Dear friend,

As I am writing to you today, we are barreling toward a full shutdown of the federal government. This week, in the House, was a series of failed votes to even bring appropriations bills to floor. And with government funding running out on September 30th, we simply don't have any more time for political games.

It's also important to note that what's playing out is not a fight between Democrats and Republicans. It's a fight between Republicans and Republicans. Even Speaker McCarthy finally admitted that the extreme members of his conference just want to, "burn the place down." 

And while it can be easy to get wrapped up in the political drama, it's critical that we remember what's really at stake in a government shutdown. Services that hundreds of thousands of Delawareans rely on every single day - Meals on Wheels deliveries for our seniors, paychecks for the brave men and women stationed at Dover Air Force Base, and the loans for small business owners up and down our state. At an event this week, I explained that we need to keep our eye on the ball of what's at stake. You can watch that here. 

I'm a pragmatic optimist - and while it's my sincere hope that we pass a stopgap funding measure, it's becoming increasingly clear that a government shutdown is our most likely outcome at this moment. 

This Week in Washington

Receiving the 988 Crisis Champion Award

I was honored to receive the 988 Crisis Champion Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention this week for my work in strengthening mental health care, increasing funding for 988 - the national suicide and crisis lifeline - and building out the crisis care system. It's never been more important to ensure that people in crisis can access the life-saving care they need. 

Addressing my AKA Sisters

Earlier this year, I was inducted as an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Every year, hundreds of members of the sorority make their way to Washington for a policy conference aimed at uplifting our community. I was honored to be able to address this year's conference titled, "Soaring to Justice", to be able to discuss some of the most pressing challenges we face as a nation and how I believe we can move forward. 

House Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee Hearing

This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce, of which I am a member of, held a hearing titled "Mapping America’s Supply Chains: Solutions To Unleash Innovation, Boost Economic Resilience, And Beat China." In my remarks, I talked about my work to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to America, maintains our global competitiveness, and creating good-paying American jobs. This includes the comprehensive package of supply chain legislation I introduced earlier this year. 

You can watch my full opening remarks below:

This Week in Delaware

Investing in Community Health Centers

I visited Westside Family Healthcare's Newark location to meet with their team and see first-hand just some of the investments they've been able to make with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The machine you see in the picture below is an AccuVax machine which is helping to modernize Westside's medicine inventory system. This means improved storage, temperature setting, security, and safety for Westside's vaccines! I'm so proud that ARPA is helping places like Westside continue to provide patients with quality care and dignity. 

Less than One Month for Service Academy Nomination Applications

I want to remind you that the deadline to submit applications for Service Academy nominations through my office is coming up! The deadline for thus year is Monday, October 16 by COB. This is a wonderful opportunity for high-school aged students to attend one of our nation's esteemed service academies. For more information on the application process, please visit my website. 

If you've ever been to an event in Delaware honoring our veterans, you have probably seen this familiar face and my constituent corner for the week - Retired 1st Lieutenant Ray Firmani. Lieutenant Firmani is a B-17 World War II pilot who flew 25 missions into Germany and was inducted into the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame. This week, we came together to celebrate a major milestone - his 102nd birthday! My staff was so proud to be able to present him with a congressional pin and photo of us. Thank you, Lieutenant Firmani, for your service and sacrifice to our state and nation.

Above: Krista Weed, Senior Caseworker for Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, presents Lieutenant Ray Firmani with a signed photo of himself and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester.

As always, If you ever need assistance with federal agencies, please contact my office. My team can help with a wide range of issues including (but not limited to):

• United States Postal Service
• Social Security Administration
• Veterans Affairs benefits and services
• Passport and visa processing
• Citizenship and naturalization

Yours in service,

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester

Member of Congress

Sign up for my newsletter to get updates on this issue and others!

Contact Me