Dear Friend,

This week we celebrated Juneteenth. As proclaimed by the White House:

On June 19, 1865, freedom finally came for the 250,000 enslaved people of Texas. That day, which would become known as Juneteenth, the Army arrived to enforce what had already been the law of the land for two and a half years — the Emancipation Proclamation. Today, we recognize that Juneteenth not only marks the end of America’s original sin of slavery but also the beginning of the work at the heart and soul of our Nation: making the promise of America real for every American.

Above: A picture of Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester holding a scarf that has the voting document of her great-great-great-grandfather who was enslaved. Behind her is text from the Emancipation Proclamation.

Juneteenth exemplifies the impact that each of us can make. No matter how old or how young. One of the champions of this holiday is a woman named Opal Lee. She’s often referred to as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.” In 2016, at the age of 89, she walked 1,400 miles from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, DC to advocate for Juneteenth to become a national holiday. In 2019, she led an online petition through Change.org calling for Juneteenth to be made a national holiday. She hoped it would gain 100,000 signatures – but it ended up garnering 1.6 million signatures. I was so proud to be with her at the White House in 2021 when President Biden signed the bill into law that officially made Juneteenth a federal holiday. As we reflect on our history and look toward the future, let's remember that each of us can play a part in letting freedom ring in Delaware and across the country.

Looking ahead, this Monday will mark two years since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which overturned the protections of Roe v. Wade. In one day, the Dobbs decision destroyed over fifty years of precedent, and, for the first time in our nation’s history, took away a constitutional right from millions of Americans.

Congress must pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to restore the protections of Roe across the country. We have a fundamental right to reproductive freedom – and I will always fight to protect and expand it.

This Week in Delaware

The 2024 Congressional App Challenge

I am excited to announce that we are launching Delaware’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge this week!

This is a great opportunity for students interested in STEM to use their skills to solve the issues of today and tomorrow. Applications will be accepted now through October 24th. To find out more info on how to sign up, please see my website. You can also check out when I visited last year’s winners at their school to see their innovative project first-hand.

In case you missed it, the Cape Gazette wrote about my recent visit to Beebe Healthcare’s Specialty Surgical Hospital. Senator Tom Carper and I announced more than $1 million in federal funding we secured for Beebe’s Mobile Health Clinic and Community Harm Reduction Outreach Project.

This project, which was one of my Community Project Funding requests last year, will help us meet Delawareans where they are by delivering harm reduction and substance use disorder prevention services such as Narcan rescue kits, naloxone kits and training, HIV, HCV, and STI screening, and wound care. Read the article here.

Below are some helpful resources for you:

• Lower Energy Costs: Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act that I helped pass last Congress, there are opportunities to lower your energy costs through tax credits and rebates. Check out energy.gov/save to learn more. 
• Look Before You Book: Are you thinking about booking a trip? Before you do, you should ensure that your passport is up-to-date! You can go to travel.state.gov to check your passport expiration date, apply for a new passport, and more.
• Need a Passport Appointment?: The Department of State is encouraging travelers to go to passportappointment.travel.state.gov to schedule passport appointments within 14 days of their date of travel. You can utilize this resource until September!
• 988 National Suicide Prevention Helpline: If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call 988, the 24/7, free and confidential support National Suicide Prevention Hotline. You can also go to 988lifeline.org. 
• Delaware 211: Delawareans in need of emergency housing, utility assistance, food assistance, and more, call 211, Delaware’s free, confidential resource hotline. 
• Student Loan SAVE Program: The Biden Harris Administration announced the SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) Plan. This program is income-driven and calculates your monthly payment amount based on your income and family size. The SAVE Plan provides the lowest monthly payments of any Income-Driven Repayment plan available to nearly all student borrowers. To apply for the SAVE Plan, go to studentaid.gov/idr.
• U.S. Department of State’s Exchange Programs: The State Department sponsors several programs across the world that can give Americans educational, cultural, and professional experiences. Find out more about at exchanges.state.gov/us.

This week’s constituent corner highlights the incomparable Dr. Richard Allen Williams who just this week had a street in Wilmington named in his honor. My staff was proud to attend the ceremony to present a letter congratulating Dr. Williams. 

Dr. Williams’ list of accomplishments is as impressive as it is impactful. Born and raised in Wilmington, he attended Howard High School, graduated at the top of his class, and, at the age of 16, earned a full scholarship to Harvard. In fact, he became the first African American student from Delaware to attend and graduate from Harvard with honors. He became the first Black full-time professor in the history of UCLA’s School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine, founded and served as president of the Association of Black Cardiologists and the Minority Health Institute. He led the King-Drew Sickle Cell Center and the National Medical Association. He ran in the Boston Marathon, and he even plays the trumpet at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival in Wilmington. I encourage you to take some time today to learn more about Dr. Williams' extensive list of accomplishments. You can read more about him by clicking here or here. 

Dr. Williams - we thank you for answering the call to save lives and improve the quality of life for all of us. Congratulations again on this well-deserved honor!

Above: Dr. Richard Allen Williams speaking at his street renaming ceremony.

Yours in service,

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester

Member of Congress

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