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.
Congresswoman Porter is committed to advancing common sense reforms to keep our families safe from gun violence. Congresswoman Porter is committed to standing up to the gun lobby to protect Orange County families from the threat of gun violence. In one of her first speeches on the House floor, Congresswoman Porter focused on the importance of taking action to prevent gun violence. She highlighted the inspirational advocacy of Mary Leigh and Charlie Blek, local leaders who have fought to reduce gun violence in our district and in California. She has also been an advocate for safe gun storage and hosted a town hall on the topic to share potentially life-saving information with Orange County families. As a member of the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Congresswoman Porter helped the House pass its most significant gun violence prevention legislation in decades. She voted for the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, which would require background checks on every gun sale in the country. She also backed the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021 to close the so-called “Charleston loophole” that allows a gun sale if a federal background check is not completed within three days—even if the buyer has a criminal record. This legislation included an amendment introduced by Congresswoman Porter that would require Congress to issue a report on the effect of firearm possession in domestic violence situations. Both bills passed the House with bipartisan support. Congresswoman Porter supports common sense gun reforms that will keep families safe. She joined over 200 colleagues in cosponsoring Ethan’s Law, which sets standards for safe firearm storage and will provide resources to help educate gun owners on how to keep guns out of the hands of children. She also supports legislation to keep homemade firearms out of the hands of people who are barred from owning guns. Congresswoman Porter also joined the House of Representatives in passing an extension of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that included a provision restricting convicted domestic abusers and stalkers from accessing guns. As a cosponsor of the Gun Violence Prevention Research Act of 2019, she advocated to fund research on gun violence as a public health issue. For the first time in more than 20 years, Congress allocated $25 million for this critical research in 2020—and has continued to provide resources for this research each year since. |