The House is now in recess for the August District Work Period, but not before House Republicans jammed through a series of bills that do nothing to address the cost-of-living crisis. Instead, they pumped $95 million more into the disastrous and deeply unpopular war in Iran and furthered President Trump’s voter suppression agenda.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and House Democrats honored Congressman John Lewis on the sixth anniversary of his passing on July 17th by recommitting to protect and build on the legacy of his civil rights and voting rights work.
While anchoring the CBC Special Order Hour in his memory, I reflected on how relevant his final words to us remain today.
Over the weekend, House Democrats kicked off 100 Days of Fighting for an Affordable America, a campaign to talk with constituents about how the disastrous policies of the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans have impacted their lives and what we can do to address skyrocketing prices. During the August recess, I’ll be traveling across the district to hear directly from constituents. In the meantime, I want to hear from you! Share your story here.
Keep reading to see what you may have missed since my last newsletter.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS FOCUS ON DEFENSE SPENDING AND VOTER SUPPRESSION
As we honored the legacy of John Lewis, President Trump and House Republicans actively worked to undermine his work by including the SAVE America Act in unrelated legislation covering everything from stock trading to defense spending. To justify this modern-day poll tax, President Trump addressed the American people during a primetime speech seeking to undermine trust in our elections and voting systems by pushing already debunked claims and threatening to revoke the licenses of any networks that did not broadcast his speech in violation of the First Amendment.
Amidst a deeply unpopular war in Iran with no clear justification, long-term strategy or end in sight, House Republicans passed a partisan defense funding package giving $95 million more to the war effort. They also passed a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that rubberstamps the war and provides over $1 trillion in discretionary military spending at a time when millions struggle to afford basic necessities.
While there were aspects of the NDAA that I support, including measures to protect reproductive health care, increase pay for servicemembers and safeguard collective bargaining rights for civilian workers, I voted against the bill because of the overwhelming number of partisan poison pill amendments and its massive $250 billion spending increase at the expense of the American people. I shared my concerns with the bill and more with Sunrise on The Hill.
House Republicans also passed a continuing resolution to extend current government funding levels through December 4th. However, the bill eliminated language negotiated in the current funding bill that prohibited funding for U.S. Customs operations to be used for Border Patrol, despite the fact that Border Patrol received nearly $65 billion in the Big Ugly Law and $26 billion in the June 2026 Republican funding bill. Once again, House Republicans refuse to include reforms holding ICE and Border Patrol agents to the same standards as other law enforcement agents.
Finally, House Republicans passed H.R. 7008, the so-called Stop Insider Trading Act, which does not actually stop members of Congress, the President or Vice President from engaging in insider trading but does restrict voting.
I voted against each of these bills.
ENERGY & COMMERCE COMMITTEE UPDATE
In the midst of the chaos of Washington, the Energy & Commerce Committee advanced a number of bipartisan measures.
On July 14th, the Energy Subcommittee considered six nuclear energy related bills. During the hearing, I discussed the importance of an independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) fully staffed with professional, highly skilled and paid employees to the safety of nuclear energy and energy independence.
On June 20th, the full committee advanced 29 bills related to health care, energy and the environment.
Several of the energy bills take a first step towards addressing the impact of data center growth on our communities. For example, the Ratepayer Protection Act requires state utility regulators to establish rules ensuring that retail and small business customers do not pay for the costs of building new power generation, transmission lines and other upgrades to serve data centers. During debate of the bill, I discussed how Virginia as the data center capitol of the globe has taken steps to do this, and legislation requiring all states to do so provides much needed protections against rising energy bills.
I also spoke in favor of the Load Forecasting Enhancement Act, which will help protect ratepayers and strengthen grid planning amid rapidly growing energy demand led by data centers.
The Committee unanimously advanced my bill, H.R. 5243, as part of the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act of 2026. My bill will increase data transparency for supplemental benefits under Medicare Advantage to help seniors choose the best plan for them.
I also spoke in favor of H.R. 3514, Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2026, which requires Medicare Advantage plans to adopt standardized electronic prior authorization systems to expedite the processing of these requests so that providers can focus on patients, not paperwork.
The next day, the Communications and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, “Legislative Hearing on Protecting Communications Networks and Improving Connectivity,” which considered my bipartisan GUARD Act, which would help protect our nation against robotics developed by foreign adversaries like Russia and China that may pose a national security threat. During the hearing, I discussed the need for this critical bill in today’s increasingly digital world.
During the August recess, I look forward to discussing with constituents my work on the Energy & Commerce Committee to address rising energy costs, expanding access to health care and closing the digital divide.
MY BRIGHT SPOT: SUPPORTING FAMILY FORMATION AND FAMILY WELL-BEING ON CAPITOL HILL
In my last newsletter, I discussed my All-American Family Agenda, a set of policy priorities to support all types of families, rather than strengthening some to the exclusion of others.
On Wednesday, July 15th, I held a press conference with Third Way and other advocates to further highlight the agenda, which provides a more expansive and supportive vision for the next 250 years of American families than the vision put forth in the Heritage Foundation’s Saving America by Saving the Family report.
I am grateful for the support of Third Way, Families Forward Virginia, Birth in Color, National Medical Association and Protect Our Care Virginia on behalf of two storytellers who joined me for this press conference, as well as for all those in attendance. You can view a full video recording of the press conference here.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS
As we commemorate 61 years since Medicare and Medicaid were signed into law, I invite all seniors in Virginia’s Fourth to join me for a Senior-Focused Town Hall TOMORROW at 6:00PM-7:30PM in Richmond’s Fairfield Area Library (1401 North Laburnum Avenue, Richmond, VA 23223)!
Residents of all ages are welcome to join to hear what I’ve been doing to protect access to Social Security, Medicare and other services, and ask me questions about my work in Washington and the district. RSVP here.
I also launched the 2026 Congressional App Challenge for Virginia’s Fourth, inviting all middle and high school students living in the district to create an original software app written in any programming language for a chance to have your work officially recognized, meet me and attend the annual #HouseOfCode science fair in Washington, D.C.! Submissions are due October 26th, and more information can be found here.
Do you know a high school student interested in attending one of the service academies? They can apply for a service academy nomination today through Friday, October 30th!
Stay tuned for more updates and keep the faith, friends!