Wrapping up Recess and Back to Work in Washington, D.C.

Dear John,

When I started drafting this newsletter, I was mourning the lives lost during the school shooting in Minneapolis last week. After our own shooting scare at Villanova University on August 21, I was hoping this was another cruel hoax, but unfortunately it was not. Two young children are dead and 21 are still recovering after being shot while attending mass. Every single life lost to gun violence in this country is preventable, and it’s heartbreaking to watch yet another tragedy like this unfold.

In my nearly seven years serving our community in Congress, I have had the opportunity to talk with so many of you about gun violence prevention. In all these conversations, not a single person--regardless of their political ideology or where they stand on gun control and safety-- believes that it is okay that members of our community could be victims of gun violence. As a member of the House’s Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, I have worked on comprehensive legislation to address these issues, and I am frustrated that the only legislation having to do with firearms that Congressional Republicans have put forward this Congress for a vote was one that loosened regulations on gun silencers and certain rifles and shotguns. It was recently signed into law by President Trump.

Members of the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force

There is so much more to be done but at the very least, I call on President Trump to reverse his decision to eliminate the Federal School Safety Advisory Board and to restore the funding for school mental health programs, both focused on stopping the epidemic of school shootings. I also urge President Trump to reopen the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which was shuttered one day after his inauguration as part of his first flurry of executive orders. I recognize these initiatives are just pieces of the overall issue we have with gun safety and violence, but we need to deploy everything at our disposal to bring an end to this uniquely American epidemic.

Congress Returns after August Recess

My time over the August recess was full of important visits, meetings, and conversations with our community members. Thank you to everyone who has so warmly welcomed me to your dinner tables, conference rooms, shop floors, stores, exhibits, and special events. I am now back in Washington, D.C. for what is sure to be a busy fall. We have a lot to do, including the priority of passing the budget to fund the government appropriately, and I will keep you updated about the latest from D.C.

Until then, let me share more with you a bit more about my time in PA-06.

Protecting Your Ability to Get Healthcare When You Need It

Communities suffer when hospitals close and health care options are limited. Sick and injured people don't just go away--they have to find care elsewhere. Two weeks ago I shared about my visits to Christiana Care’s new micro hospital in West Grove and my visit to Southern Chester County EMS, but we are fortunate to have other really wonderful, essential health care facilities elsewhere in our district.

Reading Hospital

I got a chance to tour the trauma center at Reading Hospital, the first and only Level 1 trauma center in Berks County. This facility provides 24/7 access to medical specialists and care for severely injured patients from across the county. We started at the helipad where many patients arrive and then checked out the state-of-the-art treatment bays (pretty much like the one in the show “The Pitt”!). I also got hands-on with an incredible animatronic training device that is sort of like the Resusci-Annie so many of us learned CPR on. But this version bleeds, moves, has a pulse and heartbeat, and can mimic a variety of traumatic injury scenarios. The experts even taught me how to place a breathing tube, one of the many ways they are able to train the first responders and EMTs who deliver patients to the trauma center and serve the wider community. Like most hospitals, Reading Hospital relies on Medicaid reimbursements and other federal funding to operate so I also spent time talking with senior leaders about how changes advocated by the Trump administration will impact their ability to provide life-saving care. We have a few to-dos when I get back to Washington to support this and other Level 1 trauma centers.

Community Health and Dental Care

I also visited Community Health and Dental Care in Pottstown which treats patients regardless of their ability to pay. As a federally qualified health center, CHDC receives nearly half of its revenue from Medicaid patient reimbursement. One of the impacts of the Republican Budget* passed in July is that approximately 310,000 Pennsylvanians will lose Medicaid coverage entirely, so CHDC and clinics like it will have to find a way to make up for large budget gaps in order to continue to care for our neighbors. That may take the form of reduced staff, longer wait times, less face time with patients, or, in a worst-case scenario, closure. For some members of our community, clinics like CHDC are their only resource for primary care, mental health care, dental care, or substance abuse services. Without medical lifelines like CHDC, many patients will be forced to seek care at hospitals, where costs to both deliver and receive care are much higher. This will also further pressure these facilities.

Chester County Human Needs Network

I also spent time with the dedicated staff at the Chester County Human Needs Network (CCHNN). This team answers calls from the 988-suicide crisis hotline and employs a mobile crisis response team of trained counselors who are out in our community to personally reach those experiencing an acute behavioral health crisis. CCHNN receives more than 1,500 calls a month, in addition to the text and email traffic it receives. This essential, lifesaving service for our neighbors is supported by federal funds that I was proud to help secure through the American Rescue Plan Act. Unfortunately, the Republican Budget* bill and some of President Trump’s Executive Orders have already cut many of the programs supported by the American Rescue Plan Act, with plans to eliminate even more. Thankfully, CCHNN is still operating today, and I will do everything I can to protect this vital service.

Supporting Our Community

The well-being of our community means more than just seeking medical care, particularly for the older members of our community. Three in five nursing home residents in the Commonwealth use Medicaid to pay for their stays, and cuts to it and programs like SNAP, which help hundreds of our neighbors get free or low-cost food, will put additional strain on both state and federal agencies and resources.

Brandywine Valley Active Aging

Brandywine Valley Active Aging (BVAA) has operated in Coatesville and Downingtown since the 1970's. Its mission is to support older adults with a wide range of services including emergency rental assistance to prevent evictions and loss of utilities, helping homeless community members find housing, and providing hot meals to those who are unable to leave their homes. BVAA assists thousands of members of our community each year, and their data shows that 21% of those who seek their help are living below the poverty line.

About 445,000 seniors and people with disabilities in our Commonwealth rely on Medicaid to help them afford their healthcare expenses, including Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and more than 280,000 seniors receive SNAP benefits. These programs are essential for our older community members to be able to live with dignity. I appreciate that BVAA is going above and beyond its mandate to make this possible, but I worry about the long-term outlook of it and many of our senior services providers as we face the impact of the Republican Budget*.

Visiting Brandywine Valley Active Aging

Meals on Wheels

I got to tag along with Meals on Wheels of Chester County for a day of service. When I was on active duty in the Air Force, one of my favorite volunteer opportunities was Meals on Wheels: serving people who are homebound, regardless of age or income, with hot lunch five days a week. Meals on Wheels and other food delivery services rely on programs like food banks, which help supply them with many of their ingredients.

Unfortunately, Chester County Food Bank has lost an estimated $250,000 in USDA food deliveries, including staples like milk, cheese, and eggs as a result of cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A separate $145,000 cut to Local Food Purchase Assistance has also meant fewer fresh, local ingredients from Chester County farms, meaning our neighbors in need have lost access to nutrient-rich produce, and our local farmers have lost income. For some, delivered meals like this are their only food source, so reduced service could mean members of our community are going days without a meal. It is critically important that we protect federal funding for these programs and volunteer our time with local chapters when we're able.

While Republicans are celebrating the passage of their budget bill, I heard over and over again from our neighbors about how devastating it will be. Keep in mind too, as I outlined in an earlier newsletter, that many of the most painful cuts to programs and services will not occur until late next year, after the mid-term elections. That timing is no accident, but I’m paying attention to the details, and I hope you will too. My Democratic colleagues and I are working to reverse the worst of the cuts already starting to harm the most vulnerable members of our community, and I encourage you to continue using your voice to make your opinion known. Please keep calling, keep writing, and keep pushing lawmakers to stop these cuts. It makes a difference.

Volunteering with Meals on Wheels and Visiting Clients

While We Were Out

I know this newsletter is already long, but I can’t wrap up without calling attention to just some of the things that have happened since Speaker Johnson adjourned Congress early to avoid a vote on releasing the Epstein files:

News of inflation that’s still too high on everyday items like school supplies, groceries, and clothing, thanks to the administration’s chaotic tariff policy;

Electricity prices are soaring twice as fast as inflation is, as a direct result of the Republican budget*;

The militarization of Washington, D.C. and the administration’s stated plans to do the same in Democratic cities across the country;

The unexplained firings of experienced leaders and advisors at the Pentagon

The shockingly cruel treatment of people as they are being deported and the Administration attempting to spirit away minors to Guatamala in the dead of night over the weekend;

The firing of Erika McEntarfer, Commissioner of Bureau of Labor Statistics because President Trump disliked the jobs report released by the agency in early August;

The smear campaigns against Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook and others perceived to be “enemies” of the current administration;

Attempts to gerrymander districts, end mail-in voting, and otherwise suppress citizens’ rights to vote;

DOGE uploading the Social Security data to a private cloud-based server;

The administration again blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion of it;

And the president claiming in the August 26th Cabinet meeting that he has “the right to do anything” because he is the president.

I know you don’t all agree with me that these are problems. You just have to check out comments on my social media posts to see just how strongly some folks disagree with me. That said, I believe in facts, in learning from history, and in rational people coming together to do the very best we can as individuals, neighbors, legislators and leaders to protect and preserve this country. I also believe that good people can disagree, and I appreciate that we can do that in a civil and decent way. I hope we can agree on that and work together for good.

Hot Topics

Now I’ll tell you the top three issues that our community has called and written to me about this week:

President Trump’s takeover of the D.C. police force and the possibility of expansion to other cities
The impact of the SEPTA changes and concerns about additional cuts
Supporting the discharge position for the Protect America’s Workforce Act

And lastly, many of you have asked about the release of the Epstein files. Congressmen Thomas Massie and Rho Khanna filed a discharge petition yesterday which needs 218 signatures to force the full files to be released. I signed onto it and urge every member of Congress to do the same.

I will be paying attention to these issues and many more as I work in Washington, D.C. to be your voice.

Serving as our community’s representative in Congress is the honor and privilege of my lifetime and I hope you will reach out about the issues you care about.

As always, please contact my office if you need assistance.

Sincerely,

Chrissy Houlahan

U.S. Member of Congress

*Budgets are statements of the values of the nation. The draconian "big beautiful bill" budget passed with Republican votes only. Not one Democrat voted for it, and as the saying goes, "show me your budget, and I'll show you what you value." Keep that in mind as appropriations and next year's budget battles get underway and we approach the deadline to fund the government at the end of this month.

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