Congresswoman Katie Porter represents the 45th Congressional District in Orange County, California.
In Washington, Congresswoman Porter has remained committed to putting Orange County families first. As a member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, she’s asked tough questions of bank CEOs and administration officials to hold them accountable to the American people. She’s also a proud member of the House Natural Resources Committee, where she works tirelessly to protect our beaches and public lands, elevate science-based solutions to the climate crisis, and keep Orange County families safe from wildfires. She chairs the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, where she leads efforts to hold polluters accountable.
An experienced commercial law professor and consumer protection attorney, Congresswoman Porter has been on the front lines of the fight for consumers and investors.
Congresswoman Porter has used her position on the House Financial Services Committee to hold legislators, executive officials, and large corporations accountable to consumers. She stood up to leaders of both parties to speak up against a bill that would prevent the IRS from creating its own program to allow Americans to file their taxes for free, called out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for rolling back protections that prevent debt collectors from harassing American families, and exposed Equifax CEO Mark Begor for arguing in federal court that his company’s data breach did not harm consumers. Her questions shedding light on corporate hypocrisy—arguing one thing in court and saying another thing to the American public—have put Washington lobbyists on notice.
To protect students against predatory lending practices, Congresswoman Porter introduced the Relief for Defrauded Students Act of 2019. This bill would make permanent a student loan forgiveness program for borrowers to reclaim loan payments from predatory institutions. She also introduced legislation to strengthen the oversight abilities of the top federal official responsible for defending student borrowers and insulate the office from executive meddling.
To protect investors, Congresswoman Porter introduced the Stronger Enforcement of Civil Penalties Act. Her bill would increase the consequences for companies that cheat investors, by escalating the maximum penalties that violators can be fined and creating a new, harsher category of penalties for repeated and egregious rule-breaking.