Dear Friends,
Since my last newsletter, I spent time in the Fourth District and on Capitol Hill focused on addressing the needs of our communities while the Trump Administration continued its chaos.
As the terms of a ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran became public, even Republicans expressed concerns that the result of the President’s war of choice was not worth the cost to the American people. Before the ink was dry, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon. I shared my concerns with the Iran deal and outcome of the war with Bloomberg TV’s Balance of Power.
Over the weekend, tensions flared putting the ceasefire at risk as the U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes.
Meanwhile, in a rare display of bipartisan action addressing the needs of the American people, Congress overwhelmingly passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644), the most significant housing package in decades that would help more people achieve the American dream of homeownership. The next day, President Trump abruptly canceled the bill signing ceremony, demanding that Congress pass the SAVE America Act — his modern day poll tax bill — before he signs the housing bill.
Back in the district, I delivered just over $1 million each in community project funding to the cities of Colonial Heights and Petersburg to improve wastewater infrastructure.
You can see local news coverage of the funding here and here.
I joined Delegate Kimberly Pope Adams in Prince George County and Delegate Delores McQuinn in Charles City County for community conversations and legislative updates. And to celebrate Pride Month, I joined Equality Virginia and local LGBTQ+ activists to discuss how the Trump Administration’s hateful rhetoric and rollbacks of their civil rights have impacted the community.
I also introduced a resolution with Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Mark Takano to issue a formal apology for discrimination against LGBTQ+ servicemembers and federal workers, from the “Lavender Scare” of the 1940s to the 1960s and beyond. Senators Tim Kaine and Tammy Baldwin introduced the companion resolution in the Senate.
Keep reading to see what else you may have missed since my last newsletter.
REMEMBERING ROE FOUR YEARS LATER: THE FIGHT FOR REPRODUCTIVE CARE PERSISTS
I was one month old when the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision struck down a Texas abortion ban, finding that the right to privacy implicitly protected by the 14th Amendment included the right to abortion.
For most of my life, I had the peace of mind that I would make the decision of when, whether and how to become a parent. When my placenta ruptured during my second pregnancy nine weeks before my due date, I had the peace of mind that my doctor would provide the care she deemed necessary in that moment without fear of prosecution.
That peace of mind abruptly ended with the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturning Roe on June 24, 2022, which made me the first generation of my family to lose a constitutional right.
Four years later, one in three women live in states with abortion bans or extreme restrictions, including more than 50% of Black women in the United States. My daughter now has less reproductive freedom than I did at her age.
As a state legislator, I championed the Reproductive Health Protection Act, which made Virginia the first state in the South to remove restrictions to abortion access. Today, after a cascade of attacks on reproductive health, Virginia remains the safe haven for abortion in the South. Consequently, our hospitals and health care providers have been inundated with out-of-state patients, some as far as Texas, seeking vital reproductive care.
Now in Congress, as Chair of the Abortion and Rights Task Force of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, I fight to not only raise awareness of the current reproductive crisis that has become a reality for so many women, but to address it through legislation like the Momnibus Act.
As we observed the fourth anniversary of the Dobbs decision, I joined Zerlina Maxwell on Mornings with Zerlina to discuss the realities of a post-Roe world.
I also joined over 150 abortion storytellers from around the country partnering with Free & Just to share their experiences post-Roe on the Hill.
I spoke on the House floor about what the Dobbs decision means for women across the country.
As we continue to live in a time of attacks on reproductive health, I will persist in uplifting the voices of storytellers until reproductive rights are restored nationwide.
ENERGY & COMMERCE COMMITTEE UPDATE
In the midst of the partisan chaos on the Hill, the Energy & Commerce Committee has sought common ground to address our energy and health care needs.
On June 23rd, the Energy Subcommittee advanced eight bills. Some of them seek to address skyrocketing energy prices and mitigate the impact of data centers on the power grid and customer rates. While they do not go nearly far enough, they are an important first step. During the hearing, I discussed Virginia’s experience as the data center capital of the globe trying to grapple with the impact these facilities have on consumer electric bills, our communities and the environment.
The Health Subcommittee advanced 15 bills, including my bill to increase transparency around Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits. The bill requires companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans to submit enrollee-level data on supplemental benefits to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
These bills will now come to the full committee for a vote.
MY BRIGHT SPOT: CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH
On June 19th, the nation paused to celebrate Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day or Black Independence Day. Officially recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, Black communities have celebrated for generations the day Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 and issued General Order Number Three freeing more than 250,000 enslaved people in that state.
Occurring over two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in the rebelling states of the Confederacy, Juneteenth is a reminder that emancipation was not a moment: it was a movement that included active acts of resistance, rebellion and self-liberation since the first enslaved Africans arrived on the shores of what is now America.
I anchored the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order Hour celebrating Juneteenth, focusing on why the commemoration holds such deep meaning over 160 years later.
I also celebrated Juneteenth with the Chesterfield NAACP at their Biennial Freedom Fund Banquet.
REMINDERS
Applications for the Fall 2026 press internship in my D.C. office are now open! Apply by tomorrow, July 1st to contribute to my communications team and get an inside look at how a congressional office functions!
My district team is hosting a Mobile McClellan on Tuesday, July 7th from 10 AM to 1 PM! Come to Surry County Parks & Recreation (205 Enos Farm Drive, Surry, VA 23883) to learn more about our constituent services and the ways our team can help you resolve issues with federal agencies and more.
Do you know a high school student interested in attending one of the service academies? Apply for a service academy nomination today through Friday, October 30th!
Stay tuned for more updates and keep the faith, friends!
Your Congresswoman,
Rep. Jennifer McClellan
To keep up with everything I’m doing, make sure you follow my accounts on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X and YouTube!