Promoting Women’s Reproductive Health

Standing for Women's Rights

Three weeks ago, the Supreme Court's Republican-appointed supermajority erased nearly 50 years of legal precedent, fulfilling the Republican Party's dark, dangerous and long-held goal of ripping away a woman's freedom to make her own reproductive health decisions. In the weeks since the Court's ruling, the American people have made their voices heard on this issue – overwhelmingly and with great force.

Strengthened by their powerful activism, House Democrats today advanced two strong bills preserving access to reproductive health care:

• The Women's Health Protection Act, which will enshrine the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law and restore the right to an abortion nationwide.
• The Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, which will reaffirm the right to freely travel across state lines to obtain an abortion.

President Biden has also worked to defend Americans' reproductive freedom from continued right-wing attacks. Last week, President Biden signed an Executive Order to protect access to FDA-approved abortion medication, strengthen enforcement of the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive protections and defend the legal rights of both patients and providers.

While Republicans continue their cruel efforts to criminalize reproductive health care, House Democrats will never relent in our fight to defend freedom for women and for every American. The contrast could not be clearer: while an extreme Republican Party and their henchmen on the Supreme Court work to punish and control women, Democrats are fighting to expand freedom for all.

Honoring our Veterans

From the deserts of Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan, a generation of courageous Americans have donned the stars and stripes to protect our freedom. Those heroes have put their lives on the line to fight for our country. Yet, tragically, many have confronted another deadly threat – exposure to burn pits and toxics, which have taken a severe toll on their health.

As many as 3.5 million veterans deployed after 9/11 may have been exposed to toxic substances on the battlefield. Despite this reality, nearly 75 percent of burn pit-related disability claims have been denied, and thousands of veterans and families have been forced to suffer. This week, the House took action to address this injustice – advancing the bipartisan Honoring our PACT Act to secure health care and benefits for Servicemembers exposed to dangerous toxics.

This life-saving legislation will ensure that veterans do not have to wait decades for care by:

• Recognizing military toxic exposure as a cost of war.
• Expanding access to VA health care for millions of toxic-exposed combat veterans.
• Streamlining the VA's process for establishing toxic exposure presumptions.

Just as the military leaves no solider behind on the battlefield, we must leave no veteran behind when they come home. The Honoring our PACT Act is a monumental victory for our veterans – one that lives up to that sacred promise.

Mental Health Crisis Hotline

Tomorrow, the United States will transition the 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to 988 – an easy-to-remember three-digit number for 24/7 crisis care. The lifeline, which also links to the Veterans Crisis Line, follows a three-year joint effort by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to put crisis care in reach of those in need.

The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, signed into law after the passage of bipartisan legislation in 2020, authorized 988 as a new three-digit number for suicide and mental health crisis. All telephone service and text providers in the United States and the five major U.S. territories are required by the FCC to activate 988 no later than July 16. This initiative is part of President Biden's comprehensive strategy to address our nation's mental health crisis. Now more than ever – as the pandemic has worsened mental health challenges for children, frontline workers, health providers, veterans, Servicemembers and, indeed, Americans nationwide – strengthening mental health initiatives is essential.

Monkeypox: What You Need to Know

San Franciscans are far too familiar with the fear and confusion of a new disease outbreak that disproportionately affects the LGBTQ community. As your Representative in Congress, I am fighting to secure more resources to bolster monkeypox testing and expand vaccine capacity so that anyone who qualifies can easily and quickly get their shot. Working alongside federal, state and local health officials, I will continue monitoring developments and ensure that San Francisco has the resources necessary to prevent the spread of this virus.

It is crucial that we continue to follow public health guidance to keep the American people safe. Please review the following resources for up-to-date information on the monkeypox outbreak and guidance to keep yourself and your community safe:

Keeping Ahead of COVID in San Francisco