While we've had to continue limiting in-person meetings and events, I've made it a priority to connect virtually with as many of you as possible. Since Virginia’s stay-at-home guidance was issued last March, I’ve held 91 virtual town halls and webinars with community members, leaders, and organizations.

These included an excellent roundtable discussion with local leaders in the Black community, a Q&A with the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, and a forum with the World Mental Health Coalition on the second impeachment of President Donald Trump. I also hosted my 12th Annual Open Season Workshop for federal employees and retirees, as well as other virtual events with federal employees and retirees, local nursing homes, and high school and college students in the 11th District. I even had the chance to meet virtually with the George Mason University Men's Basketball team for a meaningful discussion on race, education, and so much more. And just last night, I hosted my 36th Telephone Town Hall.

Since March 1, 2020, we've responded to more than 66,100 of your emails and messages on a wide array of issues -- from PPE and the Postal Service to COVID-19 testing and support for small businesses. As your representative in Congress, it's always important that I hear directly from you about your concerns and opinions, but it's especially critical in times of crisis. Please don't hesitate to give us a call or send me an email here to share your thoughts.

In addition to those 66,100 email responses, we've sent 92 e-newsletters like this one over the past year, with important updates, resources, and information to help you more easily navigate this crisis. In total, that's more than 3.9 million individual e-newsletters delivered to members of our community since the pandemic began. You'll find an archive of all those e-newsletters here, and I encourage you to read through them for any useful information you may have missed.

This crisis has not slowed our legislative and oversight efforts in the House. In fact, since March of last year, I've introduced or cosponsored nearly 340 pieces of legislation and signed several hundred letters requesting information and documents from federal agencies and the White House. In 2021 alone, the House has passed two bills I was proud to write and sponsor.

 Additionally, as a senior member of the Oversight & Reform and Foreign Affairs committees, and chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, I've participated in or chaired 103 committee hearings and briefings, whether virtually or on Capitol Hill, over the past year. The topics included:

• our response to COVID-19,
• revitalizing the federal workforce,
• saving and reforming the Postal Service,
• our ability to conduct a fair and accurate census,
• the role of Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family in the opioid epidemic,
• statehood for Washington, DC,
• investing in and updating our federal IT infrastructure,
• ensuring seamless future presidential transitions, 
• the status of the IRS during the pandemic,
• the Trump administration's attacks on independent Inspectors General, and
• the Biden administration's foreign policy priorities.

I have been in close, consistent contact with my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus whether the House is meeting in person or not. I've joined 123 conference calls and meetings with our caucus over the past year. These discussions often feature conversations with policy experts and have been vital to crafting our legislative response to COVID-19. During these meetings, we put together each of our COVID-19 relief bills which provided critical funding throughout this crisis for expanded unemployment insurance, direct payments, more testing and vaccines, support for small businesses, public health support, state and local government fiscal relief, support for schools and students, and much more.

Most recently, we crafted and passed the American Rescue Plan, which provides desperately-needed relief to millions of struggling Americans. The legislation also represents the single largest anti-poverty effort we've seen in a generation, projected to cut American child poverty rates fully in half. It is a remarkable legislative achievement that will transform millions of American lives for the better.