Dear Friend,

I hope you and your loved ones are having a good Saturday so far. It’s been quite a busy week in Delaware and in Washington. If you’d like to read more about how I’ve been working on your behalf, keep scrolling.

This Week in Delaware

Supporting Those Experiencing Homelessness and Investing in Youth Mental Health

On Monday, I was proud to join Senator Tom Carper in highlighting two federal investments we secured, alongside Senator Chris Coons, through the federal appropriations process. We announced a $1.9 million congressionally directed spending award for the New Castle County Hope Center. It provides temporary emergency non-congregate shelter for those experiencing homelessness in New Castle County.

Above: Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, Senator Tom Carper, and New Castle Executive Matt Meyer are pictured with Hope Center staff and stakeholders.

Through its comprehensive wrap around services, the Hope Center serves as a national model for how we can help those experiencing homelessness transition into permanent housing. The Hope Center assists residents with securing employment and offers substance use disorder and mental health counseling, case management, and primary care. The funding we secured will be used for capital improvements to the center, including renovating the former pool room into a 24-hour drop-in-shelter, and to continue its transportation services for residents so they can get to work and to doctors’ appointments.

We know that safe, reliable, stable, AND affordable housing lays the foundation for everything else we do – and it builds generational wealth. It is hard to focus on working or finding a job when you don’t have a place to live. It is hard for kids to focus on education when they don’t have a place to live. It is hard to raise a family or take care of a sick loved one when you don’t have a place to live. That's why the life-changing work the Hope Center does is so important and why I’ll continue to work to advance my legislation to grow our affordable housing stock.

Above: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester greets a resident of the Hope Center. 

Senator Carper and I also highlighted a $1.5 million investment in Nemours Children’s Health’s Innovative Mental Health Pathways for Adolescent and Child Therapists (IMPACT) Program. The IMPACT Program is providing specialized training and supervision to social workers and counselors, helping to create a pipeline of talent to respond to the mental and behavioral health needs of our young people. From the impact of the pandemic and the fear of gun violence, which is the leading cause of death for children in America, to social media and cyberbullying – our young people are experiencing more challenges than ever.

While we are continuing our efforts to break the stigma surrounding mental health care, the bottom line is that we can't tell kids to share their problems if there's nobody on the receiving end to hear it. That’s why the IMPACT Program is needed – because it will help us ensure that there are trained professionals ready to help our young people. At the event, we heard from two of the program’s fellows who shared why they are committed to this work – and we thanked them for answering this calling to help our youth. I am proud to support them in this journey, and will continue my work in Congress to address the mental and behavioral health needs of our young people. If you’d like to read more about the event, check out this article from Delaware Public Media.

This Week in Washington

Advancing our Menopause Movement!

I was pleased that an amendment of mine was passed unanimously by voice vote and added to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for this upcoming fiscal year.

The amendment promotes research on the economic, health, and societal impacts of menopause on servicewomen so that the Department of Defense can better accommodate those experiencing menopausal symptoms, focus on the retention of servicewomen in the Armed Forces, and strengthen our national security.

There is a wide knowledge gap about how menopause affects women, including those in the military, and it is important that we gather more data, conduct further research, and raise awareness to support those fighting for our country as they navigate and advocate for themselves during this inevitable stage of life. However, there were some anti-women’s rights amendments that were also added to this bill – and that disappointed me. Nevertheless, I will continue to work in a bipartisan way to stand up for our women service members in Delaware and around the nation.

FY2025 Appropriations

As I mentioned above, this week, the House voted on a series of appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2025. While I was pleased that my amendment on menopause was included, the bills also included drastic cuts across federal agencies and policies that abandoned our service members, weakened our national security, and attacked reproductive health. I could not in good faith vote for the final passage of these bills. If you’d like to read my full statement on my vote, please click here.

From Advocacy to Action

I’ve recently cosponsored two pieces of legislation. The first is the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act, legislation to ensure that the Crime Victims Fund has robust, stable funding to allow for victim services organizations to support survivors of domestic violence. This bill is a priority for the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence and would help ensure states such as Delaware can continue to have the resources to support survivors of domestic violence, child abuse, and other crimes.

The second bill, the bipartisan Gerald’s Law Act, would allow the VA to provide a burial and funeral for a veteran who passes away from a non-service-connected disability outside of a VA facility. This legislation is needed to ensure that all veterans receive the respect they deserve when they are buried. I want to thank Delaware representatives from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization for meeting with my team and advocating for this bill.

Championing Our Seniors

AARP Delaware is one of the most dedicated advocates for older Delawareans, so it was great to be with their State Director, Lucretia Young, at the Capitol this week. I thanked her for participating in my recent fireside chat at the Wilmington Senior Center to help spread the word about how the Inflation Reduction Act is lowering health care and prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. It’s crucial that older Delawareans know about these benefits as about 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day. I’m glad to count AARP Delaware as a partner in this shared mission.

Above: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester and AARP Delaware State Director Lucretia Young.

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 is the Delaware Nurses Association! My staff and I had the pleasure of meeting with more than forty Delawareans from DNA on Capitol Hill this week. Nurses are an essential part of our health care workforce, and I am proud to be their champion in Congress. I’ll continue to advocate for legislation such as my National Nursing Workforce Center Act – a cornerstone piece of my Jobs Agenda – so we can continue to combat the nursing workforce shortage across our nation and give nurses the support and training they need. Join me in thanking DNA and all of the nurses in our lives for all they do.

Yours in service,

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester

Member of Congress

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