Congressman Menefee Highlights Work Across TX-18 During August Work Period
HOUSTON, TX — As the August Work Period comes to a close, Congressman Christian D. Menefee (TX-18) released the following statement highlighting his work and meetings with constituents, community leaders, health care providers, and small businesses across Texas’s 18th Congressional District.
“As a first-term Member of Congress, it was a privilege to spend my first August Work Period back home in Houston, focused on what matters most to my work in Congress, the people of Texas’s 18th Congressional District,” said Congressman Menefee. “Being home gave me the opportunity to hear directly from the people I represent about what they are experiencing, what they need from their federal government, and what I can take back to Washington to fight for.”
Throughout the August Work Period, Congressman Menefee traveled across TX-18 to meet with constituents and hear directly about the issues affecting Houston families. He attended more than 10 back-to-school events across the district, including events at Texas Southern University, Marshall Middle Academy of Fine Arts and the Fifth Ward Multi-Service Center. These events provided students with free school supplies and other resources ahead of the new school year, while giving Congressman Menefee an opportunity to speak with parents, caregivers, educators, and community leaders about the rising costs families face when preparing their children to return to school.
Congressman Menefee also visited health care providers across the district, including HOPE Clinic during National Health Center Week and Garden Oaks Dialysis Center. During the visits, he met with health care professionals and community leaders to discuss the rising cost of health care, barriers to accessing care, and the importance of protecting federal investments that help providers continue serving Houston families.
As part of his continued focus on lowering costs and supporting Houston’s economy, Congressman Menefee met with local small business owners, including Pour Decisions and Common Bond Bistro & Bakery. The Congressman heard directly from business owners about rising operating costs and other challenges facing local entrepreneurs and discussed ways he can better support small businesses and expand access to resources and capital.
Congressman Menefee also participated in several roundtables and community discussions throughout the district focused on affordability, environmental justice, and other issues affecting TX-18. These conversations allowed the Congressman to hear directly from residents about rising household costs and longstanding environmental concerns in Houston communities and will help inform his work when Congress returns to Washington.
Throughout the August Work Period, Congressman Menefee’s district staff continued assisting constituents with federal casework and helping them navigate federal agencies. During the busy summer travel season, the office worked to resolve passport delays and other time-sensitive issues, helping more dozens of constituents with passport cases alone.
Congressman Menefee also continued calling for transparency and accountability following the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an encounter with federal immigration officers in Houston earlier this summer. In addition to assisting constituents with immigration-related casework, Congressman Menefee supported legislative efforts to protect immigrant communities, including the No TSA Data for ICE Act. He also joined a letter to Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership raising concerns about health and safety conditions in ICE detention centers and calling for greater accountability which would help to curb ICE’s lawlessness and ensure greater transparency and accountability from federal immigration authorities.
As the 119th Congress enters its final stretch, Congressman Menefee is more determined than ever to deliver results for TX-18. He is also preparing for what comes next, so when Democrats take back the House, they are ready on day one to hold the Trump administration and congressional Republicans accountable for corruption, policies that have driven up costs, and decisions that have failed working families.