In the News
FORT HOOD, Texas — Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia filed bipartisan legislation Wednesday to rename the post office located at 5302 Galveston Road in Houston, in honor of Houston-native and former Fort Hood Soldier Vanessa Guillén.
Vanessa Guillén was born on Sept. 30, 1999 and Wednesday would have been her 21st birthday.
As a child, Vanessa was a quiet, intelligent, and diligent student from elementary school through high school. From the time she was 12 years old, she told her father she dreamed of serving in the Army, according to a press release from the office of Representative Garcia.
ATLANTA — A House delegation that traveled to south Georgia on Saturday to inspect the contentious Irwin County Detention Facility described "misery" among detained migrant women, fearful of seeking medical care from a doctor alleged to have serially performed unnecessary, unwanted and reckless gynecological procedures on them.
Officials at the United States Postal Service told members of Congress in Texas that voting groups are allowed to leave voter registration and absentee ballot applications at post offices.
Late last month, members of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Texas said their volunteers were barred from leaving basic voter materials in post office lobbies. Grace Chimene, the group's president, said the issue started when she heard from volunteers in Waller County in mid-August.
"To resolve any confusion on this topic, the Postal Service is issuing clarifying internal guidance," Cory Brown, a government relations representative with USPS said in a letter to lawmakers.
Congressional leaders will be at Fort Hood Friday afternoon to perform their oversight role in the wake of several concerning events involving the military installation.
Representative Jackie Speier of California along with a delegation of seven other representatives will be visiting Fort Hood along with the locations where Spc. Vanessa Guillen and PV2 Gregory Wedel Morales were found.
Members of the congressional delegation include Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif; Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas; Rep. Gilbert Cisneros, D-Calif.; Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo.; Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass.; Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass.; Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas; and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.
Speier said she walked the path that Guillen walked before her murder.
Ever since Vanessa Guillén's tragedy became known nationwide, Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) has pledged to seek justice for Vanessa and her family.
After months of calling for #JusticeforVanessaGuillen, it was announced on Sept. 8, that two congressional subcommittees would launch an investigation into the chain of command at Fort Hood, following a spike in deaths — 28 in one year alone, including Guillén's.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National Security and the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personell are currently seeking documents and information that could explain how Fort Hood has allowed the series of deaths to occur, and how they have responded to reports of sexual harassment and abuse.
HOUSTON - Two members of Texas' Congressional delegation are asking Houston post office leadership why at least 20 offices refused to accept donated voter registration cards -- government-printed documents that must be filled out and submitted to enable citizens to vote.
The letter they wrote comes on the heels of the League of Women Voters of Houston, a non-partisan civic engagement group, tried to deliver dozens of boxes with voter registration cards, American flag and election-related information.
The American Diabetes Association® (ADA), the nation's leading organization for all people living with diabetes, announced its support today for the Ending Health Disparities during COVID-19 (EHDC) Act, introduced by Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL). The list of bill cosponsors includes Reps. Karen Bass (D-CA), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Judy Chu (D-CA), Jesús "Chuy" García (D-IL), Deb Haaland (D-NM), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Terri Sewell (D-AL), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Gregorio Sablan (I-MP), Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), John P. Sarbanes (D-MD), Ayanna S. Pressley (D-MA), Bennie G.
HOUSTON - The Houston Police Officers' Union says four officers were fired in connection to the deadly shooting of Nicolas Chavez in April.
Police said Chavez was shot by officers who had responded to a call about a suicidal man on April 21. Police said he had a pointed object in his hand.
Authorities said, after several attempts to detain Chavez and stop him with non-lethal methods, he was shot on Gazin near Market Street around 9 p.m.
Chief Acevedo later confirmed that a disturbing video circulating on social media was from the incident, and he said a thorough investigation was underway.
After months of calling for #JusticeForVanessaGuillen, her family may finally have concrete answers.
Instead of an ongoing internal investigation conducted by the U.S. Army, the cases of Vanessa Guillen and two-dozen others are garnering the attention they deserve— from Congress.
It was announced Tuesday, by both members of Guillen's family and Congress that two congressional subcommittees will launch an investigation into the chain of command at Fort Hood, following the spike in deaths.
Vanessa Guillen's case has already suffered the consequences of late visibility. Two months into her death, the nation still didn't know her name. Later, the main suspect connected to her case killed himself as officers moved to arrest him.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has agreed to bring the "I am Vanessa Guillén" Act to the House floor for a vote, according to Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA).
On Wednesday, Speir, the Chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, and Congressman Markwayen Mullin (R-OK), along with co-leads Reps. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), John Carter (R-TX), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Pete Olson (R-TX), Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (D-TX), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Jason Crow (D-CO), and Will Hurd (R-TX), and 94 additional co-sponsors, introduced bill in honor of Spc. Vanessa Guillén and the "many survivors of military sexual violence who have bravely come forward in the wake of her disappearance and brutal murder."