Shortly after sitting down for Houston Newsmakers, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia announced she was self quarantining after coming in contact with a family member who had tested positive for COVID-19. Prior to that announcement, she talked about a number of topics including the pending Justice in Policing bill.
The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives recently passed a third stimulus bill worth three trillion dollars with only one Republican vote. Senate Republicans say it is dead on arrival but Congresswoman Sylvia Gracia, (D) 29th, says it’s only a matter of time.
“They’ll have to sit down at some point, perhaps in July to look at it because it’s no different than what we did when they passed the last bill in the Senate,” she said. “Then we looked at it and then we worked together and tweaked it and frankly I think we made it better!”
More with Congressman Garcia on Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall and on Newsmakers EXTRA, which you can watch below.
WATCH: Newsmakers EXTRA with U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia
Urban League focus on racial disparity
In the wake of protests across the country and the world against racial injustice, the Houston Area Urban League President & CEO says the trend does not match the data.
“Why is it that over the last two decades actual crimes are going down but we’re seeing deaths at the hands of police officers going up?” said Judson Robinson III.
He says social media his helping to prove the assertions of Black people about abuse.
COVID-19 may speed up Medicaid expansion in last ranked Texas
The COVID-19 economic shutdown and the resulting layoffs also meant a loss of health insurance for thousands.
“Just because you’ve lost your job and you’ve lost your health insurance that came with the job, you may be eligible for Medicaid,” said Elena Marks, President & CEO of Episcopal Health Foundation.
Marks says with Texas ranking last in the United States in insured adults, state legislators should make changes now. “It is a win-win for the state to expand Medicaid and when we’re seeing unprecedented unemployment and people losing the opportunity to have insurance that was heavily subsidized by employers,” Medicaid expansion is an even more compelling argument.”
Watch this week’s Houston Newsmakers Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m.
- More Information:
- · U.S. Rep Sylvia Garcia (D) 29th Congressional District
- · Website: https://sylviagarcia.house.gov/
- · Phone: 832-325-3150
- · Twitter: @RepSylviaGarcia
- · Email: https://bit.ly/2MLVaVU
- · Elena Marks, President & CEO, Episcopal Health Foundation
- · Website: https://bit.ly/3dVtZDU
- · Phone: 832-807-2568
- · Twitter: @Health4Texas
- · Facebook: @Health4Texas
- · Email: emarks@episcopalhealth.org
- · Judson Robinson, President & CEO, Houston Area Urban League
- · Website https://www.haul.org
- · Phone: 713-393-8700
- · Twitter: @HouUrbanLeague