EDUCATION

As the cost of tuition and childhood education programs continues to skyrocket, we need to make sure all Central Coast residents have a chance to pursue an education for themselves or their children without being crushed by debt. 

The Central Coast is home to some of our nation’s finest higher education institutions and I am committed to helping our students succeed here without the crushing burden of student loan debt. As someone who relied on Pell Grants to help pay for my college degree, I understand firsthand the difficulty students face when contemplating how to afford a higher education. 

That is why I have introduced the Creating Higher Education Affordability Necessary to Compete Economically (CHANCE.) Act. I authored this bill to make college more affordable and accessible to people of all backgrounds. By adjusting the Pell Grant for inflation, reinstating the year-round Pell Grant, and increasing the number of eligible semesters, the CHANCE Act gives students access to an education that might otherwise be out of reach and enables them to join the workforce sooner without the burden of student-loan debt. 

Through my work on the House Armed Services Committee, I have fought increased funding for research at our Central Coast colleges and universities. I passed legislation allocating $5 million in funding for the Defense Department Educational Partnership Agreement at Cal Poly. This funding supplements two programs on Cal Poly’s campus – the High-Performance Computing Lab and the Electrical and Micro Propulsion Lab. This amendment encourages DoD-academia research partnerships on the Central Coast that will ultimately help sustain the United States’ technological edge.

In Congress, I have worked to secure funding for childhood education programs, urging the House Appropriation Committee to prioritize funding for Head Start to ensure this important program has the necessary resources to be successful in our communities. Every child deserves an even start in their education and I will continue to strongly support these programs. 

I believe that access to education promotes growth in our communities and economy for future generations. This is why I will continue to work tirelessly to find solutions to ensure success for all Americans in our education system.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Having raised my children on the Central Coast, I understand the importance that environmental preservation and energy efficiency has for our community. The Central Coast is already experiencing major climate change impacts like wildfires and drought. We can save lives, property, and money when we work to proactively mitigate these increasingly destructive events.

I believe we cannot afford inaction on the most significant challenge of our time.

That is why I worked with my colleagues across the aisle to introduce bipartisan Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability (WIRSA) Act. The bill establishes an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant program for communities on the Central Coast to improve the resiliency and adaptability of their water-related infrastructure. Natural disasters, like the one we experienced during the Montecito Debris Flow, show us the importance of building resilient infrastructure as we grapple with the effects of climate change and an ongoing drought crisis. This legislation will help provide critical support to local agencies and governments choosing to be proactive and undertaking projects that strengthen their water infrastructure’s adaptability as the impacts of climate change continue to become more severe.

With the impending Diablo Canyon Power Plant closure, I am working to secure all available federal resources to help offset the economic impact of this decommissioning. With this significant challenge also comes an opportunity to designate the Central Coast a renewable energy hub, by attracting new businesses that provide good-paying jobs in our community. I have introduced the Energy Opportunity Zones Act to extend tax credits as well as introduce a new tax credit to encourage renewable energy business development in San Luis Obispo County. I have also cosponsored the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend (EICDA) Act, legislation to put a price on carbon and return 100% of the net revenue as a rebate to American families. The EICDA will help reduce our carbon pollution by up to 45% by 2030 and help California achieve our goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2045.

After experiencing multiple devastating oil spills off our shores near Santa Barbara, the Central Coast has been a leader in the environmental movement. It is imperative that we continue to protect our coast and oceans from the possibility of another oil spill in the future. The first bill in Congress was the California Clean Coast Act to permanently prohibit future oil and gas leasing off the coast of the entire state of California, simultaneously protect our coastal ecosystems and spurring the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Through my work on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), I have supported long overdue legislation that officially acknowledges climate change is a direct threat to U.S. national security interests. It requires a report from the Department of Defense (DoD) on the vulnerabilities to military installations and combatant commander requirements resulting from climate change.

In Congress, I have joined the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, which is kept evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats and serves as a working group dedicated to advancing proposals that will mitigate and reduce climate change, while at the same time encouraging economic growth and job creation. I am also a member of the Climate and Environmental Justice Congressional Taskforce, Congressional Oceans Caucus, Outdoor Recreation Caucus, and Congressional Shellfish Caucus, all of which share the common aim of conservation. We must protect our environment and public health for future generations.  

HEALTH

I believe that everyone has a right to accessible and affordable healthcare. I am committed to protecting the health of all citizens regardless of age, socioeconomic status, health history, or gender. Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed in 2010, I have seen firsthand the direct impact of this legislation locally over the past seven years to communities and families across the Central Coast. 

The ACA meant Sarah from Lompoc could afford to open her own small business and afford insurance coverage for her two children.

It meant that when Kathleen in San Luis Obispo was diagnosed with ovarian and breast cancer, her $500,000 medical bill was covered by her healthcare plan.

And it meant that Adrienne, from Buellton, can now afford to pay for her husband’s nursing facility, as his debilitating disease prevents her from being able to physically care for him.

My first year in Congress, House Republicans passed a bill that would have repealed the ACA and taken away protections for people with pre-existing conditions. I voted against this repeal because it would have skyrocketed health care costs and taken insurance coverage away from over 27,000 Central Coast residents. The ACA repeal bill thankfully failed to pass the Senate, but since then, Republicans have taken steps to weaken our health insurance system and dramatically increase premium costs by destabilizing the insurance market.

While the ACA has provided health insurance to cover the 23 million Americans, it still is not perfect and health care and prescription drug costs remain too high. Now, more than ever, Congress must work across the aisle to improve our health care system and bring down costs for all Americans. That is why I have joined with a bipartisan group of my colleagues in the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus to craft smart, bipartisan legislation that would stabilize the insurance markets and lower prescription drug costs. These proposals include mandatory funding for CSR payments and creating a permanent reinsurance program. I have also co-sponsored legislation to create a public option under the ACA and provide much-needed competition with private industry to bring down insurance costs.

It is Congress' responsibility to protect people’s right to accessible, affordable, and nondiscriminatory health care.

HOUSING

I believe in providing safe and affordable housing so that people from all backgrounds can enjoy what our wonderful communities have to offer. 

As of 2019, California is short 1.4 million affordable rental units. Of the more than 2 million very low-income renter households in California, roughly two-thirds are severely cost burdened, meaning they spend more than half their income on rent. As a result of skyrocketing housing costs, our unsheltered population has increased 22% over the last decade. 15% of California’s unsheltered population are families with children. 

In order to support unsheltered persons, create equitable housing opportunities, and attract more people to our growing local economies, we must work to make  housing safer and more affordable for residents of the Central Coast. 

The Central Coast has been a leader in housing policy and I am committed to expanding the great work that has already been done in our district. For example, Santa Barbara’s Safe Parking Program, the first of its kind, allows individuals experiencing vehicular homelessness to safely park overnight in designated areas with access to basic amenities like restrooms and showers. Since its introduction, this Central Coast program has inspired communities across the country to invest in their own safe parking programs. Its success prompted me to introduce H.R. 2965, the Naomi Schwartz Safe Parking Program Act, which requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a grant program that will fund similar programs across the country that are modeled after our own.

I am also committed to addressing the shortage of affordable housing units, so working families of all incomes can afford a home. We can do this by encouraging private investment in low-cost housing development. I am a supporter of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation that will lower the threshold for localities to borrow money in order to develop new housing, which could result in nearly 1.5 million more affordable homes across the country in the next 10 years. With its passage, this bill will create reliable housing opportunities so more people can come to the Central Coast and experience all our community has to offer. Developing new housing units also creates jobs and economic opportunities that grow our economy.  

Securing affordable housing for our brave men and women in uniform continues to be a challenge. That’s why I have introduced the Home for the Brave Act, which exempts disability benefits from counting towards the total income of veterans applying for housing assistance. Compensation for injuries sustained in the line of duty should not keep our veterans from receiving the help they need to find a home after returning from service.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a devastating housing shortage across the state. As a result, I supported federal housing aid to address this crisis. In 2020, the CARES Act brought $550 million into our state for the Project RoomKey Program, which converts hotels, motels, and empty apartment buildings into long-term low-cost housing. More recently, the American Rescue Plan provided over $10 million to the Central Coast through HOME Investment Partnership Programs specifically to support unsheltered persons. 

In addition to my support for these critical pieces of legislation, I am also proud to serve on the Congressional Homelessness Caucus. Providing affordable housing for working individuals and families is key to a strong economy and safe community. With this work, we can make sure that no one has to worry about whether they will be able to afford rent or where they will sleep at night.

IMMIGRATION

I immigrated to America with my parents when I was a child. This country has since given me the opportunity to work hard, raise my family, and serve my country both in the military and in Congress. It is important that we have a fair immigration system that works. Unfortunately, our current system is deeply flawed, and I am concerned that the Trump Administration's actions on immigration only serve to create fear and uncertainty in our immigrant communities. 

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has given nearly 800,000 young people a shot at the American Dream, allowing them to come forward, live, work, and learn in the United States legally and without fear of deportation. This includes the over 9,000 students, entrepreneurs, and military members eligible for the program on the Central Coast.  The President's decision to terminate DACA and strip these young people of that hope and opportunity is unconscionable and incompatible with our American values. Ending this program undermines our economic growth and competitiveness, costing our economy $490 billion in lost GDP over the next decade in addition to losing potential innovation and entrepreneurship. I am proud to co-sponsor the DREAM Act, to permanently codify DACA.

In 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump Administration will separate parents from children who try to enter the United States seeking asylum or refuge. I saw the impact of this cruel decision first-hand when I toured the Tornillo detention facility for immigrant children near the El Paso port of entry in Texas. The Administration has since reversed course and ended this policy, but there is no doubt that this has had lasting psychological effects on these children, some of whom remain separated from their parents. I joined Senator Dianne Feinstein as an original co-sponsor of the Keep Families Together Act, to stop the Trump Administration from needlessly separating immigrant children from their families at the border ever again.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) I also led a bipartisan effort to ensure that service members who have permanent resident status are aware of the opportunity for expedited naturalization. With intensified military operations in recent years, many service members were not made aware of their expedited naturalization opportunities. This amendment now requires that the military provide this information to our eligible service members and veterans.

I believe immigrants have long contributed to the strength and vibrancy of America. The only way forward in solving our immigration crisis is through comprehensive immigration reform, not through xenophobic and misguided policies that dehumanize our immigrant populations. I will continue to work toward enacting sensible, bipartisan immigration reform.

JOBS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

I am committed to working across party lines to bring quality jobs to the Central Coast by investing in infrastructure, encouraging clean energy development, and embracing new technology.

In addition, I believe that the best way to support our businesses and workers is to ensure there is pay equity as well as an increase in wages to meet the standards of living for all Americans.  I have been a staunch supporter of raising the minimum wage and ensuring paycheck fairness. 

Over fifty years after the Equal Pay Act was signed into law the wage gap persists, harming not only women but also the families they support. I have cosponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and guarantee that women can challenge pay discrimination and hold employers accountable. 

As the decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) moves forward, I am focused on efforts to create renewable energy incentives and job retraining programs that will help offset the loss of jobs and revenue on the Central Coast. I have introduced the Energy Opportunity Zones Act to create energy opportunity zones for the renewable energy industry in regions impacted by nuclear power plant closures. The legislation extends tax credits as well as introduce a new tax credit to encourage renewable energy business development in San Luis Obispo County.

I will continue fighting to create more economic opportunities, as well as support our workforce throughout the Central Coast. I am committed to making sure that every opportunity is rewarded to those who are willing to put in the hard work.

PREVENTING GUN VIOLENCE

Preventing gun violence is a deeply personal issue for me; my older sister took her life with a gun when we were growing up together in Arizona. Too many families have felt the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence, and I will not stop fighting to pass gun safety measures while serving in Congress.

Often times, perpetrators of mass shootings have a history of violence and erratic behavior as was the case with the deadly shooting in our own Central Coast community of Isla Vista. That is why I introduced the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, to help give law enforcement and families a tool to prevent gun violence through a court order before it happens. This bill would incentivize states to pass laws as we have in California, that enable family members or law enforcement officials to petition a judge for a ‘gun violence prevention order,’ to temporarily stop someone who poses a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing a gun.

Congress must also pass universal background checks, a policy supported by nearly 90 percent of the American people, including the vast majority of gun owners. We must also reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban, which Congress shamefully allowed to expire in 2004.

There is no single solution to end the gun violence epidemic in America, but that is no reason not to try and prevent some of these horrific attacks with common-sense reforms. We must protect our communities from this senseless violence while respecting the protection offered by the 2nd Amendment.

TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

On the Central Coast, we rely heavily on our highways, railways, and airports to connect us to the rest of California and the country. A safe and efficient regional transportation network to connect our communities is critical to encouraging economic growth and maintaining the quality of life for families in our region. As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I understand the need to invest our federal tax dollars here on the Central Coast and better support local governments in building and maintaining infrastructure.

I was elected to serve as Vice Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructue Committee, a position reserved for an active member of the committee who has served in Congress for less than five years. In this role I'm working with the committee to help put Americans back to work by securing robust investments in our nation's crumbling infrastructure and to ensure the long-term solvency of our Highway Trust Fund.

My first year in Congress, the President's budget attempted to cut $122 billion from highway programs, after the expiration of the current highway bill. It also cut discretionary transportation accounts, including reductions in Amtrak, and the elimination of TIGER grants and cuts that capital investment grants programs. On the House Budget Committee, I questioned the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Mick Mulvaney on the White House Budget’s elimination of funds for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants. Thankfully, these programs were ultimately reinstated.

While in Congress, I have strongly supported Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County’s bids for TIGER grants, which would help fund the Highway 101 widening and much-needed improvements to Highway 46. These routes serve as a critical resource for the economy by facilitating tourism and the transportation of Central Coast agriculture. When access to the Central Coast through Highway 101 was disrupted by the Montecito Mudslides, Highway 46 served as a critical alternative route for goods and services to local communities.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, California is currently home to over 1,300 structurally deficient bridges, 678 high hazard dams, and 50% of its nearly 200,000 miles of public roads are in poor condition. Infrastructure repairs and improvements are vital to so many industries that we rely on and help us get out families home safely. However, little action has been taken by Congress in the past few years to provide substantive funds for our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. Repeatedly employing stop-gap funding measures for this critical need is only holding back our local economies. I have partnered with colleagues to cosponsor bipartisan legislation that encourages innovation and development. The Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Act establishes a program to facilitate investment in and the financing of certain infrastructure projects. 

To continue to thrive in a global economy, America must act as a leader in innovation as we face a changing climate and address the subsequent threats by investing in clean renewable energy, building climate-resilient infrastructure, and committing to reducing harmful greenhouse gasses. I introduced the bipartisan Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability (WIRSA) Act to establish an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant program for communities to improve the resiliency and adaptability of their water-related infrastructure. Natural disasters, like the one we experienced during the Montecito Debris Flow, show us the importance of building resilient infrastructure as we grapple with the effects of climate change and an ongoing drought crisis.

We need to work together to make substantive investment in our country's network of transportation, energy, water, broadband, and civic infrastructure in order to create quality good-paying American jobs in the process.

VOTING AND CIVIL RIGHTS

As your Congressman, I believe that we need to address all civil rights concerns by passing bipartisan legislation that protects American workers from discrimination on the basis of color, race, religion, age, disability, and gender. Civil rights laws that have been enacted over the last few decades have made strides to ensure that all people are able to succeed based on their abilities.

Unfortunately, recent Supreme Court decisions have weakened voting rights, workplace protections, and equality for LGBTQ individuals, for minorities, for women and for those serving in our military. This is why I will support bills that will protect our voting rights such as the Voting Rights Advancement Act and continue to ensure the expansion of rights for our LGBT communities are continued by supporting the Equality Act.

We must remain vigilant in the pursuit of a transparent election process and fight for equality. This not only allows all American to be successful but also serves to benefit future generations. Together all of our efforts comprise the struggle of a nation to promote respect and dignity to each and every person in the United States and abroad.

Defense

As a veteran of the United States Marines, I have maintained my strong sense of duty and pride that I was able to serve in America’s Armed Forces. As your Congressman I was selected to be part of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) as well as serve on the Subcommittee of Tactical Air and Land and the Subcommittee on Readiness. This committee is responsible in appropriating over for $650 billion for the Department of Defense and sets forth policies, programs, and activities for the military worldwide.

A major piece of legislation I participated in drafting, amending, debating, and passing in the House of Representatives was the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 (NDAA). After participating in this legislative process, I remain concerned about the size of the defense budget and support commonsense solutions to find efficiencies and reduce wasteful spending that can occur. I supported the NDAA because it included many measures that address issues of importance for Central Coast families such as an increase in pay for our service members, efforts to combat climate change, promote infrastructure improvements, and support local programs like our National Guard Youth Grizzly Challenge Program.

As we consider additional policy relating to the security of the United States I remain committed to working to balance our national security requirements and the needs of our service men and women with other budgetary priorities.

VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES

The Central Coast is home to military bases, many active military personnel, and veterans who have devoted their lives to protecting our country. As a veteran, I am committed to ensuring that these brave men and women, who have sacrificed so much for our country along with their families, have access to the services and benefits they have earned. If you are experiencing issues with the Veterans Affairs (VA) Department, please reach out to my office. 

My office helped Angela, who served as an Arabic linguist with the US Navy and was subsequently diagnosed with PTSD. She filed her first claim in 2012 but had been denied benefits twice by the time she reached out to my office for help in 2016.
 

After assisting her for two years, she was granted 70% rating for disability benefits from the VA and now can file for VA Unemployability. I am so glad that Angela reached out to my office and that we could provide her with the help she needed and deserved. 

I've heard from far too many Central Coast veterans who are delaying the health care that they need and deserve out of frustration and lack of accessibility to local Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. This year, the House passed my amendments to the Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act that provided funding to address challenges Central Coast veterans experience in accessing VA medical centers and local Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). The amendments allocate $8 million toward improving veteran transportation services and $5 million to upgrade and improve the VA phone system.

Our veterans are often unfortunately at greater risk of mental illness and substance abuse and local Veterans’ Treatment Courts (VTCs) are instrumental in helping veterans involved in the criminal justice system who suffer from substance use, or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) fully funded my first grant request, totaling $975,000 to Santa Barbara County to support our VTCs and our veterans. 

I am also working across the aisle to reduce veteran homelessness on the Central Coast by introducing the bipartisan Home for the Brave Act of 2019. H.R. 4191 would exempt disability benefits from counting toward total income when determining eligibility for housing assistance programs through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Our veterans stepped up to defend our national security and Congress must step up for them to fix this egregious penalty against our disabled veterans. 

The President signed into law the bipartisan Gold Star Families Support and Installation Access Act, which I coauthored with my colleague Congressman Don Bacon. This bill now ensures that Gold Star qualified families can receive grief counseling, visit a grave site of their loved ones, and attend a memorial service or access military commissaries on military bases.

AGRICULTURE

The Central Coast is one of our nation’s agricultural powerhouses: growing crops that feed communities from coast to coast.

As a member of the Agriculture Committee, I play a direct role in crafting policy that supports our farmers and farmworkers, their farms, and the agricultural way of life on the Central Coast. Not only do the growers, fishers, ranchers, and farmworkers provide our communities with nutritious foods, but they generate billions in economic activity for our region. 

Over 75 types of crops are grown in California’s 24th Congressional District, including strawberries, wine grapes, avocados, cut flowers, and more. As a member of the Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research Subcommittee I work to ensure these growers have the federal resources they need to thrive. As a member of the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee, I work to ensure major commodities like corn, wheat, and cotton are produced and meet the needs of our country. 

I am always looking for creative ways to support local growers. To support California’s cut flower industry, which makes up three quarters of all American grown cut flowers, I led bipartisan legislation to require any flowers on display in the White House, Department of Defense, or State Department be grown domestically.

We must ensure that everyone can afford to put nutritious food on their table every night. As a member of the Nutrition subcommittee, I directly oversee programs that help people cover their food costs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh in California. I will continue to fiercely support this program and others that help feed thousands of Central Coast residents.

I am working in Congress to help come up with solutions to the challenges California farms are facing, like severe drought and labor shortages.

That is why I’m proud to have secured billions in additional funding to address drought and wildfire in our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. And that is why I voted in support of the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act which makes significant investments in innovative drought-proof water infrastructure, including water recycling and desalination projects.

To help address labor shortages, I helped write the Farm Workforce Modernization Act: bipartisan legislation that both farmers and farmworkers have told Congress needs to signed into law as soon as possible. Our bill provides a pathway for earned legal status for existing farmworkers, makes meaningful reforms to the H-2A agricultural guest worker program and creates a first-of-its-kind, merit-based visa program specifically designed for the nation’s agricultural sector.

To further assist with the labor shortage, I secured $500,000 for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and the California Strawberry Commission to research automation in agriculture. This research will eventually help growers to plant, prune, and harvest their crops more efficiently, easing the demand for labor.