Houlahan in front of her new office location (1727 Longworth). The placard next to her reads: “This office belongs to the people of Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District.”
Early this morning, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan was officially sworn in for her third term as the United States Representative for Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District. While the Pennsylvania congressional delegation underwent changes due to redistricting, the new PA-06 remains largely the same, including all of Chester County and the southern portion of Berks County, inclusive of the City of Reading.
Houlahan and the rest of the U.S. House of Representatives had to wait four days to be sworn into office, as Republicans engaged in a lengthy intraparty squabble over who would be the new Speaker of the House. Kevin McCarthy won early Saturday after a 15th ballot.
On the significance of swearing-in, Houlahan shared: “I could never truly express how humbled I am that the people of Chester and Berks Counties have again put their faith in me to continue serving our community in this way. This responsibility is about service. Service to the families and businesses that proudly call southeastern Pennsylvania home. Service to one another as we recommit to civility and decency. Service to the nation as we put progress over partisan politics. And indeed, while we have much work still to do, we have so much to celebrate.”
Highlights of Houlahan’s accomplishments during the 117th Congress (January 2021 to December 2022) include:
- Delivering on Promise to Bipartisanship: All 31 of Houlahan’s legislative initiatives that became law received support from Republicans, continuing her record of being one of the most productive, bipartisan members of the House.
- Advocating for Constituents in Need and Closing 4,045 Cases: Houlahan was awarded ‘best in Congress’ for constituent services in recognition of closing thousands of cases and returning $26,683,922 in backlogged federal benefits to constituents.
- Championing Paid Leave Expansion for the Military: Through the historic Military Moms Matter Act, Houlahan passed guaranteed 12 weeks of parental leave for primary and secondary caregivers, as well as 6 weeks of convalescent leave for the birth parent.
- Securing Community Project Funding to Meet Critical Needs Here at Home: In the FY22 and FY23 Appropriations’ bills, Houlahan secured $6,207,402and $10,079,774 respectively for over two dozen local organizations ranging from higher education to first responders.
- Serving Veterans by Saving the Coatesville VA and Passing the PACT Act: After learning of the VA’s plan to close the Coatesville VA Medical Center, Houlahan led the Pennsylvania congressional delegation in urging VA Secretary McDonough to reconsider and invited Secretary McDonough to personally visit Coatesville, which he did. In October, the office learned the VA was not moving forward with the proposed closures.
- Combating the Infant Formula Crisis: During the infant formula crisis, Houlahan worked to secure federal funding for an infant formula manufacturer in Berks County and continues to advocate for reforms that would allocate additional resources. She also introduced the first-ever comprehensive legislation to improve access to donor milk.
- Helping People Find Jobs by Hosting a Job Fair: The COVID-19 global pandemic greatly impacted Pennsylvanians. In response, Houlahan organized a Job Fair with 125 companies and hundreds of job seekers.
- Addressing Post Office Service Issues: Houlahan organized a tour of the Gay Street – West Chester Post Office after receiving several complaints from constituents about the state of the building. Shortly thereafter, repairs began and Houlahan continues to address Post Office services issues there and at centers across the Commonwealth.
- Keeping our Oil and Gas at Home: Following reports that U.S. entities were selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Chinese-affiliated companies, Houlahan introduced the bipartisan Banning Oil Exports to Foreign Adversaries Act.
- Championing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Houlahan was a key part of the coalition that ensured the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act came to a successful vote in the House. To date, $7.9 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding has been announced and is headed to Pennsylvania with over 150 specific projects identified for funding, including in PA-06.
- Lowering the Cost of Prescription Drugs: Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare recipients will pay no more than $35 a month for their insulin. Starting in 2025, out-of-pocket pharmaceutical costs are limited to $2,000 per year.
- Passing Gun Violence Prevention Legislation: Houlahan helped pass the first comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation in a generation.
“I’ve gotten a few questions about what my priorities are given the change in House Leadership—my answer is that they are the same: the needs of our district,” added Houlahan. “Whether it’s fighting for Community Project Funding so the Borough of Sinking Spring can reconstruct their main intersection, assisting a veteran in Coatesville with their benefits, or helping restore emergency health care services to southern Chester County, I remain committed to delivering for Pennsylvanians.”
