in our region, as well as other critical efforts for our region’s safety and economy.
I was proud to cast my vote in support of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act (H.R. 35), which passed the House with overwhelming support. This bill makes lynching a federal hate crime. While the bill cannot undo the decades of lawlessness and terror inflicted on fellow Americans, it can help make clear our rejection of these heinous acts and begin to bring justice for thousands of victims.
The House also passed five bills to strengthen our support for veterans and their families. The legislation passed includes grants for organizations that provide legal services to veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, increased transparency at the Veterans Affairs department, financial protections for military spouses, and more.
I was glad to welcome our delegation from the Greater Houston Partnership to Washington, D.C., including Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin, Houston City Council Members Abbie Kamin, Letitia Plummer, and Karla Cisneros, Port Houston Chairman Ric Campo, and many other community leaders. I also was glad to have a meeting with Harris County Flood Control District Executive Director Russ Poppe, and the City of Houston’s Chief Recovery Officer Steve Costello to discuss flood control and Harvey recovery efforts and next steps we can take together to keep our projects on track and bring needed changes to our region.
I was also glad to visit with members of the Texas Credit Union National Association for their annual fly-in (pictured below), as well as Houstonians from the Garden Club of America and the Gulf Coast Authority to talk about water resources and environment issues.
On Friday, our district team celebrated Go Texan Day in our Washington and Houston offices! Our team proudly wore our jeans and boots to work on this distinctly Houston day. We are ready for the Rodeo!
I am headed back to Washington later this week, but looking forward to a few extra days at home to see neighbors. As always, I look forward to hearing from you. If there’s a matter our team can be of assistance with, please call us at the numbers below or submit an email here. That’s what we are here for!
Best wishes,
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