Lizzie Fletcher

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I missed votes to attend to an emergency in my district. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 344; NAY on Roll Call No. 345; YEA on Roll Call No. 346; and YEA on Roll Call No. 347.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Scanlon for her work on the Rules Committee, for her focus on this issue this morning, and in response as to what we would do with the previous question. Madam Speaker, I have just returned to Washington from my home State of Texas where I am sorry to report that the healthcare crisis we have been experiencing has only gotten worse. Pregnant women in crisis, having miscarriages, having complications that put their health and their lives at risk, are being turned away from hospital emergency rooms because the extreme laws that our State legislators have passed, banning abortion of just about any kind. Doctors and hospitals have asked for clear guidance about when and how they can take care of these patients, these American citizens who are suffering in Texas and States like it that have passed similar, vague, extreme laws criminalizing doctors, women, and pregnancy itself. Pregnant women have limited to no access to care and even to information. This puts their lives and health at risk, including their ability to have children in the future. Pregnant women have shown up at emergency rooms only to be told to come back later when they are closer to death. Closer to death is the standard in Texas. Let's think about that. We have cities and towns passing ordinances saying that women cannot drive through those cities if they are headed to New Mexico or to other places where they can get abortion care, if perhaps that is their purpose in traveling through. Despite requests for clear guidance about what the Texas law means, neither the State of Texas nor the Texas Supreme Court will provide it, leaving women and doctors to risk jail time and more to get the healthcare that they need. More than 50 years ago, a similar patchwork of restrictions in different States led women and doctors' groups to petition the courts to guarantee the right of Americans to make their own fully informed decisions about whether, when, and how to be pregnant. They challenged the Texas law in a case brought by two young Texas women that went all the way up to the Supreme Court, a case we know as Roe v. Wade, which set out a framework to protect the health, privacy, and dignity of women in America. Madam Speaker, 2 years ago this month, the Supreme Court reversed that 50-year precedent. The chaos that has followed will continue until this Congress acts, and we must. We must pass the Women's Health Protection Act, a bill to restore the framework that Americans have relied on for the last 50 years, providing a Federal statutory right to reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, free from medically unnecessary restrictions. That is why I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question so that we can bring up the Women's Health Protection Act today. We passed it in the last Congress twice. We have to pass it again and get it to President Biden's desk so that we can protect the health, privacy, dignity, and freedom of American women.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chair, I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for the motion to recommit.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 6192, the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act. With everything going on in our world and in our country today, I, like Leader Jeffries, am disappointed that the precious time we have on this House floor to move legislation is dedicated to unnecessary, unhelpful, and unasked-for bills about home appliances. Rights for refrigerators, liberty for laundry, dignity for dishwashers--how about instead we turn our attention to the rights, liberty, and dignity of women in America? In my home State of Texas and across the country, women's rights to make their own decisions about their bodies, their families, and their futures are being stripped away by State legislatures and local governments. Why is it that this majority does nothing for them? For example, as States ban abortion and limit access to reproductive healthcare, more and more Americans have been forced to travel, sometimes long distances and oftentimes to other States, to get the reproductive healthcare that they need. In response to the exercise of this constitutional right to travel, one of the chief privileges and immunities for citizens in the Constitution, lawmakers are trying to take away this right, too. Multiple cities in Texas have enacted ordinances to prohibit anyone from traveling on their roads or through their towns if the purpose is to get somewhere else to get an abortion. In Alabama, the attorney general wants to prosecute groups that help women obtain abortions out of State. Just last week, a man in Texas took legal action to investigate his former partner who had traveled to a State where abortion is legal. These things are happening in the United States today, as we sit here today. This unconstitutional interference with our rights and our liberty and our dignity is what this body should be considering. That is what this body should be concerned about. For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. If House rules permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill. My amendment would strike the current bill text and replace it with the text of my bill, H.R. 782, the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act. This amendment reaffirms the fundamental constitutional right to travel across State lines for the purpose of obtaining reproductive healthcare as well as for healthcare providers providing care to out-of-State residents and those assisting people traveling for this purpose. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record the text of my amendment. Mrs. Fletcher moves to recommit the bill H.R. 6192 to the Committee on Energy and Commerce with instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith, with the following amendment: Strike sections 1 through 3 and insert the following:

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H. Res. 987. I don't have enough time in these 3 minutes to go through all of the inaccuracies and misleading statements in this nonbinding resolution or that I just heard on the floor this afternoon. In the time I do have, I am going to cover some of the omissions in the resolution. My friends on both sides of the aisle know that I am proud to represent the great State of Texas and the city of Houston, the energy capital of the world. We know a thing or two about energy production. Here is what we know is happening right now under the Biden administration: One, the United States is producing today more crude oil than any other country at any other time in history; two, last December, 3 months ago, the United States' natural gas production reached an all-time high. 2023 also saw record growth in the solar industry. That is more than 50 percent more than in 2022. The same thing is true with wind energy which we produce a lot of in Texas. After the last Congress passed and President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, forecasts for land-based wind energy installed by 2026 increased by nearly 60 percent. That is enough to power an additional 2 million homes. At CERAWeek in Houston this week, industry leaders are talking about other promising energy technologies: geothermal, hydrogen, and more. Moreover, they are talking about climate because we have to do both. We have to continue to lead the world in both production and ideas. That is American energy dominance. Policy disagreements are to be expected around here. We are here to bring our diverse perspectives and experiences and engage constructively to solve real problems and to address real concerns. However, resolutions like this do nothing. They do the opposite of facilitating dialogue and understanding, and they take up the time we could spend solving real problems. I am kind of a broken record on this, but I wish we were here right now doing permitting reform. That is what we should be spending our time doing. Let's engage constructively and build on the momentum and the important steps that have been taken in the Biden administration to ensure our energy independence, which have led us to produce the most crude oil ever, to lead the world in natural gas production, to lower gas prices, to grow wind and solar in record amounts, and to develop new technologies and address emissions and climate change. We can do all of those things and more if we do it together. Madam Speaker, today I am voting ``no,'' and I encourage all of my colleagues to do the same.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to attend votes because of an unavoidable conflict in Houston. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 61 and YEA on Roll Call No. 60.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 485, the so- called Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023. This legislation harms the very people it says it protects, increases prescription drug costs, and decimates funding for essential public health programs. Last Congress, Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, landmark legislation that gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the power to negotiate drug prices for Medicare. This critical step is estimated to lower drug prices by at least 25 percent, saving seniors and taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and ensuring that people with Medicare get better, fairer prices for prescription drugs. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that this provision in the IRA alone will save the government $100 billion over the next 10 years. In contrast, the CBO estimates that the bill before us today would not only increase drug prices across Federal health programs, but it would also increase Federal spending by $1.1 billion over the next 10 years by eliminating important tools to manage drug prices. Without effective tools to determine the value of a drug, the government is at a disadvantage, and the taxpayers pay the higher price. We know that 8 in 10 adults in the United States today say that the cost of prescription drugs is too high, and we know that 3 in 10 say that they don't take all of their prescriptions as prescribed because they can't afford them. It is simply unacceptable. It is unacceptable that Americans struggle so much to pay for the lifesaving and critical drugs that they need to ensure their quality of life. Just last week, the Biden administration announced that it had sent initial offers to participating drug companies for the first 10 drugs selected for price negotiation, a milestone in implementing the IRA. These 10 drugs alone cost seniors $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chair, let me repeat that: These 10 drugs alone cost seniors $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2022. While Democrats and President Biden are fighting for lower drug costs, House Republicans want to stop negotiations altogether. Democrats are delivering, and we will continue to work to lower prescription drug prices for seniors and families across our country, but this bill does not do that. For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I would have offered this motion with an important amendment to the bill to prevent this bill from taking effect until the Secretaries of HHS, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, certify that it will not result in an increase in prescription drug prices or an increase in patient costs in the United States. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record the text of my amendment. Mrs. Fletcher moves to recommit the bill H.R. 485 to the Committee on Energy and Commerce with instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith, with the following amendment: Add at the end the following new section:

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, on December 6, 2023 I missed votes due to an illness. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 702 and NAY on Roll Call No. 703.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson's Act, H.R. 2365. This bill takes a major step toward preventing and curing Parkinson's and diseases like it, diseases that impact millions of Americans, including more than 67,000 people in my home State of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Tonko and Congressman Bilirakis for introducing this transformative legislation, which I am proud to cosponsor. I also thank the Houston Area Parkinson Society for the advocacy and the important and meaningful work that they do for those living with Parkinson's in Texas' Seventh Congressional District and throughout the greater Houston area. I thank my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton of Virginia, for her leadership, for her grace, and for her inspiring example. As her classmate in the Congress in the class of 2018 and fellow William and Mary Law School alum, I have admired Jennifer since the day that I met her. Today, we honor her by naming this legislation for her in recognition of the work that she has done to advance this landmark legislation that will change the lives of millions of individuals and families affected by Parkinson's and diseases like it for decades to come, but it is Jennifer who honors all of us, who honors our Constitution and our country and our fellow citizens by her service and by her example of courage and commitment and citizenship.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the lifetime of service and the exceptional work of Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County CEO Tom Lambert. Tom is a true public servant who has made a difference for all of us in Houston. For more than four decades, Tom has worked at METRO. Focusing these four decades on the safety of METRO riders, his improvements to the system will benefit them for years to come. His ability to listen to riders led to streamlined services with improved schedules. His leadership led to the completion of an additional 15 miles of light rail in 2015, and his commitment to moving Houstonians in new ways helped pave the way, literally and figuratively, for bus rapid transit. Tom has demonstrated his dedication to keeping our community informed, engaged, and moving forward. Tom exemplifies the very best of Houston: innovation, collaboration, vision, and leadership. I send sincere thanks to Tom for his work and for his commitment to our community and congratulate him on his retirement.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life and memory of Robert Denzel Jones, Jr., a resident of Texas' Seventh Congressional District, where he served his neighbors and our community as a United States letter carrier. His commitment to going above and beyond earned him the nickname ``Super Postman'' as his radiant smile and diligent work impacted people he met on the job. Tragically, he was killed in a hit-and-run accident while he was working to make sure the U.S. mail was delivered. The work that Robert and letter carriers like him do in our community is critically important, whether it is connecting loved ones with letters or delivering essential packages. He was not only an outstanding letter carrier, he was an exceptional father to his daughter, Rylee Love Jones; a loving partner to J'La Anderson; and a beloved son to his proud parents, Robert and Felicia Jones. That is how he will be remembered, as he should be: a father, a son, a partner, a super postman, and a beloved member of our community. May his memory be a blessing and may his service be an example to us all.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Hoyer for his leadership and for his belief in and commitment to our country. As the proud representative of Region 6, which is Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, I join my colleagues in recognizing the transformative laws that we passed in the last Congress and the efforts now to ensure that these investments in America are investments in every community, in every corner of our country. In our region, we are already seeing the impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Chips and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and so much more. I was glad to work with my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus on these bills and, of course, to vote for them and to see President Biden sign them into law because they have the purpose and the effect of ensuring that the United States remains a beacon of excellence in science and technology and engineering and innovation with the infrastructure in place to support that work, to ensure that the things that we dream up, we make right here at home. I am so glad to report that the Invest in America agenda is mobilizing historic levels not only of Federal investments but also of private-sector investments in the United States, bringing manufacturing back to America. Just last month, while I was home, I got to join in a ribbon cutting at a new Igloo cooler distribution facility in my region because they were producing so much--16 million coolers annually--that they needed to expand production space and create new storage and shipping space. That is not surprising. At the end of last year, American manufacturing growth began outpacing the rest of the world. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in July showed that Region 6 is at the heart of that growth. In Arizona, LG Energy is quadrupling its initial planned investment to $5.5 billion to build a new plant outside of Phoenix that will produce enough batteries to power 350,000 electric vehicles per year. So far, companies have committed to invest more than $58 billion in the Grand Canyon State since President Biden took office. In New Mexico, Intel is investing $3.5 billion to expand manufacturing of advanced semiconductor technology at its Rio Rancho campus, creating an expected 700 new jobs. Companies have committed to invest more than $6 billion in the Land of Enchantment. In Texas, Samsung has announced plans to build a $17 billion semiconductor fabrication plant. Just up the road, Texas Instruments is in the early stages of a $30 billion CHIP project. So far, six projects totaling $61 billion in investments are expected to create 8,000 new jobs in Texas alone. Since the Chips and Science Act was introduced, more than 50 new U.S. semiconductor projects have been announced, totaling more than $210 billion in investments. We are just getting started. I look forward to continuing the work with my colleagues on the Regional Leadership Council and President Biden and his administration to continue to invest in America and to ensure that these laws benefit all Americans--not blue States, not red States, but the United States. We are putting people over politics.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I missed the first vote yesterday due to a scheduling conflict. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 383.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I was forced to miss votes due to a flight delay. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 365, and YEA on Roll Call No. 366.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment and to the amendments that this body has debated here today and what they have done to this traditionally bipartisan process, and, more importantly, what they do to the members of our armed services, especially our women in uniform. In 2021, women made up more than 17 percent of our Active-Duty force, 231,000 members, and 21 percent of our National Guard and Reserves. More than 23,000 of them are stationed in Texas. Every day, the women of the United States military fight for our freedom, yet, today, House Republicans are asking these women to fight for your freedom while they just voted to take away theirs.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, my flight on Tuesday, May 9 was delayed from taking off from Houston, which prevented me from being able to vote on the evening series of votes. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 203 and YEA on Roll Call No. 204.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to welcome the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce on their first trip to Washington. I am so proud to represent so many thriving LGBTQ+ and allied businesses in my district and in the Greater Houston area. This week, Chamber representatives are in Washington to advance policies that foster economic inclusion and equality for the LGBTQ+ business community. I want them to know how welcome they are here in Washington, in the U.S. Congress, the people's House. I want to recognize them for being here, for their efforts and engagement, and for being great partners and leaders. The Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce brings the best of our diverse, dynamic, and inclusive community to Washington this week, and I could not be more proud to represent them or to welcome them here to the people's House.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chairman, by its position, H.R. 1 reflects a top priority of the House majority. There is much that my constituents in Houston agree we should be prioritizing in this Congress when it comes to energy--not only lowering energy costs, which is the bill's title-- but strengthening our energy security, ensuring and enabling domestic energy production of all kinds, and ensuring our energy future. That comes from serious legislating. That comes from listening. That comes from stakeholders of all kinds coming to the table to grapple with the competing interests here and come up with workable, durable policy. That is, unfortunately, not what we have in this massive bill and not what we are seeing in this Chamber in our debates on energy policy here or across the country. That is a problem. I have warned and will continue to warn that the politicization of energy policy and energy production is one of the most dangerous things that is happening in this country right now, and I am sorry to see that this debate is no different. We simply cannot repeat cursory talking points and epithets that do not get to the complex and urgent challenges in front of us. There are real and dire consequences for our people who produce the energy that we need and use every day and for our environment if we cannot get it together enough to take this work seriously here. We must move from politics to policy. I can't go through all the policy in this bill in the time that I have here. However, I do agree that we must reform the permitting process, that we should continue exports of oil and natural gas, that we need an offshore leasing plan, that we should increase offshore revenue to coastal States, that we need to secure critical minerals, and other ideas contained in this bill. However, H.R. 1 contains so many unworkable provisions that create unrealistic deadlines, threaten our national security, and repeal key environmental and public health protections and programs--including the historic work that we did just in the last Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce methane emissions, incentivize clean energy investment, and protect communities--that I cannot vote for the bill.

Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Chairman, the work we did in the Inflation Reduction Act was to reduce methane emissions, incentivize clean energy investment, and protect communities. Because of that and because this bill repeals that important work, I cannot vote for it. People here in Washington understand that this bill is a messaging bill that will not be taken up in the Senate. With this vote, this is my message: When it comes to energy, it is time to put aside politics and get to the policy.

Mrs. FLETCHER

Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, for 1\1/2\ years now, people in Texas who are able to do so have been traveling out of State to obtain abortion care, and now that 15 other States have banned abortion, more people are traveling even farther to get the reproductive healthcare that they need. In response to this exercise of the constitutional right to travel, lawmakers and others in Texas--and in States across the country--are threatening to take away that right, too. These threats fail not only to reflect the will of the majority of people in this country, these threats fail to recognize the fundamental rights of Americans guaranteed in our Constitution. Congress has the authority and the responsibility to protect people from these unconstitutional efforts to prevent, restrict, impede, or otherwise punish a person traveling to another State to obtain a legal abortion and to protect healthcare providers and others who assist that person. Last week, I reintroduced the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act which passed this House last year with Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, Congressman Jamie Raskin, and more than 150 original cosponsors. Madam Speaker, I urge the House to pass this bill, once again, to protect this fundamental right.