2022 IN REVIEW

Dear John,

What a year! In 2022, we secured the Presidential Medal of Freedom for Attorney Fred Gray, delivered major funding to Alabama communities, welcomed the world to Birmingham for the 2022 World Games, and worked with the Biden-Harris Administration to pass historic legislation on behalf of the American People. I’m so proud of everything we accomplished together!

In Congress, our focus is on bringing more resources and better opportunities to Alabama‘s 7th District. This year, thanks to the historic American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we delivered billions of dollars to Alabama communities to rebuild our roads and bridges, expand broadband, fix our broken water and sewer systems, and support our health care workforce. I helped secure $6+ million to preserve our Civil Rights sites and HBCUs, and $8+ million to help our cities, counties, schools, small businesses, and community organizations thrive. With my support, Congress passed the most significant gun safety legislation in recent history, the largest expansion of veterans benefits in nearly three decades, and the landmark Inflation Reduction Act to lower costs for families and combat the climate crisis.

Meanwhile, my team and I have remained hard at work serving the people of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. This year, I visited each of the 14 counties in our district and hosted 94 district events including telephone town hall meetings, virtual grants workshops, Facebook Live events, and of course, our 11th Annual Job Fair in Selma which brought together over 80 employers and 300 job seekers! In 2022, we secured over $1.14 billion in federal grants and recovered over $3.25 million in favorable benefits owed to constituents by the federal government. Our commitment to you remains unwavering. It is an honor representing you in Congress!

Rep. Sewell speaks with Civil Rights Attorney Fred Gray Sr. before President Biden awards him the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Tackling Inflation and Lowering Costs 
Historic Inflation Reduction Act Signed Into Law

Rep. Sewell and her colleagues celebrate passage of the historic Inflation Reduction Act

A good-paying job should allow you to put food on the table and provide for your family. Yet in the United States and across the world, families are being squeezed by the high cost of living. That’s why throughout the past year, my Democratic colleagues and I have been laser-focused on solutions that would provide real relief to the American people.

In August 2022, Congress passed the historic Inflation Reduction Act to lower some of the largest costs that families face. Thanks to this landmark law, no senior on Medicare will pay more than $2,000 annually for prescription drugs or more than $35 per month for insulin. By extending the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits, the law lowers health care costs for 219,000 Alabamians. The Inflation Reduction Act also lowers energy costs and makes the largest investment to combat the climate crisis in U.S. history! Meanwhile, we’ve worked with the Biden Administration to bring down the high price of gas caused by Putin’s war in Ukraine and passed legislation in the House to crack down on oil companies for price gouging consumers.

I’m also thrilled that in 2023, Alabama seniors will see their Social Security benefits rise by 8.7%, an average of $140 per person. This represents the largest benefit increase in 40 years and will provide breathing room for those who need it most. While some threaten to cut and privatize Social Security, I will continue working to protect and strengthen this program so that seniors receive the benefits they’ve rightly earned.

Fighting for Safer Communities 
Combatting Gun Violence and Reducing Crime

Rep. Sewell presents a check for $550,000 that she helped secure for the Selma Police Department to bolster public safety

The gun violence epidemic has taken a horrific toll on communities in Alabama and across the country. We in Congress cannot continue to mourn these tragedies without doing all we can to prevent them. In 2022, I voted for several common sense gun safety bills to keep weapons out of dangerous hands, including the Protecting our Kids Act, the Safer Communities Act, and a new Assault Weapons Ban. These bills strengthen background checks, crack down on illegal gun trafficking, close the boyfriend loophole, and make substantial investments in our nation’s broken mental health system.

This year, I also supported a series of transformative public safety bills to help to break the cycle of violence in Alabama. These include the VICTIM Act to bolster Alabama law enforcement’s capacity to investigate violent crimes, the Invest to Protect Act to provide funding for rural Alabama law enforcement to improve de-escalation training and improve responses to substance use disorders, and the Break the Cycle of Violence Act to fund community violence prevention organizations. I also secured direct funding for the City of Selma to increase resources for gun violence prevention.

Protecting our Sacred Right to Vote 
Defending Democracy and Preserving our Civil Rights Legacy

President Biden awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Civil Rights Attorney Fred Gray

In 2022, we saw disturbing attacks on the Voting Rights Act including a Supreme Court case that could strip away remaining protections for minority voters. Following in the foot steps of the late Congressman John Lewis, I was proud to champion H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. While H.R. 4 passed the House in January 2022, it was blocked in the Senate. I will continue fighting to get this critical legislation signed into law.

This year, we made great strides in our fight to protect and advance the rich Civil Rights legacy of our district. Since President Biden took office, I led the charge to secure the Presidential Medal of Freedom for Attorney Fred Gray, Sr. who represented Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and the Foot Soldiers, and whose groundbreaking work helped desegregate Alabama’s schools and transit systems. Thanks to our persistent advocacy, President Biden awarded Attorney Gray the nation’s highest civilian honor on July 7, 2022, ensuring that his service and sacrifice are never forgotten. In 2022, we secured significant funding from the National Park Service to preserve the faces and places of the Civil Rights Movement. That includes $3.6 million to preserve Civil Rights sites in Alabama and $2.5 million to preserve historic structures on the campuses of Alabama’s HBCUs. We also got our legislation passed to designate Alabama’s Black Belt as a “National Heritage Area.”

Creating Jobs & Rebuilding our Infrastructure
Getting Alabama Back to Work

Rep. Sewell welcomes Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to Birmingham to announce new initiative from the Infrastructure Law to reconnect communities

Creating jobs and bringing opportunities to our district remains my top priority. Thanks to President Biden’s American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’ve created 10.5+ million new jobs according to the Department of Labor—more than any president’s first two years in history—and the national unemployment rate remains near record lows. While there is work left to do, more Americans are working than at any time in history. This year, I traveled all across our district for my “Building a Better Alabama” Infrastructure Tour to deliver investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law directly to our communities. The Infrastructure Law invests $5.4 billion to repair Alabama’s roads and bridges, $782 million to fix our water and sewer systems, $400 million to improve our public transportation, and $100 million to expand broadband, all while creating millions of good-paying jobs.

I also brought my annual Job Fair to Selma, Alabama. Each year we alternate between hosting our Job Fair in urban and rural regions to ensure that the unique needs of each community are met. Our 11th Annual Job Fair at Wallace Community College was a great success, welcoming 300 job seekers and 82 employers from 14 industries!

Constituent Services Report
Fighting for All Alabamians

• 3,004 federal grants awarded to the 7th Congressional District in 2022 totaling $1.14 billion
• Over $3.25 million in favorable benefits awarded to constituents owed by the federal government assisted by our office in 2022
• 300 job-seekers and over 80 employers from 14 industries participated in our 11th Annual Job Fair in 2022
• Hosted 94 district events including: 30 check presentations, 14 “Congress in Your Community” town halls, 4 Facebook Live “Terri Talks,” 3 grants workshops, 2 telephone town halls, and 1 virtual art competition
• Hosted Vice President Kamala Harris and five cabinet officials in Selma for the commemoration of the Selma-to-Montgomery Bridge Crossing
• 311 new constituent cases opened and 169 cases closed in 2022
• Over 26,000 letters and email replies sent to constituents in 2022
• 965 bills and resolutions passed the House in 2022
• 179 bills sponsored or cosponsored by Rep. Sewell in 2022
• 34 interns serving Alabama’s 7th District in our D.C. and district offices in 2022
• $8.3 million secured for community projects in Alabama’s 7th District in the Fiscal Year 2022 federal budget including:
  • $550,000 for the Selma Police Department to bolster public safety
  • $474,355 for the Small Business Accelerator Program in Jefferson County
  • $3,000,000 to redevelop the former North Birmingham Elementary School
  • $700,000 to install septic tanks in Lowndes County
  • $480,000 for the City of Marion for the Source Water Rehabilitation Project
  • $300,000 for the West Central Alabama Area Health Education Center in Demopolis, AL to help recruit health care workers and purchase equipment
  • $1,500,000 for the Cornerstone Revitalization Foundation in Birmingham to help previously incarcerated individuals reintegrate into society through job training and educational opportunities
  • $575,000 to help Hill Hospital purchase facilities and equipment in York, AL
  • $800,000 to help Stillman College expand its research capacity
• $2.7 million in American Rescue Plan funding secured for Stillman College to create an information technology and cybersecurity training center
• $7.8 million in infrastructure funding secured for the University of Alabama to purchase a new clean energy electric bus fleet
• $3.6 million in National Park Service funding secured to preserve historic Civil Rights sites in Alabama
• $2.5 million in National Park Service funding secured to preserve historic structures on the campuses of Alabama’s HBCUs
• Lowered health care premiums for 219,000 Alabamians through the Inflation Reduction Act
• Capped prescription drug costs at $2,000/month and insulin costs at $35/month for over 1 million eligible Medicare beneficiaries in Alabama through the Inflation Reduction Act

I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Every day, I have the great privilege of bringing your thoughts and concerns to the halls of Congress. Fill out the survey below to let me know your TOP priority for 2023. 

*NOTE: By submitting your response, you are agreeing to receive regular email updates from Rep. Terri Sewell. You may opt-out at any time.

“IT’S AN HONOR TO REPRESENT YOU IN CONGRESS”

Our office motto, “Constituents First,” represents our ongoing commitment to assisting you and your family throughout the year. Every day, our office works to address the needs and concerns of those living in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. In 2022, the district received over $1.14 billion in federal grants and our office helped constituents recover more than $3.25 million in benefits owed to them by the federal government. Once again, I visited all 14 counties in the district, hosting 94 district events including town halls, industry tours, forums, workshops, and our annual job fair. As a proud daughter of Alabama’s Black Belt, I know firsthand just how much potential there is for our district to prosper. I’m committed to ensuring we not only survive, but thrive!

Be sure to check in regularly with my website and social media pages (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) for updates. As always, take good care.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell