This week was Police Week in Washington.  For decades, Police Week has served to honor the service of our law enforcement officers. 

On Wednesday, President Biden awarded nine Americans the Medal of Valor, the country’s highest award for a public safety officer.  One of those nine Americans was Houston Police Sergeant Kendrick Simpo, whose heroic actions prevented a potential tragedy in TX-07 just last year.  Sergeant Simpo was working an extra job as a security guard at the Galleria on a Saturday morning when he heard a report that a man wearing a black leather mask with metal spikes on it was armed with an AR-15, 120 rounds of ammunition, and a handgun 40 feet from where hundreds of children were gathered for a dance competition.  Sergeant Simpo ran to the scene and rushed the gunman alone, tackling him to the ground, grabbing the AR-15, and using it to pin the suspect until help arrived.  I know we are all grateful to Sergeant Simpo for his work to keep people in Texas’ Seventh Congressional District safe, and I was so proud to see his bravery recognized with this high award.  

This Police Week, the House took up several pieces of legislation focused on law enforcement.  I am sorry to say that some of this year’s legislation brought to the floor strayed from the traditionally bipartisan spirit of the week. 

We began the week voting for House Resolution 363, honoring and remembering law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, which passed with broad bipartisan support.  On Wednesday, the House began debate on the Federal Law Enforcement Officer Service Weapon Purchase Act, H.R. 3091, which would permit law enforcement agencies to sell retired handguns to the federal law enforcement officers who carry them.  While I supported this bill in principle—as I did last Congress when my Democratic colleague Val Demmings, a former Florida Police Chief, filed the bill—several amendments to the bill brought on the House floor greatly expanded the types of weapons for sale (to include semiautomatic assault weapons, sniper rifles, and military-grade weaponry, and did not exclude other firearms subject to heightened regulation under the National Firearms Act, including short-barreled rifles and grenade launchers) and loosened the protections to ensure purchasers would be trusted users of these background checks.  For these reasons, I voted no on this bill.

The House also debated the Protect Our Law Enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement (POLICE) Act of 2023, H.R. 2494.  While the bill was framed in terms of supporting police, the bill represented not only an unnecessary but an unconstitutional attempt to eliminate constitutional due process protections for legal immigrants who are not citizens, including legal permanent residents, green card holders, and temporary visa holders by making assault of a law enforcement officer a deportable offense without requiring a person to be convicted of assault or even charged with assault.  It is already the law that people convicted of serious assaults of law enforcement may be deported because of that conviction.  Because this bill violates our fundamental constitutional principles of due process, I voted against it.

The last bill brought to the floor this week was a resolution expressing support for local law enforcement officers, H.Con.Res. 40, which I voted for.  We are grateful to and proud of the work that our law enforcement officers do to keep us safe.  I have been glad to partner with them to get them needed resources and to engage in constructive and meaningful conversations about how to keep our communities safe and ensure justice for all.

I know that many of you are rightly concerned about the question of whether the United States will have the funds to pay its bills, or whether the debt ceiling will be increased to make it possible to do so.  As I reported last week, President Biden has been meeting with congressional leaders.  While I am not involved directly in those talks, I have been working with my colleagues to try to get to a resolution.

I am deeply concerned about the effects the uncertainty around this question is already having.  It will only get worse the longer we wait.  This week, my colleague Brendan Boyle, who is the lead Democrat on the House Budget Committee, led an effort to bring the question to the House Floor for a vote.  The form is a “discharge petition,” a privileged motion to force a vote on a debt ceiling increase (without conditions).  If the petition gets 218 signatures, the question must be brought to the House for a vote.  Mine was the 68th signature, and the last time I checked more than 210 House Democrats had signed the petition. 

Also this week, I co-sponsored several pieces of legislation on issues important to our community, including: 

• The Black Maternal Health Momnibus, H.R. 3305, which combines 13 evidence-based bills into a major package that comprehensively addresses every dimension of the maternal health crisis in the United States, which has the highest maternal mortality rate of all developed countries; 
• The Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act, H.R. 1770, to expand Medicare coverage to include services provided by pharmacists; 
• The My Body, My Data Act, H.R. 3420, to create a new national standard to protect the privacy of personal reproductive health data; and
• A resolution condemning the atrocity that occurred in Buffalo, New York, on May 14, 2022, in which 10 Americans were killed and 3 were injured, and in which 11 of the 13 victims were Black Americans, condemning the Great Replacement Theory as a White supremacist conspiracy theory, and reaffirming the House of Representatives commitment to combating White supremacy, hatred, and racial injustice, H.Res. 413. 

I also joined my colleagues in sending letters on issues important to our community, including: 

• A bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the State Department to take all possible actions to support democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, including freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, in Pakistan following recent events that are of deep concern to people across our district;
• A letter to House leaders urging them to avert Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payment cuts that are scheduled to occur this fall;
• A letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services urging prompt finalization and implementation of the proposed rule that would reform the prior authorization process in the Medicare Advantage program, something many of our physician neighbors have discussed with me at length as a real problem;
• A letter to Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter requesting more information from the State Department on the status and factors contributing to the current passport backlog and how to proactively prevent future delays;
• A letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro rejecting proposed Republican cuts to critical public safety programs and proposing alternative policies to support law enforcement personnel across the country; and
• A letter to Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, Mazda, Volvo, Tesla, Polestar, Rivian, GM, Mercedes Benz inquiring about the removal of broadcast AM radio receivers from current and future electric vehicles, which several constituents called about just this week.

We had a few bill markups in my Energy & Commerce Committee subcommittees this week.  On the Energy Subcommittee, we took up the Save Our Gas Stoves Act, H.R. 1640, which I support, to prohibit a proposed rule from the Department of Energy relating to gas stoves currently on the market; the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, H.R. 1042, to ban imports of Russian uranium and help develop a U.S.-based supply of uranium to support innovation in nuclear energy; and the Energy Emergency Leadership Act, H.R. 3277, to require the Department of Energy to assign energy emergency and energy security functions to an Assistant Secretary, including responsibilities with respect to infrastructure and cybersecurity. 

On the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, we focused on legislation related to speeding up the permitting and construction of broadband projects to bridge the digital divide.

On Tuesday, I met with Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and the Regional Leadership Council to talk about how the U.S. Department of Energy is deploying the $97 billion in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, expanding its existing programs and creating new pathways for federal investments in research and development, demonstration, and deployment programs.  So much innovation is happening in Houston, the energy capital of world, and we were able to get an update on the Hydrogen Hubs process, EV charging station rollout, consumer and homeowner programs, and so much more.  

It was also good to have time to welcome Houstonians to the Hill throughout the week, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a TX-07 resident representing Americans for Safe Access, more neighbors in town for the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) conference, and more!

In Washington, our team met with representatives from the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists; Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International; PeopleForBikes; and Houston representatives from the Asian American Chamber.  Our team also met with the American Association of Immunologists, SMART Union, and the American Kidney Fund.

In Houston, our district team was out in TX-07 for a Mother’s Day event at the Sunshine Activity Center; Donuts and Dialogue with the Central Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce; a celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the State of Israel with the Consul General of Israel; Coffee with a Cop at the Target in Westchase; and a Young Professionals event with the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

This year’s Kinder Houston Area Survey was released this week.  I always enjoy and appreciate the important insights into our views on the economy, housing, and social issues in this annual survey the analysis.  You can read the report here.

Next week, the House will be in session, and I will be back in Washington.  I’ll send you another update next week.  If you want to ask for assistance or share your thoughts, please call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 or email here at any time.  I look forward to hearing from you.  

Best wishes,