| Dear Friend,
Last week, the President brought forward specific proposals to strengthen the economic security of working families, and I believe Congress should join him in that effort. Unfortunately, the 114thCongress has started just where the 113th Congress left off, with an emphasis on divisive issues and votes on legislation that will never be signed into law by President Obama. It’s time for the House to stop focusing on issues we don’t agree on and find common ground on the critical issues facing our country, namely middle class prosperity.
During the 113th Congress, I introduced legislation to help working families, including bills to reduce fees on student loans, increase the availability of food during summer months for low income students, improve access to affordable preschool, and make it easier for homeowners in tough situations to sell their homes through a short sale. As the new Congress begins, I will be reintroducing many of these bills and also looking for new ideas to help all San Diegans who want a fair shot in this economy. As always, don’t hesitate to contact me if you need assistance with a federal agency or if you have a legislative idea or comment.
Warm Regards,
|
Hometown Swearing In
While the official swearing in for the 114th Congress was in Washington, my colleagues, Rep. Peters and Rep. Vargas, and I gathered at the federal courthouse downtown for a local swearing in ceremony administered by Chief Judge Moskowitz (pictured here). In the 114th Congress, I will continue my work on the House Armed Services Committee, where I will serve on the Readiness Subcommittee and as Ranking Member on the Military Personnel Subcommittee. I will also serve on the Education and the Workforce Committee, including the Subcommittees on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education and Higher Education and Workforce Training. As a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, and Vice Chair of the New Democrats Coalition, I will focus on the middle class, defense, election reform, education, and protecting veterans’ benefits. I will also continue to focus on constituent services in my district office on Adams Avenue. It is an honor to once again represent the 53rd Congressional District.
Reversing Citizens United
On the five year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, I cosponsored a constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court ruling that allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns. Over the past five years, I have heard from many of you who are concerned that the integrity of our democracy is at stake when corporations can drown out the voices of the people in our elections. While amending the constitution should only be done in limited circumstances, this step is necessary to restore accountability to our political process.
On January 21, 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people saying Congress cannot limit their spending on campaigns. As a result, the Citizens United case opened the floodgates to unrestricted special interest campaign spending in American elections—permitting corporations to spend unlimited funds, directly or through third parties and political action committees organized for those purposes, to influence federal elections and opened the door for the emergence of super PACs. According to opensecrets.org, more than $804 million was spent in the 2014 election cycle by outside sources. The proposed constitutional amendment states that the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit Congress and the states from imposing regulations and restrictions on the spending for political activity by any corporation or other corporate entity.
Naming San Diego’s Federal Courthouse
For several years, I led the San Diego delegation’s efforts to fund, build, and name the new downtown federal courthouse. After years of work, President Obama recently signed into law the bill designating the United States courthouse as the “James M. Carter and Judith N. Keep United States Courthouse” and the United States Federal Judicial Center in downtown as the “John Rhoades Federal Judicial Center.” I introduced the original courthouse naming bill in 2012 when the building was still in the 53rd District and was proud to support the completion of this effort by Congressman Peters. Judge Carter, who passed away in 1979, was the first chief judge (1966) for the Southern District of California covering San Diego and Imperial counties. Judge Keep, who died in 2004, was the first female federal judge in San Diego and the first woman to become the district’s chief judge.
Advancing Social and Emotional Learning
I recently introduced legislation to help teachers include social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. The Supporting Emotional Learning (SEL) Act would amend the Higher Education Act to support teacher training in SEL to help young people better handle societal issues thus boosting their academic potential. Students receiving social and emotional education do better on tests, show greater pro-social behaviors, and less emotional stress.
Research shows us that when we impart social and emotional skills to our children, they thrive both academically and socially. Test scores improve, relationships improve, and school culture improves. We owe it to our students to invest in ways to best teach these important social and emotional skills. Along with adding SEL training for teachers, the bill would also prioritize SEL by identifying it as a topic for educational research and turning it into best practices for the classroom. This provision passed the House as part of the Strengthening Education through Research Act (H.R. 4366) in the 113th Congress. The Senate however did not act on H.R. 4366.
Fighting to Preserve Door Delivery in the 114th Congress
With the United States Postal Service already beginning to phase out of door delivery of mail, I re-introduced a bipartisan House Resolution (H.Res. 28) stressing that door delivery must not end. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) joined me as lead cosponsors of this measure.
As postal reform moves forward in Congress, the bipartisan resolution would put the House on record as supporting the continuation of door-to-door delivery of our mail. I believe this resolution is necessary because proposals to end all door delivery are not good for postal customers, businesses or the Postal Service in the long run. My constituents with door delivery are very vocal about wanting to keep this critical service and I support them (pictured above with constituents in Talmadge last year).
Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act
Earlier this month, the House unanimously passed H.R. 203, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act. This bipartisan legislation, originally passed by the House in the 113th Congress, but blocked by a single U.S. Senator, will help address the epidemic of suicide among our nation’s veterans.
I remain concerned that too many of our veterans are lost to suicide because the country they served and sacrificed for has not provided them with adequate support. This bipartisan legislation provides our heroes the care and support to help them overcome mental health challenges, traumatic brain injuries, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Everyone who served their country should feel that their nation stands behind them with compassion and dedication.
Preserving Environmental Review for Keystone XL
Keystone is currently undergoing the longstanding federal review process required for such projects. The Keystone Pipeline Act (H.R. 3) would stop the environmental review under dubious claims of job creation and lower gas prices. I once again opposed House legislation to create a special exemption to ignore environmental law over the Keystone XL Pipeline approval process, as this bill essentially says that a Canadian company does not have to follow the same rules as American companies. Furthermore, Keystone will have virtually no impact on long term job creation and an unnoticeable effect on gas prices. As I have said in the past, this project is high on environmental risks and low on reward, and certainly not worth ignoring our environmental laws.
Cosponsoring the Respect for Marriage Act – H.R. 197
In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that all marriages must be treated equally under federal law. However, there are some circumstances, such as with Social Security and veterans’ benefits, where full recognition of same-sex marriage rights are prevented because provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) still exist. That is why I am an original cosponsor of legislation to end the DOMA in its entirety and ensure marriage equality for all. As long as DOMA is still on the books, many Americans will be denied federal recognition of their marriages. The bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 197) would solve this problem with a complete repeal of DOMA.
| Wounded Warrior Summit at Naval Medical Center San Diego |
|
| In December, I joined with experts in advanced Wounded Warrior rehabilitation gathered at Naval Medical Center San Diego for a two-day summit on how to address warrior care in the future. The program focused on traumatic brain injuries, prosthetics, and other critical medical treatments that injured service members rely on for their care. |
| |
| Paradise Hills Library 50th Anniversary |
I joined Branch Manager Zar Shain, Councilwoman Myrtle Cole, and the Deputy Director of the San Diego Library Bruce Johnson to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Paradise Hills Library. As the mother of a librarian, it was great to present a proclamation to commemorate their milestone and to speak to library patrons about the importance of supporting local libraries.
|
|
| |
Defense E-News
As Ranking Member of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, I spend a lot of time focused on the needs of our military, especially our men and women in uniform and their families. Since I am often asked about how defense and veterans policies coming out of Washington will impact San Diego County, I have started sending out a periodic E-News for anyone who is interested in defense and veterans issues. I will only be sending this information to people who sign up to receive these updates, so please click here to be added to the list.
Interested in an Internship?
Interns gain valuable legislative and public service experience by assisting with constituent inquiries, public events, casework, and other special projects. Internships are a minimum of 10 hours per week and qualify for credit at some schools. If you are interested in interning in the San Diego office, please submit a resume and cover letter to CA53DOInternapp@mail.house.gov. If you are interested in an internship in my Washington office please submit a resume and cover letter toCA53DCInternapp@mail.house.gov.
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment