Dear Neighbor,

Another eventful week ending in a weekend of celebrations with Juneteenth on Saturday, and Fathers’ Day on Sunday!  I hope yours were happy!

I am looking forward to visiting with you all TONIGHT at my Mid-Year Telephone Town Hall, and I hope you will join me!  I will review the first six months of this Congress and answer your questions. 

Don't forget to RSVP by 1pm today so you can join!  Once you’ve RSVP’d—you’re all set!  You’ll receive a call from my office right before the town hall begins to be connected.

Last week was a busy legislative week, and I have included a few highlights here.  Congress passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which I helped introduce in the last Congress with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.  For the first time in our country’s history, we will recognize Juneteenth—which has long been celebrated in Texas and communities across the country—as a federal holiday.  I was glad to play a small part in helping move the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act forward in the House of Representatives, and I was honored to be present to see President Biden sign this historic bill into law on Thursday.

Juneteenth represents the promise of equality, opportunity, and freedom.  In the 156 years since the announcement of freedom and equal rights in Texas, we Americans have struggled to make that promise a reality for all.  Despite the struggle, the Juneteenth holiday is a joyful, hopeful day to celebrate all we have accomplished and will accomplish when we work together for these ends.

We voted on several bills this week.  In addition to the Juneteenth bill, the House voted to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq passed in 2002 by a vote of 268-161.  In addition, the House also passed the following bills with broad bipartisan support:

• Legislation to award Congressional Gold Medals to the United States Capitol Police and those who protected the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
• Local Water Protection Act to improve the water quality of our nation’s lakes, rivers, and streams by providing grants to states and municipal governments to make improvements to local water infrastructure and conservation projects.
• Preventing Disaster Revictimization Act to prohibit FEMA from trying to collect relief funds that were mistakenly awarded so long as no fraud has been committed.
• Homeless Veterans CREDIT Act to help end veteran homelessness and financial instability by improving credit and financial services offered at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
• Veterans and Family Information Act to make VA services more accessible to veterans and their families by requiring the Department to provide its fact sheets in the 10 most spoken languages across the United States

On Thursday, I was glad to join Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who has led this effort, and colleagues from Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina to announce the introduction of the COVER Now Act, a bill to expand Medicaid by empowering counties in states like Texas that have not expanded Medicaid to do so on a local level.  Harris County, for example, has the most uninsured people in the state of Texas.  (And Texas has the most uninsured people in the country.)  Harris County is also larger than more than 20 states.  Allowing Harris County to expand Medicaid is estimated to benefit more than 200,000 people.  A recent poll by the Episcopal Health Foundation found that 69 percent of Texans support coverage expansion.  It is good fiscal policy and good for the health of our communities, and I am glad to be an original co-sponsor of this bill. 

There really was a Texas theme in Washington this week!  I was glad to join Texas state legislators in the same spot a few days earlier as they shared with members of Congress their perspective on the voting bills filed in the Texas Legislature this session.

I was glad to join the Texas reps in a meeting with our Texas Congressional delegation and Speaker Pelosi and other leaders in the House to discuss the importance of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, and H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.  The right to vote is foundational to our democracy.  And our success as a democratic society depends on protecting it.  Congress must work to ensure that our government remains one of, by, and for the people, and this visit was an important reminder of the necessity and urgency of this work.

In addition to votes this week, my committees held hearings and markups on vital issues this week.  This week, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing to examine the critical nature of vaccines in public health, and how we can focus on ways to improve our response to vaccine-preventable diseases. 

The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee met to mark up and pass out of committee the following legislation: (1) National Science Foundation for the Future Act authorizing funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) for fiscal years (FY) 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, to provide policy and programmatic direction related to science and engineering research supported by the Foundation, STEM education and broadening participation activities, research infrastructure, and to establish a new Directorate for Science and Engineering Solutions; and (2) the Department of Energy Science for the Future Act authorizing the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which accounts for over half of DOE’s non-defense R&D budget and supports a wide range of research facilities and activities.

Even though life is starting to feel like it is going back to normal, there is still a long way to go.  Last week we saw the rate of hospitalizations in our state increase.  And we know that the rate of COVID-19 variants, which are more contagious and deadly, are increasing.  In fact, COVID cases are actually increasing where there are low vaccination rates.  It is important to get vaccinated.

The good news is that the vaccine is more readily available than ever before.  You can go to vaccines.gov to search or text GETVAX (438829) to locate one near you.  The vaccine is safe, and it’s free.  Protect yourself and protect our neighbors—get vaccinated.

Our district casework team is continuing to help people across our district.  We have heard from many of you and are always glad to help in all the ways we can.  One important reminder: Renew your passports early!  Our team has started to receive an increase of requests to renew passports.  For those who might travel internationally, it is important to renew your passports as soon as possible.  We have unfortunately seen some who have had to change their travel plans because the passport agency is overwhelmed with requests.  

If you need help with your passport request or with any federal agency, you can submit a request for help here.  Please do not hesitate to call me to share your thoughts and concerns or to let me know how my team and I can help.  You can email here, or call my office at (713) 353-8680 any time.

Best wishes,