Pete Aguilar represents the 31st Congressional District of California. He was most recently re-elected in 2020 and serves on the House Appropriations Committee. In the 117th Congress, Rep. Aguilar holds the leadership position of Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus.
Raising his family in the community his family has called home for four generations, Representative Aguilar understands the challenges that Inland Empire families face today. He started his first job at the age of twelve, working with his grandfather at the San Bernardino County Courthouse cafeteria. He then put himself through college with the assistance of student loans and federal grants, and later established a life in public service to give back to his community.
The Great Recession devastated communities across the nation, particularly those in San Bernardino County. Since taking office, Representative Aguilar has made getting the Inland Empire economy moving again and putting residents back to work his top priorities. Helping small businesses grow and expand  Authored the On-the-Job Training Tax Credit Act—a bill that provides a tax credit for small businesses to train and hire new employees.  Authored the Small Business Jobs Act—a targeted tax credit to small businesses that operate in counties with unemployment rates above the national average, which would assist businesses in San Bernardino County.  Authored the Displaced Jobs Relief Act—a bill that helps businesses recover that have seen significant jobs or sales losses due to foreign competition.  Authored the Small Business Lending Assistance Act—a bill to eliminate fees for certain Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to businesses in areas with higher unemployment rates so small businesses can access capital.  Authored the Job Opportunity and Business Services (JOBS) Act—a bill that opens communication channels for Workforce Development Boards (WDB) to use federal resources to advertise their services.  Formed a Small Business Advisory Board—a group of Inland Empire small business owners from various industries regularly meet with Rep. Aguilar to advise him on the issues facing Inland Empire employers, and to make recommendations for steps that can be taken at the federal level to alleviate small business’ burdens.  Supported the America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act—a bi-partisan bill to provide stability and tax relief for small businesses by permanently extending a tax break that assists them invest in property and equipment. Connecting residents with job opportunities  Hosted a Jobs Fair that connected local employers with Inland Empire job-seekers. Investing in our infrastructure to support business growth  Cosponsored the National Infrastructure Development Bank Act—a bill that helps fund projects to repair streets, roads, highways and bridges in Southern California and across the country.  Helped secure federal funds for Inland Empire building and construction projects—more than $1 million dollars was granted by the federal government for the construction of Loma Linda University Health’s San Bernardino Campus – Rep. Aguilar has supported a number of projects like this to help grow the Inland Empire economy and create jobs for our residents. Supporting Inland Empire workers and families  Cosponsored the Raise the Wage Act—a bill to incrementally raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $12.00 an hour by 2020.  Cosponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act—a bill to close the wage gap that exists between men and women. Today, women earn on average 79 cents to every dollar made by men.