Dear Friend,
I hope you are having a happy, safe and healthy week! As summer approaches, I want to remind you that it has never been easier to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas. To protect your family, your neighborhood and your community, register HERE.
Additionally, if you are still experiencing hardship due to February's severe winter storms, please dial 2-1-1, or 877-541-7905, and find information about resources in your local community including food or housing, childcare, crisis counseling or substance-abuse treatment.
As always, if you need help with a federal agency, please contact my office. Furthermore, I encourage you to follow me on my social media platforms, @repcuellar, to stay up to date on all things happening in DC and TX-28.
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Did you know: Because of the American Rescue Plan, the SBA is now offering several relief options to help small businesses recover from COVID-19.
In fact, SBA is currently offering the following: Find more info here.
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Restaurants in South Texas are now able to apply for direct relief through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The American Rescue Plan Act, which I voted for last month, established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund to provide funding to help eligible businesses keep their doors open. The comeback of our restaurant and hospitality businesses is an important key to a full recovery.
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FEMA is now providing financial relief for COVID-19 funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020. Applicants can receive up to $9,000 per burial and those applying must be U.S. citizens, legal residents, asylees, refugees, or non-citizen nationals. Learn more on eligibility and requirements here.
Need help from a FEMA representative? Call their toll number at 844-684-6333. The call center is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 9:00pm ET.
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On Friday, May 21st, I joined the City of Laredo and CBP to celebrate the groundbreaking of the World Trade Bridge Fast Lane Relocation Project. With $10.3 million in federal funding, we will decrease wait times and streamline international commerce through Laredo.
Laredo is the number one inland port of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border for international trade, and an economic engine for Texas. This project will help our businesses, city and country!
Watch the livestream here.
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On Tuesday, May 18th, I held a 'Conversation with Cuellar' to announce more than $430 million in emergency federal funding for colleges, universities, and students in and around Texas’s 28th Congressional District. In April, I voted to pass the American Rescue Plan, and through this bold, urgently needed relief package, these funds will help local institutions cope with the severe financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. At least half of the funding each institution receives will be distributed in the form of emergency cash assistance grants to students who are facing hunger, homelessness, and other hardship.
Watch the conversation here.
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St. Augustine High School produces some of the finest young men and women in TX-28, including two former interns Eduardo Perez and Hector Degollado. Last week, we celebrated their accomplishments, bid them farewell, and wished them the best of luck in the next chapter of their lives. Congratulations to the students and their families on a job well done.
I also recognized Eduardo, who received one of my service academy nominations, and was accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy. Eduardo, you have proven yourself to be an exceptional young man, and I thank you for your future service to our nation.
Pictured is Rep. Cuellar, principal Olga Gentry, Hector Degollado, Eduardo Perez and Leticia Cantu.
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On Thursday, May 20th, my Outreach Coordinator for Webb, Zapata, La Salle and McMullen Counties, Melissa Pena, attended the Border Patrol Youth of the Month event in Zapata. While there, Melissa participated in the celebratory parade and honored each student with Congressional Certificates of Recognition. Congrats!
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