Dear Friend,

Another busy week last week in Congress meeting with constituents; advancing legislation to help Flint residents recover from the Flint water crisis, preserve our environmental heritage, and protect our democracy; and continuing work to lower costs for Americans.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed legislation that would renew the Flint Registry for an additional 10 years. The Flint Registry was initially created by Congress in 2016 to respond to the Flint water crisis and help impacted families connect with critical health care services to treat lead exposure and minimize its impacts on their health and development.

We know there is no safe level of exposure to lead. Period. Exposure to this toxic contaminate has been proven to have devastating impacts on the health of those exposed, and these impacts are even worse for children – causing severe developmental issues that can have lifelong implications.

The Flint water crisis should have NEVER happened. We have an obligation to the people of Flint to help them recover from this preventable crisis and reduce its health impacts.

I am thankful for the bipartisan support this legislation received, including every member of the Michigan delegation, Democrats and Republicans. This reauthorization would ensure this critical registry continues to help the Flint community recover by authorizing additional annual funding for the next decade to address their ongoing needs. An additional 10 years of sustained funding will enable this critical program to support kids who were newborns during the crisis – the most vulnerable group to lead exposure – through their 18^th birthdays.

This important legislation now heads to the full House for consideration. I hope all my colleagues recognize the importance of this bill and the obligation we have to get it passed.

The House Natural Resources Committee took important steps in reauthorizing important conservation legislation to protect and preserve our environmental ecosystem while stimulating economic growth. The Sustaining America’s Fisheries Act would reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act – landmark legislation to create sustainable fisheries, limit overfishing of threatened species, and maintain the long-term economic and social benefits of our oceans and waterways – enabling it to continue important work strengthening marine conservation for generations to come.

This bill also includes bipartisan legislation I introduced with Congressman Brian Mast of Florida to manage forage fish – smaller fish that support other important species like tuna, salmon, and cod and are critical to sustaining the health of marine ecosystems. The Forage Fish Conservation Act will empower the Secretary of Commerce to create a science-based definition for forage fish and ensure fisheries managers are included in recommendations for managing forage fish populations. It also requires any new commercial forage fishery to be assessed for potential impacts on existing fisheries, fishing communities, and the marine ecosystem before being authorized.

In recent years, we have seen a sharp drop in many forage fish species due to human activity. Left unaddressed, this decline will do irreparable harm to marine communities, fisheries, recreational fishing, and our economy. Passing this legislation is vital, and I’m thankful for the bipartisan support for this important legislation.

The House passed bipartisan legislation to protect our democracy from growing threats by extremists to overthrow the will of the American people in our elections. In the 2020 Election, we saw coordinated, undemocratic efforts to throw out legitimate votes of the American people, install fake electors, and hack voting machines based on baseless lies from a defeated president and his cronies.

The Presidential Election Reform Act will reform the Electoral Count Act to ensure Congress counts state electoral votes in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, including by ensuring that Congress receives a single, accurate electoral certificate from each state, requiring states to select electors in accordance with existing state laws, providing a federal judiciary remedy if a state governor refuses to certify the lawful result of a presidential election, and other important steps.

This legislation won’t make significant changes to our presidential electoral process but will instead ensure laws and precedents that are already on the books are followed.

Our nation came dangerously close to losing our democracy in the 2020 election due to unconstitutional actions by Donald Trump and extremist Republicans. To date, not a single election denier has been able to prove any fraud occurred in the last presidential election. Yet, these individuals took significant, and at times highly illegal, steps to overthrow the will of the American people and made it clear that we have no other option but to take steps to enshrine into law how presidential election results are certified.

We received new district-by-district data on the state of the economy since President Biden took office and Congressional Democrats took control of Congress. According to the data, policies enacted by President Biden and Congressional Democrats have significantly grown jobs, including in manufacturing; supported small businesses and entrepreneurs; and will lower health care, prescription drug, and out-of-pocket costs for Americans.

Legislation enacted by Congressional Democrats and President Biden is bringing good-paying jobs to MI-12 to support families and build more prosperous communities. Together, legislation passed by Democrats in Congress and actions by the Biden Administration has created over 20,000 jobs in Michigan’s 12^th Congressional District.

These smart policies that invest in American manufacturing, strengthen our supply chains, and bring down costs are also driving a surge in domestic manufacturing jobs across the country.

In Michigan’s 12^th Congressional district, these policies have helped create 1,500 new manufacturing jobs since President Biden took office.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congressional Democrats and signed by President Biden, will significantly reduce health care costs for American families and seniors across the country.

This historic legislation is projected to help up to 103,000 seniors in Michigan’s 12^th District cut their monthly health care costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, capping insulin for Medicare recipients to $35/month, and capping out-of-pocket costs to $2,000/month.

Combined with cost savings passed in the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act is slashing health care costs for 271,000 Michiganders by extending and expanding access to free or low-cost health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

On Friday, we celebrated years of hard work by a dedicated community at the ribbon cutting of the Ann Arbor Fisher House.

Our veterans can’t heal if they’re worried about being away from their loved ones to receive care at the VA, and Fisher Houses help relieve some of that stress and bring comfort to families and patients. Fisher Houses are homes located at military and VA medical centers where military and veteran families can stay free of charge while their loved one gets the care they need. They are a “home away from home” that provides a sense of community with love and support at a time when they need it most.

Today fulfills a long-held dream and a lot of hard work by so many throughout our community. This was a true community effort, and I am so thankful to everyone who has been involved in making this happen. This will make a significant improvement in the lives of so many veterans.