Iran War.  Last week, an Iranian strike in Jordan killed four United States service members.  This week, we learned about who they were—one of them a Texan, 19-year old Army private Isabella Gonzales from Carrollton, Texas.  We will remember and honor her courage, service, and sacrifice.  These deaths mark the first troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war and bring the total death toll to 18 United States service members who have been killed since the war began.  This week, the House passed another Iran war powers resolution (H.Con.Res.89) condemning President Trump’s entry into this war of choice and directing the President to terminate the use of U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in Iran.

Cyclosporiasis Outbreak. Over the past few weeks, an outbreak of cyclosporiasis has spread across the country.  Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by the cyclospora cayetanensis parasite that often spreads from contaminated water or food.  This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there are more than 4,000 recorded cases of Cyclosporiasis across the country, but other experts believe that the actual number of cases could be more than 10,000.  Despite the increasing rate of cases, we still do not know the source of this outbreak.  This wide-spread outbreak comes after the Trump administration’s cuts to funding and staff across the CDC.  Last year, the Trump administration also scaled back the CDC’s Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, which required the surveillance of cyclospora cayetanensis and several other pathogens.  The Trump administration instead made the surveillance of several pathogens, including cyclospora cayetanensis, optional.  Without the surveillance systems needed to trace this outbreak to its source, more Americans will get sick before we find out why. 

The House was back in session on Monday with a full week planned.  On Tuesday, the House began consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027 (H.R. 8800) and proposed amendments to the bill.  Traditionally, the annual NDAA, which authorizes our national defense spending, has broad bipartisan support.  In recent years, however, House Republicans have included harmful, partisan provisions in the NDAA that fail our military servicemembers and their families.  This year was, unfortunately, no different. 

The bill passed out of the House Armed Services Committee by a bipartisan 44-12 vote.  At the time, the bill focused on improving servicemember pay, housing, childcare, and healthcare for servicemembers, military families, and civilian personnel. During the committee mark-up, Democrats added important provisions to protect the collective bargaining rights of Department of Defense (DoD) employees, reverse the renaming of military installations, and authorize healthcare coverage for assisted reproductive technologies to support servicemembers and their dependents.  The amendments also required a transparent investigation on the bombing of Iranian schools earlier this year, the cost of Trump’s war in Iran, and the ongoing boat strikes and military operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Once the bill went to the House Rules Committee, however, Republicans allowed the consideration of 320 amendments out of the 1400 amendments that were submitted, leading to a bill endorsing President Trump’s request for $1.15 trillion in discretionary spending for the Pentagon and other national security programs and changing the DOD’s name to the “Department of War.”  Republicans also passed several toxic poison pills in the bill, preempting state and local laws under the guise of military readiness.  At the same time, Republicans refused to include any Democratic amendments that would allow debate on the politicization of our armed forces, the firing of dedicated military personnel, and other serious issues.  We voted on several of these amendments over multiple days this week, defeating some but not all problematic amendments.  Because this NDAA undermines the long-standing bipartisan foundation of strengthening our military and honoring our servicemembers and their families, I voted against the bill, which the House passed by a vote of 216-212.

On Tuesday, the House also considered the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027 (H.R. 9770) to provide a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government at current levels until December 4, 2026.  I am not opposed to continuing resolutions to fund the government as a general matter, but this one was partisan and premature.  For these reasons, I voted against this bill, which passed 220-205, and will head to the Senate but is unlikely to pass.

Also on Tuesday, the House considered the Main Street Capital Access Act (H.R. 6955), a package of bills providing deregulatory actions for the banking industry.  As the Trump administration has effectively dismantled the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), this legislation hampers bank supervision, makes it harder for the CFPB to issue new rules, delays remediation for victims of fraud, and makes it easier to hide discriminatory practices.  For these reasons, I voted against this bill, which passed 270-155.  

On Wednesday, the House considered a resolution “establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2027 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2028 through 2036” (H.Con.Res. 113), which, if enacted, would increase the deficit by up to $95 billion over the next decade to fund the war in Iran, implement the so-called SAVE America Act, and pay for losses President Trump’s tariffs have caused.  Passing this budget resolution is the first step in the budget reconciliation process, a legislative process in Congress that fast-tracks consideration of the President’s policy priorities with a simple majority vote in both the House and Senate.  This resolution directs certain House committees to make cuts to programs under their jurisdiction.  Specifically, the bill directs the House Committees on Armed Services and Intelligence to authorize a combined $73 billion in deficit spending to fund the Iran War, the House Committee on Administration to authorize $10 million in deficit spending to incentivize states to require a passport to vote creating significant barriers for the 50 percent of Americans that do not have a passport, and the House Committee on Agriculture to produce $12 billion to offset losses farmers have suffered because of President Trump’s tariffs. 

At a time when families across our community are struggling with rising costs, the Republican budget plan directs further devastating cuts to programs that people in our community rely on every day so it can rubber stamp President Trump unpopular war, unconstitutional voting restrictions, and unnecessary damages.  For these reasons, I voted no on this resolution, but it passed by a vote of 216-214.       

Also on Wednesday, the House considered the disingenuously named Stop Insider Trading Act (H.R. 7008), which is nothing more than a trojan horse for a voter suppression bill, the SAVE America Act (S. 1383).  I have heard from many of our neighbors about how important it is that members of Congress and administration officials not use their position to enrich themselves.  And I have signed on to support consideration of a bill that actually imposes restrictions on Members of Congress as well as the President, who demonstrates daily why restrictions are necessary.  (See more below.)  But this was not a bill to do that.  Not only does this bill fail to meaningfully restrict stock trading for members of Congress, it does absolutely nothing to stop President Trump from continuing to make millions of dollars off of trading stocks, manipulating the market, and profiting from his position.  What it actually did was add a bunch of provisions from the SAVE America Act to a totally unrelated bill to make it harder for millions of Americans to vote so they can later say Democrats voted against a stick-trading ban.  It’s a trick and a lie and the kind of thing that makes people lose trust in Congress.  For these reasons, I voted against the bill, which passed the House by 232-198. 

To meaningfully address stock trading in Congress and the executive branch, I signed a discharge petition—along with 192 of my Democratic colleagues—to force a vote on the Restore Trust in Government Act (H.R. 6731) to prohibit presidents, vice presidents, members of Congress, and their dependent children, spouses, and trustees from owning or trading individual stocks.

On Thursday, the House considered another disingenuously named bill, the Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act (H.R. 8884).  Framed as an effort to help disability beneficiaries return to the workforce, this legislation really just gives the Trump Administration the flexibility to cut benefits while raiding the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) already underfunded customer service budget.  I voted against the bill, which passed 232-188.

Finally, on Thursday, the House passed a resolution to direct President Trump to terminate the use of the United States Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress explicitly makes a declaration of war or authorizes use of military force against Iran (H.Con Res. 89).  As I have said here before, the United States Constitution states clearly that Congress has the sole authority and solemn responsibility to declare war.  It is a foundational principle of American democracy, designed to ensure that the American people have a say in decisions of war and peace through their elected representatives.  Since February, the President has refused to seek authorization from the American people for this war, has failed to come to Congress to make the case, and has failed to provide evidence of an imminent threat to the United States to justify this action.  This week’s vote is about whether the President of the United States must follow the Constitution.  This resolution marks the second time the House affirmed that principle, passing the resolution 214-208.  All House Democrats voted for it.  All but four House Republicans voted against it.

The House also considered several bills under suspension of the rules, all of which passed, including a bill to promote early detection of breast cancer, the EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2025 (H.R. 4541) and a bill to suspend Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) payments to medical providers convicted of fraud, the  Putting Patients First by Strengthening Provider Accountability in FECA Act (H.R. 8823). 

As a reminder, you can always find a list of all of the votes I have taken for the district on my website.

This week, the Texas Delegation stepped out from voting and gathered on the House steps for a photo for the Congressional America 250 Time Capsule.  All but two members made it, which must be a record.  The Congressional America 250 Time Capsule contains contributions from all 50 states and U.S. territories and will remain sealed until July 4, 2276, when Americans commemorate the nation's 500th anniversary.  At least we got one cowboy hat in our photo!  

This week, I joined my colleagues in sending several letters of importance to our community, including:

• a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz expressing concern with the new CMS rule that defines medically frail to determine who can be exempted from the Medicaid work requirements established in H.R. 1. The new rule defines medically frail as meaning too sick to work, which is a stricter interpretation of the provision in H.R. 1 than anticipated, meaning that fewer beneficiaries will be eligible for an exemption from the work requirements and more people will lose coverage;
• a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expressing strong support for retaining and enhancing—not exiting—the existing U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement; and
• a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Majority Whip Tom Emmer urging Republican Leadership to not obstruct legislation that protects Dreamers from work authorization lapses and the threat of deportation by directly addressing the severe administrative backlogs at USCIS and through a permanent, codified legal status for Dreamers.

I also joined my colleagues as an original cosponsor on the Right to IVF Act of 2026, H.R.9941, to establish a clear and enforceable nationwide right to receive, provide or cover IVF services and expand IVF insurance coverage, and as a cosponsor on the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2025, H.R. 5486, to prevent harassment at institutions of higher education.

The Committee also considered the Pipeline Safety Authorization Act (H.R. 9338), a bill reauthorizing an agency that is very important—the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).  PHMSA plays a vital role in keeping our communities safe, and like many agencies, has faced challenges from the Trump administration, including the loss of senior officials and a sweeping pause on all new safety regulations.  This bill addresses many of these challenges.  It provides nearly $90 million per year more than the original authorization bill for PHMSA for pipeline safety activities, providing much-needed resources which will help retain staff.  The bill also compels PHMSA to complete vital safety regulations and requires PHMSA to update Congress on the status of outstanding rulemakings.  After several months of debate within the Committee, this bill is a reasonable compromise that will help keep our communities safe and rein in irresponsible cuts.  I voted for this bill, which will now go to conference to resolve differences between it and the versions of it passed by other committees with jurisdiction, and spoke about additional actions the committee can take.  You can watch my remarks on this one below.     

It’s always good to see Houstonians in Washington!  This week, I was glad to have a chance to visit with a few of them in the office, including girl scouts representing the San Jacinto Council at the Girl Scouts’ 58th National Council Session (NCS), our National Youth Correspondent for the Washington Journalism and Media Conference.

Today, I joined Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat, House Committee on Homeland Security Ranking Member Bennie Thompson, and Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) and several other Democratic members of Congress for an oversight forum on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) use of force and abuse of power, following the tragic killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by ICE in Houston on July 7, 2026.  The forum, entitled “Seeking Justice: Oversight of ICE’s Use of Force in the Death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo,” included testimony from Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s sons, Ronaldo Salgado Araujo and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Jr.; Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare; Houston City Council Member Joaquin Martinez (District I); LULAC President & CEO Juan Proaño; East End Communities Director Patricia Cabrera; and Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Rev. Salvatore De George.

As I shared at the hearing, it is a failure of Congress that we have not been able to pass laws to address our broken immigration system.  But it is a new and utter failure of this Republican-controlled 119th Congress that it has not only failed to address, but has refused to address the abuses that this White House has directed in immigration enforcement operations, and has done nothing when innocent people in this country have been killed at the hands of federal immigration agents.

It is a betrayal of families and communities across this country we represent.  It is a betrayal of the constitutional we have sworn an oath to protect and defend.  It’s a betrayal of our values as Americans.  But what we hear from those who are directing these policies is that these actions are being taken to make us safe.  So, I asked District Attorney Sean Teare and Councilmember Martinez whether these enforcement policies are making us safer.  Both testified that they do not.  You can hear their full answers, and watch the entire forum, here.  (My exchange starts around the 2:05 mark.)

The House is now in recess until the end of August.  I am glad to be home to spend time with neighbors across the district, despite the heat.  This will be the last wrap up for a while, but I will be in touch about happenings and events in TX-07.

We are approaching the time period, though, when you won’t be able to get messages from me unless you have signed up for them.  If you haven’t opted in, I hope you will take a minute today to opt in here.

As always, I am proud to represent you and I am here to help you.  Please call my office at (713) 353-8680 or (202) 225-2571 or email here at any time to ask for assistance or share your thoughts.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,