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Dear John, I've said this before, but it cannot be said enough--I hope you, your family, and your loved ones are safe and healthy during this difficult time. If you are finding yourself in a pinch, whether it's regarding small business loans, unemployment compensation, or food assistance, please reach out to our team. We are here to help. In the coming weeks, our office is hosting a number of events I thought you'd like to participate in. Check them out below. In the meantime, I hope you have a safe and celebratory July 4th weekend!
In This E-Newsletter You Will Find:
Upcoming Events We have a number of exciting upcoming events, and we hope you'll be able to join us! Telephone Town Hall on Criminal Justice Reform
Last month, I was proud to co-sponsor and help pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. This was a historic and bipartisan bill to address police reform in our country. I am greatly honored to have Representative Karen Bass, Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and the principal author of this legislation, to join us for a town hall to discuss the legislation and our path forward.
Virtual Forum with Librarian of Congress and Federal Communications Commissioner
We hope you can join us for this special forum, which will focus on educational resources for parents and families. This summer may look different than most, and I want to make sure we're providing families with great educational resources that children can utilize and spend time with when they're out of school, like the Engage! program run by the Library of Congress. I'm grateful to be joined by two accomplished women, Dr. Carla Hayden and Jessica Rosenworcel. This will be live-streamed on my Facebook page.
Congressional Summer Book Club
This summer, I will be hosting a Congressional Children's Summer Book Club. I will be joined by local students and educators from our community to discuss books focused on race and diversity. Please joint us on my Facebook page for our inaugural session on Monday, July 13th at 10am. This is a fantastic way for children to stay engaged with literature this summer. Our first book will be Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o.
COVID-19 Town HallWe will be having another Coronavirus Town Hall featuring health experts in our community. More details to come.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act
On June 29th, I voted to pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act. This comprehensive legislation lowers Americans’ health coverage costs through tax credit expansions, negotiates lower prescription drug prices, expands coverage by funding critical federal and state efforts to increase health coverage enrollment, combats inequity in health coverage faced by communities of color, cracks down on junk plans and strengthens protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Since announcing my candidacy for Congress, it has been a priority to protect and enhance health care for those in my community, Commonwealth, and country. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act is another step on the march towards a country where every individual, including those with pre-existing conditions, has access to quality and affordable health care. Especially obvious in a pandemic, it is always the job of Congress to support our country’s health care initiatives, not strip them away. This bill shores up the Affordable Care Act and continues to expand coverage to those who need it most. Small Business Compete Act
On June 30th, I introduced the Small Business Compete Act with Rep. John Joyce. This bipartisan bill aims to help certain small businesses compete for lucrative federal contracts by easing Category Management requirements implemented by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, which could give an unfair advantage to larger contractors over small companies. In particular, this legislation would aim to support small businesses in historically underutilized “HUBZones” as well as service-connected disabled Veteran-, women- and minority-owned small businesses. Currently, only a quarter of federal contracts are awarded to small businesses, despite the fact that over 99% of businesses in the United States are classified as small businesses. We need an economy that works for everyone, and that means taking bipartisan strides towards a more level playing field for our small businesses. I’m proud to be working with fellow Pennsylvanian Representative Joyce to introduce our Small Business Compete Act. For too long, large companies have had a monopoly over lucrative federal contracts. Our bill will help increase the number of federal contracts awarded to small businesses by offering support and streamlining the process. Our country’s economy is only as strong as our small businesses. During this pandemic, we in Congress must be doing everything we can to rebuild and fortify our small business community. Delivering for Our Community: Constituent ServicesOur office is about to hit a major milestone! We have returned nearly $3 MILLION to our community through our constituent services. But, what exactly does that mean? Well, we help folks with a variety of issues they are having with Federal Agencies. Here is one example from Gary in Chesterbook who recently rated our constituent services as "Excellent" and is "Extremely likely" to refer someone to our office:
If you are having an issue with a Federal Agency, fill out our form and our team will contact you! We also invite you to read more success stories here. Our website is always a resource for you and your family. Whether you are looking for ways to help others, information on filing your taxes, or ideas to keep your children engaged in academics, you'll find what you're looking for at houlahan.house.gov. Or, if you'd rather talk with our staff, give us a call at (202) 225-4315. Recently, we've archived all of our e-newsletters on our website. To view all of our updates, click here.
We want to hear from you. Please stay in touch and let us know what you thought of this e-newsletter. You can call one of our offices or fill out our contact form. As always, please subscribe to this e-newsletter to keep up with what is happening regarding coronavirus, our many events, and the work we're doing for Pennsylvanians. Feel free to pass this link along to friends of our community as well so they can keep in touch too. We're all in this together. Respectfully,
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