PLANNING FOR RETIREMENT WORKSHOP AT GROSSMONT COLLEGE
On Wednesday evening, I brought experts from the Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration for a hands-on retirement planning workshop that focused on simplified approaches to retirement, 401(k) plans, home equity and other assets, spending and expenses now and in retirement, filling the gap in your retirement savings, Medicare, when to start Social Security benefits, and disability, medical and death benefits. Over 70 county residents filled the Griffin Gate room at Grossmont College to learn about the best ways to take advantage of federal retirement benefits. In addition to the information presented, participants were encouraged to sign up for a Social Security Statement to better understand their own Social Security benefits. Even if you missed my event, I would like to still encourage you to create a personal my Social Security account online. You can start by clicking here.
MEETING WITH CONSTITUENTS IN MID-CITY
I held a Neighborhood Day in Mid-City last month, with more than 130 people gathering at the Garfield Elementary School auditorium for this town hall-style discussion. I was inspired to see so many people engaged in the democratic process. I spent about 90 minutes providing an update on what is happening in Congress, while taking questions and listening to the thoughts and ideas of constituents. Topics at the meeting included immigration, trade, women’s health, security in the Middle East, and healthcare for our veterans. To receive notices about future events please “Like” me on Facebook, orfollow me on Twitter.
LETTER OF THE MONTH - WHAT DO YOU THINK?
“The time to stand up for true democracy is now before it is too late (if it isn't already). I appreciate your stand on [Citizens United] and trust that you will remain firm when the inevitable anti-democratic attacks begin. You, as my representative, have the power to overturn Citizens United, and restore free and fair elections to the American people – whether it is by speaking out on the need to amend the Constitution, by supporting small donor incentive programs, or by requiring disclosure in campaign spending to stop "dark money" from overwhelming our elections. The Supreme Court's decisions in Citizens United and related cases have already damaged our popular, democratic system. I am counting on you to restore my faith in the system and to restore sanity and balance to our political system.”
What do you think about campaign finance reform? Click here to take a poll on this issue or here to send me an e-mail.
ENSURING DOOR DELIVERY OF MAIL
With the United States Postal Service already beginning to phase out door delivery, I introduced a bipartisan House Resolution stressing that door delivery must not end. Two of my Republican colleagues joined me as lead cosponsors of H. Res 711. As postal reform moves forward in Congress, this bipartisan resolution would put the House on record as supporting the continuation of door-to-door delivery of our mail.
Proposals to end all door delivery are not good for postal customers, businesses, or the Postal Service in the long run. My constituents who have to use cluster boxes report all kinds of problems with them, including a concern over ID theft. County residents with door delivery are also very vocal about wanting to keep this critical service, and I support them. In fact, several community partners joined me at a press conference earlier this week to bring attention to this issue (pictured left).
Postal reform efforts in both the House and the Senate call for the elimination of door delivery over the next six years. Instead of getting mail at their door, residents would be forced to pick up their mail at shared cluster boxes, many of which are in insecure locations, poorly maintained and far from people’s homes. Click here to view my resolution.
INTRODUCING THE STOP CHILD SUMMER HUNGER ACT - H.R. 5242
During the school year, millions of low-income students benefit from free or reduced-price meals at school. However, when their summer break arrives, many children lose access to this benefit making hunger an unnecessary part of their summer months. To close this gap, I introduced the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act, which would scale up the Summer EBT for Children pilot program currently providing families with eligible children an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card for the summer. In San Diego County, over 219,000 children qualify for free and reduced-price school meals. I believe expanding this program will be good for our kids, good for education, and good for the economy. You can find H.R. 5242 here.
BRINGING ATTENTION TO FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE LOOPHOLE
Last month, I offered an amendment to legislation in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to close a loophole that encourages for-profit colleges to target veterans and servicemembers. Like many people in the community, I am concerned that there have been a number of incidents of for-profit colleges aggressively recruiting our veterans, our servicemembers, and their families for their Tuition Assistance and G.I. benefits. My amendment, which unfortunately did not pass, meant to protect our students, many being veterans, from spending their benefits in a way that may not help them in the future.
A rule known as the “90/10 Rule,” requires a for-profit school to obtain at least 10 percent of its revenue from a source other than Title IV education funds, the primary source of federal student aid. Since Tuition Assistance (TA) and the G.I. Bill are not defined as Title IV they count toward the 10 percent requirement, similar to private sources of financing. My amendment would close this loophole requiring TA and G.I. assistance to be considered as federal funding under the rule. While the amendment was not adopted, I will continue to work on this issue.
STAND DOWN 2014
This year, I presented a congressional record statement to Dr. Jon Nachison, honoring him for 27 years of service to veterans. Dr. Jon Nachison, a clinical psychologist, co-founded Stand Down in 1988. The program is a three day community-based intervention program where homeless veterans can eat and shower, have medical and legal issues addressed, and be connected to community and government resources. Over 200 cities in the United States have launched their own Stand Down programs based on San Diego’s model of helping homeless veterans.
REVERSING CITIZENS UNITED
Constituents regularly tell me how upset they are with the amount of money flooding our political system as a result of the Citizens United case. Addressing this issue is one of my top priorities, which is why I recently added my name to a constitutional amendment that will level the playing field by limiting the amount of money being spent in our nation’s elections. The amendment would effectively repeal the Citizens United case where the Supreme Court ruled that corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money in an election.
Under Citizens United, the Supreme Court essentially ruled that corporations are people by saying Congress cannot limit corporate spending on campaigns. As a result, this opened the floodgates to unrestricted campaign spending of special interests in American elections. According to opensecrets.org, more than $1.2 billion was spent in the 2012 election cycle by outside sources.
The proposed constitutional amendment simply says, “Congress and the States may regulate and set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections.” This proposed constitutional amendment in the House is a companion piece to a Senate version that was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.
SUPPORTING RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST – H.RES. 663
While the violence in Iraq and Syria is a tragedy for everyone in the region, I am particularly concerned with the plight of religious minority communities in those two countries. That is why I cosponsored a resolution introduced by Congressman Juan Vargas that reaffirms the commitment of the House of Representatives to promoting and protecting religious freedom around the world and providing relief to minority groups facing persecution.
COSPONSORING THE VOTING RIGHTS AMENDMENT ACT
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision last year to invalidate Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, I cosponsored the bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act (H.R. 3899) to reinstate and strengthen voting protections that the Court rejected. These provisions were designed to protect voters in states with a history of racial discrimination by requiring these states to get preclearance when altering their voting laws. I believe the updated formula prescribed in the bill will provide those protections and adhere to the judicial concerns expressed by the Court.
COMMUNITY SNAPSHOTS
| Talking Small Business with the Small Business Administration (SBA) |
| Ruben Garcia, SBA's District Director, and Jill Andrews, SBA's Deputy District Director, stopped by my office recently to discuss their efforts in the community. SBA's San Diego office is a key player in helping our small businesses access loans and information that will grow our economy. |
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| Meeting with the Spring Valley Youth & Family Coalition |
| As the school year starts, it's time to refocus on ensuring our kids have the opportunities and resources they need to be healthy, happy, and successful. Earlier this week I met with the Spring Valley Youth & Family Coalition to hear about the important work being done on behalf of young people in our community. |
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