Washington Week Wrap Up

Dear Neighbor,

This week, the government shutdown became the longest one in American history—now at 38 days and counting. For yet another week, Speaker Johnson has refused to call the House of Representatives into session. I stayed home in Houston this week to check in with people across our community, ready at all times to return to Washington to end the government shutdown and address the health care crisis. Here is a summary of what I am hearing is happening in Washington this week, as well as a few notes from home.

This week, the Senate continued to consider the same government funding measure it has voted on 14 times, and it failed again. While congressional Republicans have refused to negotiate, the Trump administration have made this shutdown as painful as possible for the American people.

Delayed Food Assistance. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a lifeline for millions of families, children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who rely on the program for food assistance. But for the first time in the program’s 60-year history, American families did not receive food assistance at the start of the month.

Throughout the week, it was unclear whether 42 million Americans would continue to be left in the dark about when they would receive food assistance this month to help feed themselves and their families. 3.5 million of those people are Texans. Texas ranks second in the country for the highest number of SNAP recipients.

Federal courts ruled last week and this week that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is required to release $4.65 billion in Congressionally appropriated emergency funding to partially cover SNAP benefits for this month. The courts also ruled that the Trump administration had the legal authority to fully fund SNAP benefits for the month of November, and implored them to do so and make the right decision. The Trump administration, however, decided it would not—at first, stating it would partially fund SNAP benefits for this month, creating confusion and delays for state agencies that had never issued partial payments before and needed to alter their payment systems to do so. Later, President Trump said that the government would not pay SNAP benefits at all. After that, the USDA announced that it had made errors in its initial payment formula that would have left some American families with nothing at all.

On Thursday, a federal judge in Rhode Island decided enough is enough and ruled that USDA must now make full payments to the states by Friday to make SNAP benefits whole for the month of November. Instead of complying with the order, USDA immediately filed a notice to appeal further delaying full SNAP benefits to 42 million Americans.

Later today, we got the news that SNAP benefits are now being delivered. Before the benefits can reach SNAP participants in Houston, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must provide guidance to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) on re-starting the program. As of this writing, USDA has not provided the necessary guidance yet. Once they do, HHSC will be able to re-start SNAP benefits for participants that missed payments last week and prepare payments for those scheduled to receive benefits later this month.

It should never have come to this point. This pain and uncertainty could have all been avoided if the Trump administration had used its legal transfer authority to cover the gap in funding to ensure full SNAP benefits this month—as it had demonstrated is possible with other nutrition programs earlier during this shutdown.

Air Travel Delays. This week, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that, in response to the government shutdown, the Trump administration will cut air traffic by 10% at 40 airports across the country—including at both Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hobby Airport—beginning today. The reductions could cause even more disruption, forcing airlines to cancel or reschedule thousands of flights per day. Across the country, 13,000 air traffic controllers are showing up to work without getting paid. We have also seen long wait times at airports across the country—including at IAH. Nearly 50,000 TSA agents are currently working without pay.

An End In Sight? Many people have asked me what will end the shutdown and whether there is an end in sight. Reports out of Washington are that Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are discussing a possible agreement, but it is not clear at this time exactly what that agreement looks like or whether it has the votes to pass. Here is what we do know: Details of the agreement are still being negotiated, but the basic framework is to include three year-long appropriations bills for Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Legislative Branch, and Agriculture, a continuing resolution to fund the remaining agencies at current levels for a short period of time—still being debated—with an agreed timeline to vote on full-year appropriations, and a vote by an agreed-upon date on ACA subsidies. All of this could change, but that is what has developed this week. I will, of course, keep you posted as we learn more.

I hosted a virtual town hall last night with representatives from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and Community Health Choice, who spoke about the shutdown’s impact on federal employees and the public, identified resources, and answered questions about how to navigate open enrollment and increased health insurance premiums. It is critical that our community stay engaged and informed. I was glad to lead this conversation with representatives from AFGE and Community Health Choice and to answer questions from participants. With so much happening, and so many challenges right now, I am grateful to all who participated.

11.6 Government Shutdown Webinar Screenshot

This week, I stayed home in Houston to connect with community members and work with partners here at home. I appreciated the opportunity to talk about SNAP funding with local elected officials and nonprofit organizations working to address hunger in our community as well as the impacts of the government shutdown and the challenges it is bringing to every corner of our community—from airports to apartment communities.

While I was in town, I had the privilege of attending the opening ceremony of the Ismaili Center on Allen Parkway in TX-07. Having watched the development of this site for years, I was delighted to be present as His Highness the Aga Khan visited Houston to open this center, the first of its kind in the United States and one of only seven in the world. This 11-acre campus at the intersection of Allen Parkway and Montrose has 9 acres of gardens and courtyards and a 150,000-square-foot, five-story building designed as a community and cultural center for the Ismaili community and for all people from across our community. A place that is dedicated to service and community engagement—fitting for Houston.

Later that day, I was glad to join President Reggie DesRoches and the Rice University community for the announcement of the Gateway Project, which will connect the university with the Village with a pedestrian walkway and greenspace around Rice Stadium, developing the area and renovating the stadium. It was an exciting day for these important TX-07 institutions.

I am sorry to report that our team is still seeing delays in raising and resolving constituent matters at key federal agencies. As we enter the sixth week without government funding, our constituent advocates are experiencing delays in getting responses, and many agencies have announced that they will not respond to inquiries from congressional offices during the shutdown. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have all stopped issuing congressional casework responses during the shutdown.

Our team is committed to helping you and keeping you informed. We will continue to update the shutdown information page of my website as we learn new information about what to expect and how the ongoing shutdown may impact you.

On Tuesday, we will recognize the bravery of the men and women who have fought for our country in our armed forces, and we commit to honoring them by keeping our promises to them and prioritizing their needs. To all of our veterans in TX-07 and beyond, thank you for your service.

At this time, the House is still out of session and Speaker Johnson has not notified members that he intends to call the House back into session next week. I will be prepared to return to Washington if he does, however, and will keep working to try and resolve the many issues people in our community are facing. I will keep you updated on developments.

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,