July 13, 2013

Congressional Update

Dear friends,

I would like to share with you several updates from this week in Washington, D.C.

Press Conference: Border Caucus Committee

On Wednesday, July 10th, I joined Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and members of the Border Caucus Committee to hold a press conference addressing immigration reform and border security.

Congressman Cuellar alongside Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Border Caucus Committee Members at a press conference addressing immigration reform and border security.

During the conference, I argued that building a 700-mile long border fence is a "14th Century solution to a 21st Century Problem..." and the implementation of such construction will ultimately affect our trade opportunities with an important economic partner (Mexico).

The Border Caucus Committee members and I represent and live in the border region and understand the urgent need for bipartisan action to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Click the above image to watch Congressman Cuellar's remarks

Randolph Field ISD

That same day, I was happy to spend some time discussing the important subject of education with the new and retiring superintendents of the Randolph Field Independent School District, as well as, the superintendent of the Lackland Independent School District. Mr. Lance Johnson, Mr. Billy Walker, Mr. Burnie Roper, and I had a productive conversation about the Impact Aid program and how it is affecting our students. I look forward to working with these schools in the future and hope to visit in-person during the August recess.

Congressman Cuellar meeting with superintendants of Randolph Field ISD and Lackland ISD

HHS Awards $150 Million in Grant Funds - Affordable Health Care Act Update

This week the Department of Health and Human Services announced $150 million in grant awards to 1,159 community health centers across the nation to enroll uninsured Americans in new health coverage options made available by the Affordable Care Act.

This investment could not have come at a better time considering that the State of Texas is ranked second in the nation for having the most uninsured residents. My district alone has almost 220,000 uninsured residents. Texas received almost $10 million in grant funding that will support 65 health centers, two of which are in the 28th Congressional District- Atascosa Health Inc. in Pleasanton and Gateway Community Health Center in Laredo.

These funds will allow health centers to hire additional outreach and eligibility assistance workers to assist people with enrollment into affordable health coverage. Having trained, face-to-face assistance in enrollment from trusted resources at local health centers means that more Texans will get the help they need.

This announcement is part of a much larger effort to make applying for health coverage as easy as possible. The new, consumer-focused www.HealthCare.gov website and the 24-hour-a-day consumer call center are available to help Texans prepare for open enrollment and ultimately sign up for health coverage.

These new tools will help Texans understand their coverage options and select the plan that best suits their needs when open enrollment in the new Health Insurance Marketplace begins October 1, 2013.

For more information visit www.Healthcare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596.


Sincerely,

Congressman Henry Cuellar

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