Dear Neighbor,

Congress returned to Washington last week after the Memorial Day recess. During the recess, I heard from many constituents concerned about what’s happening in Washington — from tariffs, federal workforce cuts, the “One Big Ugly Bill”, and additional cuts in the President’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. These topics and more dominated my Tri-Cities Town Hall at Virginia State University on June 2nd, which you can watch here, and my legislative update at Delegate Delores McQuinn’s annual Donuts, Coffee and Conversation town hall in Charles City County over the weekend.

The more people learn about the Big Ugly Bill, the more they hate it. Last week, I shared my thoughts on the Big Ugly Bill’s cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits. As a preacher’s kid, I could not help but think of Matthew 25:31-46: 

The Big Ugly Bill does not care for the least of these…

Read on to see what else you might have missed last week.

NOW TRUMP COMES FOR HOUSING ASSISTANCE

While the Big Ugly Bill has dominated the news as the Senate begins its deliberations, the President also sent his recommended discretionary funding levels for FY2026 for Congress to consider. Just as millions of Americans worry about losing health insurance and food assistance under the Bill Ugly Bill, the proposed budget cuts add to their worries.

Over the recess, I met with HOME of VA and Virginia Housing Alliance to discuss the devastating impact of deep cuts proposed for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other Trump Administration actions on the ability to meet the housing crisis facing so many people — especially that same population of people already at risk of losing Medicaid and SNAP benefits. The cuts would devastate programs that have helped struggling renters, first-time homebuyers, and the unhoused. Cuts also impact organizations that help these individuals and fight housing discrimination, many of which worry they won’t survive.

The Virginia Mercury and the Richmond Times Dispatch joined our conversation, and you can read their coverage about how these cuts will impact Virginia here and here.

While not yet considered by Congress, let alone enacted, these cuts have already impacted my constituents, as the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) temporarily stopped issuing tenant-based vouchers to the over 4,000 Richmond households on the waiting list for Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV).

GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

Every day in the United States, 125 people are killed by gun violence and hundreds more are wounded or traumatized. That’s over 1,000 Virginians and 30,000 Americans killed by gun violence in any given year. Since 2020, gun violence has been the number 1 cause of death for children. These statistics are jarring, but each number represents a personal tragedy: mothers, fathers, sons and daughters whose lives were cut short due to gun violence. No place is immune, as people have lost their lives to gun violence in malls, grocery stores, concerts, public parks, churches, schools, their home — even in their own beds.  

As a state legislator, I helped pass a number of common sense measures to address gun violence, and led efforts to address the root causes of gun violence through creation of the Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund and Grant Program. At the national level, much more needs to be done.

To kick of Gun Violence Awareness Month, I co-anchored the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order Hour on how gun violence impacts our communities and what Congress can do to address it. 

June 6-8th, I joined colleagues and advocates across the country to wear orange to bring awareness to gun violence and what we can do to prevent it.

Why orange?

That was the favorite color of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15 year-old who marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade. One week later, she was shot and killed on a Chicago playground. Soon after, her friends commemorated her life by wearing orange. Today, Wear Orange honors Hadiya and others shot and killed every day and the countless others whose lives have been changed by gun violence.

Over the weekend, I joined Moms Demand Action and Everytown advocates and state legislators in Richmond for a Wear Orange event to hear from survivors and law enforcement on the impact gun violence has had on our communities and share what we can do at the local, state, and nation level to prevent it.

MY BRIGHT SPOT

Virginia is the birthplace of American agriculture, which is still the number one private industry in the Commonwealth. VA-04 boasts a wide variety of farms, and I always enjoy visiting a wide array of them all across the district. Last week, I joined officials from the Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District, state legislators and Henrico County farmers for a roundtable discussion on how local, state and federal governments can partner to help our farmers thrive.

I also learned how area farmers are innovating to preserve soil health and prevent pollution in the waters that lead to the Chesapeake Bay. One such method is through cover crops, plants grown primarily to benefit soil health, rather than for a harvest. Farmers typically plant cover crops between cash crop seasons to reduce the need for synthetic fertilizer, pest and weed control chemicals, prevent soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and improve water infiltration.

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