{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where chamber = \"Senate\", state = \"CA\" and year = 2020 sorted by date descending", "rows": [["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=29C073CE-C8B5-41CD-B359-EB69F9831D94", "Feinstein to Park Service: Restart Lease Negotiations for San Franciscos Iconic Cliff House", "2020-12-31", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today called on the National Park Service to negotiate a lease extension of the Cliff House building for use as a restaurant.\r\nI regret that an agreement has not yet been reached to extend the contract to use San Francisco's historic Cliff House building as a restaurant.\r\nThis is an important San Francisco landmark, and the National Park Service should immediately renew negotiations to maintain its role in the community. A building has stood on this site for more than 150 years and has long served as a gathering place. That role should persist  the building should not be converted to an office building.\r\nI urge the National Park Service, the Hountalas family and their proposed partner to return to the negotiation table. I encourage the National Park Service to explore all possible opportunities to maintain the historic role of this building as a restaurant and visitor destination. Our history is too important to set aside so readily.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://bass.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/norton-bass-lead-letter-president-elect-biden-combating-aircraft-noise", "Norton, Bass Lead Letter to President-Elect Biden on Combating Aircraft Noise", "2020-12-31", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Karen Bass", "B001270", "bass.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The disruption to human health and local economies by aircraft noise has long been overlooked or altogether ignored by the FAA, said Congresswoman Bass. I urge the Biden administration to appoint FAA officials who will finally address this issue that has plagued many of my constituents.\nThe letter was also signed by Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA), Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY), Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA), Congressman Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Congressman Ed Case (D-HI), Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL), Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA).\nThe full text is below.\nDecember 28, 2020\nThe Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.  \n\tPresident-elect of the United States  \n\tOffice of the Biden-Harris Transition  \n\tWashington, DC 20500\nDear President-elect Biden:\nYou will soon name several new appointees to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including the Deputy FAA Administrator, the Chief Operating Officer of the Air Traffic Organization, the Associate Administrator for Airports, and the Assistant Administrator for Policy, International Affairs, and Environment. While the FAA and the aviation industry face many high-profile challenges, as Members of the Quiet Skies Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives, we write to bring to your attention the overlooked problem of the disruption to human health and local economies from aircraft noise. We urge you to appoint officials who will include creative approaches to solving noise problems in the work ahead.\nWe represent Americans from diverse locales across the country, united by grave concern over the toll that noise can take on the people living with a constant drone of aircraft. Planes fly low or late at night, near homes and schools; flights arrive and depart within minutes of each other; and the FAA's NextGen project has concentrated flight paths without consideration of the people below. As a result of these policies, millions of Americans suffer from sleep disruption; exacerbation of high blood pressure and other chronic diseases; learning loss in schools; and economic losses to businesses ranging from tourism to technology to entertainment.\nFor decades the agency has consistently downplayed and overlooked the toll of noise disruption on human lives and communities. The NextGen project to update the technology used to control air traffic has brought foreseeable problems that could have been headed off if the agency, early in its planning stages, had considered what happens on the ground as well as what happens in the skies and included in the process business owners, local elected officials, airport noise roundtables, health advocates, and others likely to be affected.\nAs Members of Congress, we all fly as part of our work. We agree that the FAA's mission to maintain the safety and efficiency of our airspace is paramount. But we also believe that better noise control and full participation from all involved and affected can only enhance that safety and efficiency, not detract from it. The new appointees at the FAA should be committed to inventive problem-solving, to listening and bringing all affected parties into the discussion, and to finding win-win solutions. These leaders should embrace bold ideas, work in good faith with the Quiet Skies Caucus and Congress, and pledge to alleviate noise disruption on the ground, with a renewed focus on inclusiveness.\nWe look forward to learning of your choices for the FAA and to working with your administration in the 117th Congress to combat aircraft noise. Thank you for your leadership, and congratulations on your presidency.\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-house-filing-amicus-brief-in-gohmert-v-pence", "Pelosi Statement on House Filing Amicus Brief in Gohmert v. Pence", "2020-12-31", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after the House of Representatives filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in the case of Gohmert v. Pence, which attempts to unconstitutionally grant the Vice President the power to personally choose presidential electors, against the results of the popular vote and the certified Electoral College results:\n\nPresident-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris decisively won the 2020 election, with a record number of votes and an historic margin of victory. Yet, President Trump and Republicans in Congress have refused to respect the will of the American people and instead have spread dangerous conspiracy theories and brought over fifty extreme, failed lawsuits in a brazen attempt to overturn the certified results of the 2020 election.\n\nThe Gohmert lawsuit has zero legal merit and is yet another sabotage of our democracy.\n\nThere is no doubt that, despite this desperate unpatriotic charade, on January 6, Joe Biden will be confirmed by the acceptance of the vote of the Electoral College as the 46th President of the United States.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://mcnerney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-mcnerney-announces-2020-congressional-app-challenge-winner", "Rep. McNerney Announces 2020 Congressional App Challenge Winner", "2020-12-30", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Jerry McNerney", "M001166", "mcnerney.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Stockton, CA  Today, Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09) announced that the winner of the 2020 Congressional App Challenge for the 9th Congressional District is Mountain House High School student, Advithi Kethidi. Advithi's app, HourShop, enables students to receive community service hours and help those in need.\nAdvithi came up with the idea for her app during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she realized the danger and difficulty high-risk populations encounter when running typical errands, such as getting groceries. She also found that students were being deprived of the opportunities to collect volunteer hours because of stay-at-home orders. Advithi designed her app as a solution for both of these situations: to provide an efficient way for students to earn community service hours during the pandemic while allowing high-risk individuals and families to stay home and stay safe.\nThe promise of technology and this generation's acute familiarity with these tools opens a world of possibilities to address our most pressing issues, while also presenting people with new opportunities, said Congressman McNerney. Advithi saw a need in our community  one that many are currently facing  and she designed a solution to not only connect people, but to provide a new way to give back. That is the beauty of technology: it can be harnessed to expand access to much needed services and revolutionize how members of our community engage with one another. I commend her for her thoughtfulness and hard work throughout the development of this award-winning app.\nThe Congressional App Challenge is a nationwide competition intended to engage students' creativity and encourage their participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields. Students compete with peers by creating and exhibiting their software application for web, PC, tablet, mobile, raspberry Pi or any other platform of their choice. The contest was open to all middle school and high school students who reside in California's 9th Congressional District.\nYou can watch Advithi's explanation of her app here: https://youtu.be/LK70vsb424g\n###\nRep. Jerry McNerney proudly serves the constituents of California's 9th Congressional District that includes portions of San Joaquin, Contra Costa, and Sacramento Counties. For more information on Rep. McNerney's work, follow him on Facebook and on Twitter @RepMcNerney.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-announces-creation-of-select-committee-on-economic-disparity-fairness-in", "Pelosi Announces Creation of Select Committee on Economic Disparity & Fairness in Growth", "2020-12-30", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement announcing the creation in the 117th Congress of the new Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth:\n\nAs House Speaker, I am proud to announce the creation of the new, bipartisan Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, which will be an essential force in Congressional Democrats' action to combat the crisis of income and wealth disparity in America. It is molded after the mission of the Temporary National Economic Committee, founded by President Roosevelt and the Congress after the Great Depression to study and combat the concentration of wealth in America and its role in triggering economic collapse.\n\nAs President Roosevelt said before founding this Committee, The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living.'\n\nThe past several decades have shown with devastating clarity the marked imbalance between the financial fortunes of CEOs and workers. The reverence of those who amass profits by stagnating wages has seriously undermined the lives and livelihoods of many Americans, while slowing economic growth in our country. This year, the disturbing, dangerous trend of economic disparity has also been accelerated by the coronavirus economic crisis.\n\nThe devaluing of work has had a negative impact on consumer confidence, job creation and economic growth. And the situation of families no longer believing that their children will have a brighter future than they is seriously damaging and demoralizing to our society.\n\nThat is why we are creating this Select Committee, which will be a resource to the Congress to make policy related to economic fairness, access to education and workforce development. Working with the Committees of Jurisdiction, the Select Committee will study and recommend proposals to make our economy work for everyone, powering American economic growth while ensuring that no one is left out or left behind in the 21st Century Economy.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/transcript-of-pelosi-weekly-press-conference-today-90", "Transcript of Pelosi Weekly Press Conference Today", "2020-12-30", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi held her weekly press conference today in the Capitol Visitor Center. Below are the Speaker's remarks:\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Good morning. Welcome to the last weekly of this year  of this year, of this session of Congress and of this Congress. Until next week, when we'll be in a new Congress. I wish you a Happy New Year as we go forward.\n\nSadly, the Congress received the news last evening of the passing of a new Member of Congress, Luke Letlow from Louisiana, due to be sworn in this Sunday, but taken by the coronavirus yesterday. He leaves his wife and two babies, and we extend great sympathy to his family. So sad. Forty-one years old, coronavirus, blood clot complication. Could happen to anyone. And it has happened to nearly 350,000 Americans.\n\nMany of those deaths could have been avoided. As we go forward, we must, we must make sure that we are scientific and determined to crush the virus in whatever form it takes. In the meantime, though, let us extend deepest sympathy to their family and to to those little babies who have lost their daddy.\n\nSo, here we are in time, as I mentioned, the last meeting of the year for us. Let's just talk about the last week or so. In the last week or so, we sent to the President the legislation, it took some time for it to be enrolled because it was a lot  a big bill. He received it on Christmas Eve, 3:30 in the afternoon. He did sign it on Sunday evening and we were very pleased with that because it had very strong bipartisan vote in the House and in the Senate.\n\nIn the course of, though, of that week, the President announced his support for the $2,000 direct payment, which we madly embraced, and said, We join with the President in supporting this,' came in on Christmas Eve, were blocked by the Republicans for having a Unanimous Consent to bill  bring up that legislation. But on Monday, in regular session, we brought it forth and it passed with strong bipartisan support. We were very pleased then to send that over to Mitch McConnell and the Senate.\n\nThe President of the United States has expressed his support for the $2,000. The Democrats and Republicans in the House have passed that legislation. Who is holding up that distribution to the American people? Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans.\n\nDemocratic Leader Schumer, yesterday, asked for Unanimous Consent to bring it up in the Senate, which was blocked by Mitch McConnell and the Republicans in the Senate. In blocking it, they are in denial of the hardship that the American people are experiencing now. Health wise, financially, in every way. Their lives and livelihood in many cases are on the brink. So, they're in denial of that need in denying this benefit.\n\nI do hope that in the days ahead  we only have a few days left in this session  that they will see the light and understand what the suffering  the suffering that is going on in our country.\n\nNow, I've said before, it's amazing to see the patience that some people have with other people's suffering. These Republicans in the Senate seem to have an endless tolerance for other people's sadness. We urge Mitch McConnell to stop his obstruction and to bring that legislation to the Floor of the Senate. And we urge Republicans in the Senate to encourage him to do so.\n\nIt's really important to note though how important this money in the pockets of American people are. If they have the resources, they spend it. They inject demand into the economy. That is job-creating. It's important to note that with the bill that we passed last week, that the President signed  that we sent over last week and that the President signed on Sunday evening, brought us up to a, nearly a trillion dollars for small businesses in our country  a trillion and just about $950 billion, and we support that. We know that small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. The most optimistic thing you can do is to start a small business, your hopes and dreams, your ideas, your vision.\n\nBut for those small businesses to take advantage of that money, they have to have customers. It's not enough to keep the doors open if nobody's walking through. And that's why these direct payments are so necessary.\n\nAnd for those small businesses to thrive, they must have services provided by state and local government. Our health care providers, our heroes: health care providers, transportation, sanitation, first responders, police and fire, our teachers, our teachers, our teachers. And that's why in this next session of Congress, in the new Congress with the new President, we must pass legislation that not only honors our heroes, but recognizes the services that they provide enable our lives to function, our businesses to thrive, our economy to prosper and our people to be healthy. So, that will be a very important part of what we do next.\n\nBut you would think that there would at least be the immediate recognition that the money in the pockets of the American people helps those small businesses thrive. Just for  I've had the poster here before. It's a bigger number now than before: about $950 billion, nearly a trillion dollars to small business. $160 billion, $160 billion to state and local government. 950, 160. State and local government: health care workers, police and fire, teachers, sanitation, transportation, food workers. 160, 950.\n\nBut we need more here to exploit the opportunity that is here. And, in the meantime, this $2,000 will go a long way, not only to sustain the financial security of America's working families, but will help small business to thrive as well. So, these things are all connected\n\nAt the same time, as we had a good day on Monday passing, in bipartisan fashion, the CASH Act. The CASH Act, Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help  Caring for Americans with Supplemental [Help], the CASH Act. We also, that day, had an overwhelming vote to override the President's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, the NDAA. Overwhelming, overwhelming vote: [322]-87. One hundred and nine Republicans voted to override the President's veto. We hope that the Senate will follow suit. They had a big, strong vote in the Senate in favor of this bill. Hopefully, they will stand by their votes there and sustain the veto, excuse me, overturn the veto of the President. We'll see. Okay, so that's what happened in the past week.\n\nIn the past week, we have also seen reports of the vaccine distribution not measuring up to what we need to have a fair, equitable distribution of the vaccine that is free. I support what President-elect Joe Biden said yesterday, that in his Administration, the 100 million vaccinations in a short period of time, that he would engage the national Defense Production Act to make sure that we not only have the vaccines, but the means to make the inoculation. It's one thing to be in the lab, another thing to be in the arm.\n\nThere's a lot in between in terms of logistics, in terms of administration, in terms of materials. And one of the things that is holding up the further vaccinations in the country is this Administration, the Trump Administration's lack of cooperation on the distribution of syringes and other things that go into that, and holding up some of the vaccine as well.\n\nSo, this has to be done better. This has to be done better. And let's hope in the last few weeks of the Trump Administration, that they will follow the science, that they will make the vaccines available, that they will make the syringes and other materials available, so that you can have many more people vaccinated even before the inauguration.\n\nThis vaccine  this pandemic is horrible. I mean, in every way, the lives and livelihoods of the American people are affected by it in a massive way. However, it has also pulled back the curtain to reveal further disparities in our economy and in our society. They have become  come into sharper focus because of the pandemic. And that is why I have asked the Rules Committee that we will be taking up the new rules package on Monday, or Sunday night if the schedule allows, but following the vote for Speaker, I will have them announce in the next day or so, when they put forth the rules package, a Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth.\n\nAs we go into this new Congress, we have to have a scientific start on crushing the virus. We have to honor heroes, state and local government, and we have to put money into the pockets of the American people. Hopefully, we can do this on this side of the weekend, rather than waiting until later, the third point, direct payments. That has always been our goal: crush the virus, honor our heroes, money in the pockets of the American people.\n\nClearly, the disparities in income and equity in our country are vast. We've known that. They've only gotten worse, and the pandemic, again, puts it in sharper focus. And that's why I'm proud to announce the creation of a new bipartisan Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, which will be a central force for the Congress to combat the crisis of income and wealth disparity in America.\n\nOur Members are full of exuberance and many suggestions, on both sides of the aisle. Yesterday, some proposed to me, $2,000 a month as this  as we go through this bad time. Others, Congresswoman Jayapal, has a wage guarantee legislation. Others have, Congresswoman Murphy, has the income  the [Employee] Retention Tax Credit, which is in  which is in the bills that the President just signed, somewhat.\n\nBut there are others: sovereign wealth funds to give the profit  the benefit  the income to poor families in America, other bonding issues to try to address the fact that the middle class is the backbone of our democracy. When that is weakened, so is our democracy. So, this is to address not only the middle class, but those who aspire to the middle class. But the disparity has only grown and so I, as a model for this, as you may recall, when we did Mr. Clyburn's committee, we used the Truman Committee as a reference to how to save money, save lives.\n\nThis is something that  it's modeled after the mission of the Temporary National Economic Committee founded by President Roosevelt and the Congress after the Great Depression to study and combat the concentration of wealth in America and its role in triggering economic collapse. This is what President Roosevelt said at the time. He said, The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living.'\n\nThat is why we are creating this Select Committee, which will be a resource to the Congress to make policy related to economic fairness, access to education and workforce development, et cetera. And, again, we'll work with the committees of jurisdiction. This is not a legislative committee. It is a committee to make recommendations. The committees of jurisdiction, have all done a great job, our Education and Labor Committee, Ways and Means Committee, Energy and Commerce Committee, Financial Services, the list  they have done a great job in trying to address these concerns legislatively. We need a bigger spotlight on the problem, and on some of the solutions so that we can all participate in the very worthy suggestions that are made. And again, we will empower American economic growth, while ensuring that no one is left behind in the 21st century economy that we are putting forth.\n\nSo, we have a  we're very excited about our new President-elect, and that in three weeks, we will have a new president. It's pretty exciting, President and Vice President making history, that we have the gavel, that we have held the Congress. We look forward to what's happening in Georgia on Tuesday. So, every day is action packed. But I just wanted to review some of what happened in the past week to take us to this point.\n\nThis point, $2,000 direct payment to the American people being held up by Mitch McConnell, the same person who put $160 billion tax break for the wealthiest people and firms in America in the CARES Act. $160 billion in the CARES Act for the wealthiest in our country, refusing $2,000 to those who need it most, the same Republicans in the Congress who eagerly passed the tax bill that gave 83 percent of the benefits to the top one percent, taking us well into debt. Nearly $2 trillion for our children to pay off so that they could have a tax break for the wealthy with a mythology that it would trickle down. And it has not, nor has it ever. Mitch McConnell, remove the obstacle that you have the American people having the opportunity to have that direct payment, and do it now.\n\n* * *\n\nAny questions? Yes ma'am.\n\nQ: Madam Speaker, do you plan to seat Ms. Miller-Meeks on Sunday, and are you confident that you're going to have a Dem Majority present?\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Yes, and yes, definitely. Yes.\n\nQ: On the stimulus checks, we're hearing on the Senate side that time is running out. Are you going to commit to bringing this idea back, the $2,000 checks, next week if it does die in this Congress?\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Well, let us  let us be hopeful that it can happen this week, because the sooner it happens, the sooner the checks go out. So, we're not giving up on it. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, is advocating for it. The Congress, in a bipartisan way in the House, has voted for it. It would have bipartisan support in the Senate if Mitch McConnell would only allow it to come to the Floor, instead of being an obstruction to those checks going to the American people.\n\nQ: One additional question, we're just hearing from Josh Hawley that he's going to object on January 6th and force a debate on Electoral College votes. Could you comment on that move from the Republican?\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. I have no doubt that on next Wednesday, a week from today, that Joe Biden will be confirmed by the acceptance of the vote of the Electoral College as the 46th President of the United States.\n\nYes, ma'am.\n\nQ: Madam Speaker, an overview from you: you've kept your Caucus together with a fighting spirit this year through very hard times. Did the events of 2020 help keep your Caucus cohesion? And secondly, what are your thoughts on a slimmer Majority next year, next week?\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Well, we are very excited about having won the House. We have the gavel, the Speaker's gavel. We also have 132 other gavels of chairs and subcommittees, and they are again, many of them in the hands, this past term of Freshmen and newer Members of Congress. And we're excited about that. Eighteen Freshmen had gavels, that was historic. There has been nothing even close to that before.\n\nThe  I have every confidence. Our Caucus is unified around our common ethical belief in our responsibility to America's working families. That's what brings us together. Of course, we have our differences in approach, and some other ideas. And that's our vitality. I would not want to be a leader of a party that was rubber stamp, lockstep. That's called Republicans. We, the Democratic Party, are democratic in every way, including respecting the views of all in our Caucus.\n\nSo, I have  I have great confidence that on an agenda that is there for America's working families, we will have the unity that we need to proceed under the leadership of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, the Biden-Harris Administration, and hopefully with the Democratic Senate. We'll see what next week brings.\n\nOkay, thank you all. Thank you all very much.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/transcript-of-pelosi-weekly-press-conference-today-91", "Transcript of Pelosi Weekly Press Conference Today", "2020-12-30", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi held her weekly press conference today in the Capitol Visitor Center. Below are the Speaker's remarks:\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Good morning. Welcome to the last weekly of this year  of this year, of this session of Congress and of this Congress. Until next week, when we'll be in a new Congress. I wish you a Happy New Year as we go forward.\n\nSadly, the Congress received the news last evening of the passing of a new Member of Congress, Luke Letlow from Louisiana, due to be sworn in this Sunday, but taken by the coronavirus yesterday. He leaves his wife and two babies, and we extend great sympathy to his family. So sad. Forty-one years old, coronavirus, blood clot complication. Could happen to anyone. And it has happened to nearly 350,000 Americans.\n\nMany of those deaths could have been avoided. As we go forward, we must, we must make sure that we are scientific and determined to crush the virus in whatever form it takes. In the meantime, though, let us extend deepest sympathy to their family and to to those little babies who have lost their daddy.\n\nSo, here we are in time, as I mentioned, the last meeting of the year for us. Let's just talk about the last week or so. In the last week or so, we sent to the President the legislation, it took some time for it to be enrolled because it was a lot  a big bill. He received it on Christmas Eve, 3:30 in the afternoon. He did sign it on Sunday evening and we were very pleased with that because it had very strong bipartisan vote in the House and in the Senate.\n\nIn the course of, though, of that week, the President announced his support for the $2,000 direct payment, which we madly embraced, and said, We join with the President in supporting this,' came in on Christmas Eve, were blocked by the Republicans for having a Unanimous Consent to bill  bring up that legislation. But on Monday, in regular session, we brought it forth and it passed with strong bipartisan support. We were very pleased then to send that over to Mitch McConnell and the Senate.\n\nThe President of the United States has expressed his support for the $2,000. The Democrats and Republicans in the House have passed that legislation. Who is holding up that distribution to the American people? Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans.\n\nDemocratic Leader Schumer, yesterday, asked for Unanimous Consent to bring it up in the Senate, which was blocked by Mitch McConnell and the Republicans in the Senate. In blocking it, they are in denial of the hardship that the American people are experiencing now. Health wise, financially, in every way. Their lives and livelihood in many cases are on the brink. So, they're in denial of that need in denying this benefit.\n\nI do hope that in the days ahead  we only have a few days left in this session  that they will see the light and understand what the suffering  the suffering that is going on in our country.\n\nNow, I've said before, it's amazing to see the patience that some people have with other people's suffering. These Republicans in the Senate seem to have an endless tolerance for other people's sadness. We urge Mitch McConnell to stop his obstruction and to bring that legislation to the Floor of the Senate. And we urge Republicans in the Senate to encourage him to do so.\n\nIt's really important to note though how important this money in the pockets of American people are. If they have the resources, they spend it. They inject demand into the economy. That is job-creating. It's important to note that with the bill that we passed last week, that the President signed  that we sent over last week and that the President signed on Sunday evening, brought us up to a, nearly a trillion dollars for small businesses in our country  a trillion and just about $950 billion, and we support that. We know that small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. The most optimistic thing you can do is to start a small business, your hopes and dreams, your ideas, your vision.\n\nBut for those small businesses to take advantage of that money, they have to have customers. It's not enough to keep the doors open if nobody's walking through. And that's why these direct payments are so necessary.\n\nAnd for those small businesses to thrive, they must have services provided by state and local government. Our health care providers, our heroes: health care providers, transportation, sanitation, first responders, police and fire, our teachers, our teachers, our teachers. And that's why in this next session of Congress, in the new Congress with the new President, we must pass legislation that not only honors our heroes, but recognizes the services that they provide enable our lives to function, our businesses to thrive, our economy to prosper and our people to be healthy. So, that will be a very important part of what we do next.\n\nBut you would think that there would at least be the immediate recognition that the money in the pockets of the American people helps those small businesses thrive. Just for  I've had the poster here before. It's a bigger number now than before: about $950 billion, nearly a trillion dollars to small business. $160 billion, $160 billion to state and local government. 950, 160. State and local government: health care workers, police and fire, teachers, sanitation, transportation, food workers. 160, 950.\n\nBut we need more here to exploit the opportunity that is here. And, in the meantime, this $2,000 will go a long way, not only to sustain the financial security of America's working families, but will help small business to thrive as well. So, these things are all connected\n\nAt the same time, as we had a good day on Monday passing, in bipartisan fashion, the CASH Act. The CASH Act, Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help  Caring for Americans with Supplemental [Help], the CASH Act. We also, that day, had an overwhelming vote to override the President's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, the NDAA. Overwhelming, overwhelming vote: [322]-87. One hundred and nine Republicans voted to override the President's veto. We hope that the Senate will follow suit. They had a big, strong vote in the Senate in favor of this bill. Hopefully, they will stand by their votes there and sustain the veto, excuse me, overturn the veto of the President. We'll see. Okay, so that's what happened in the past week.\n\nIn the past week, we have also seen reports of the vaccine distribution not measuring up to what we need to have a fair, equitable distribution of the vaccine that is free. I support what President-elect Joe Biden said yesterday, that in his Administration, the 100 million vaccinations in a short period of time, that he would engage the national Defense Production Act to make sure that we not only have the vaccines, but the means to make the inoculation. It's one thing to be in the lab, another thing to be in the arm.\n\nThere's a lot in between in terms of logistics, in terms of administration, in terms of materials. And one of the things that is holding up the further vaccinations in the country is this Administration, the Trump Administration's lack of cooperation on the distribution of syringes and other things that go into that, and holding up some of the vaccine as well.\n\nSo, this has to be done better. This has to be done better. And let's hope in the last few weeks of the Trump Administration, that they will follow the science, that they will make the vaccines available, that they will make the syringes and other materials available, so that you can have many more people vaccinated even before the inauguration.\n\nThis vaccine  this pandemic is horrible. I mean, in every way, the lives and livelihoods of the American people are affected by it in a massive way. However, it has also pulled back the curtain to reveal further disparities in our economy and in our society. They have become  come into sharper focus because of the pandemic. And that is why I have asked the Rules Committee that we will be taking up the new rules package on Monday, or Sunday night if the schedule allows, but following the vote for Speaker, I will have them announce in the next day or so, when they put forth the rules package, a Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth.\n\nAs we go into this new Congress, we have to have a scientific start on crushing the virus. We have to honor heroes, state and local government, and we have to put money into the pockets of the American people. Hopefully, we can do this on this side of the weekend, rather than waiting until later, the third point, direct payments. That has always been our goal: crush the virus, honor our heroes, money in the pockets of the American people.\n\nClearly, the disparities in income and equity in our country are vast. We've known that. They've only gotten worse, and the pandemic, again, puts it in sharper focus. And that's why I'm proud to announce the creation of a new bipartisan Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, which will be a central force for the Congress to combat the crisis of income and wealth disparity in America.\n\nOur Members are full of exuberance and many suggestions, on both sides of the aisle. Yesterday, some proposed to me, $2,000 a month as this  as we go through this bad time. Others, Congresswoman Jayapal, has a wage guarantee legislation. Others have, Congresswoman Murphy, has the income  the [Employee] Retention Tax Credit, which is in  which is in the bills that the President just signed, somewhat.\n\nBut there are others: sovereign wealth funds to give the profit  the benefit  the income to poor families in America, other bonding issues to try to address the fact that the middle class is the backbone of our democracy. When that is weakened, so is our democracy. So, this is to address not only the middle class, but those who aspire to the middle class. But the disparity has only grown and so I, as a model for this, as you may recall, when we did Mr. Clyburn's committee, we used the Truman Committee as a reference to how to save money, save lives.\n\nThis is something that  it's modeled after the mission of the Temporary National Economic Committee founded by President Roosevelt and the Congress after the Great Depression to study and combat the concentration of wealth in America and its role in triggering economic collapse. This is what President Roosevelt said at the time. He said, The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living.'\n\nThat is why we are creating this Select Committee, which will be a resource to the Congress to make policy related to economic fairness, access to education and workforce development, et cetera. And, again, we'll work with the committees of jurisdiction. This is not a legislative committee. It is a committee to make recommendations. The committees of jurisdiction, have all done a great job, our Education and Labor Committee, Ways and Means Committee, Energy and Commerce Committee, Financial Services, the list  they have done a great job in trying to address these concerns legislatively. We need a bigger spotlight on the problem, and on some of the solutions so that we can all participate in the very worthy suggestions that are made. And again, we will empower American economic growth, while ensuring that no one is left behind in the 21st century economy that we are putting forth.\n\nSo, we have a  we're very excited about our new President-elect, and that in three weeks, we will have a new president. It's pretty exciting, President and Vice President making history, that we have the gavel, that we have held the Congress. We look forward to what's happening in Georgia on Tuesday. So, every day is action packed. But I just wanted to review some of what happened in the past week to take us to this point.\n\nThis point, $2,000 direct payment to the American people being held up by Mitch McConnell, the same person who put $160 billion tax break for the wealthiest people and firms in America in the CARES Act. $160 billion in the CARES Act for the wealthiest in our country, refusing $2,000 to those who need it most, the same Republicans in the Congress who eagerly passed the tax bill that gave 83 percent of the benefits to the top one percent, taking us well into debt. Nearly $2 trillion for our children to pay off so that they could have a tax break for the wealthy with a mythology that it would trickle down. And it has not, nor has it ever. Mitch McConnell, remove the obstacle that you have the American people having the opportunity to have that direct payment, and do it now.\n\n* * *\n\nAny questions? Yes ma'am.\n\nQ: Madam Speaker, do you plan to seat Ms. Miller-Meeks on Sunday, and are you confident that you're going to have a Dem Majority present?\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Yes, and yes, definitely. Yes.\n\nQ: On the stimulus checks, we're hearing on the Senate side that time is running out. Are you going to commit to bringing this idea back, the $2,000 checks, next week if it does die in this Congress?\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Well, let us  let us be hopeful that it can happen this week, because the sooner it happens, the sooner the checks go out. So, we're not giving up on it. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, is advocating for it. The Congress, in a bipartisan way in the House, has voted for it. It would have bipartisan support in the Senate if Mitch McConnell would only allow it to come to the Floor, instead of being an obstruction to those checks going to the American people.\n\nQ: One additional question, we're just hearing from Josh Hawley that he's going to object on January 6th and force a debate on Electoral College votes. Could you comment on that move from the Republican?\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. I have no doubt that on next Wednesday, a week from today, that Joe Biden will be confirmed by the acceptance of the vote of the Electoral College as the 46th President of the United States.\n\nYes, ma'am.\n\nQ: Madam Speaker, an overview from you: you've kept your Caucus together with a fighting spirit this year through very hard times. Did the events of 2020 help keep your Caucus cohesion? And secondly, what are your thoughts on a slimmer Majority next year, next week?\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Well, we are very excited about having won the House. We have the gavel, the Speaker's gavel. We also have 132 other gavels of chairs and subcommittees, and they are again, many of them in the hands, this past term of Freshmen and newer Members of Congress. And we're excited about that. Eighteen Freshmen had gavels, that was historic. There has been nothing even close to that before.\n\nThe  I have every confidence. Our Caucus is unified around our common ethical belief in our responsibility to America's working families. That's what brings us together. Of course, we have our differences in approach, and some other ideas. And that's our vitality. I would not want to be a leader of a party that was rubber stamp, lockstep. That's called Republicans. We, the Democratic Party, are democratic in every way, including respecting the views of all in our Caucus.\n\nSo, I have  I have great confidence that on an agenda that is there for America's working families, we will have the unity that we need to proceed under the leadership of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, the Biden-Harris Administration, and hopefully with the Democratic Senate. We'll see what next week brings.\n\nOkay, thank you all. Thank you all very much.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=4D9828DA-9F91-4640-8A66-6267AB268F90", "Washington has to help with L.A.'s meth addiction", "2020-12-29", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Originally published in the Los Angeles Times\r\nBy Dianne Feinstein\r\nAlthough opioids  especially oxycodone and fentanyl  dominate addiction news, another deadly drug has been lurking in the background, causing tens of thousands of fatalities: methamphetamine.\r\nMeth addiction isn't new, but it has quickly emerged in recent years as a particularly deadly threat, and Los Angeles has been hard-hit.\r\nBetween 2008 and 2018, meth-related deaths in L.A.increased tenfold, from 43 to 435, according to county statistics. By 2018, meth was involved in 44% of all drug overdose deaths in Los Angeles County.\r\nLast summer, Mark Casanova, of Homeless Health Care Los Angeles,told The Timesthat meth accounted for 70% of drug use among L.A.'s homeless population. Between 2005 and 2019, according to county data, more than 185,000 individuals who entered publicly funded treatment programs in Los Angeleswere admitted for meth.\r\nIt's way cheaper [than many other street drugs], it lasts longer, you can smoke it or inject it, it's easy to get, Casanova said.\r\nIn September, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and I introduced the Methamphetamine Response Act. The bill, which would direct the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop and implement a plan to address the growing use of meth, passed the Senate in November. Unfortunately, the House has not yet addressed the bill and likely will not pass it before the 116th Congress ends.\r\nWhat did pass the House and Senate, as part of the massive omnibus end-of-year legislation that was signed into law Sunday, was a directive to the drug control policy office to finalize regulations for designating emerging drug threats. The office began the process in May; now it should finish that work as quickly as possible.\r\nThe meth surge isn't confined to California, of course. According to ananalysisby researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2008 and 2017, the number of people admitted nationwide for meth-related treatment rose from 260,000 to 373,000, a 43% increase. And the number admitted for meth treatment who were also using heroin increased from nearly 14,000 to more than 88,000, a stunning 530% increase. Such multiple-substance use exacerbates the dangers.\r\nBy the end of 2019,Drug Enforcement Administration data showmeth availability was growing as street prices declined. Those increases continued this year even as prices started to rise again and much of the country faced public health restrictions due to COVID-19. And between March and May of this year, one lab found that nationwide urine drug testing positivity rates for methincreasedby approximately 20%.\r\nWe're also seeing larger drug busts  again particularly in California, where the majority of meth interdictions at ports of entry occur. In October, U.S. Customs and Border Protectionseized3,000 pounds at the port of Otay Mesa, and the DEAseized2,224 pounds of meth in Riverside County. Both seizures are among the largest on record for the agencies and indicate growing demand for the drug.\r\nWhat Washington must do to address this crisis was laid out in the Methamphetamine Response Act.\r\nFirst, the drug control policy office should declare meth an emerging drug threat. Based on the use and death statistics, it's clear that it meets the criteria, and as such, it should trigger a government-wide response.\r\nSecond, the office must develop and implement a plan that is specific to meth. Addiction is complex, and while a crucial component of the overall U.S. strategy is to reduce the flow of drugs, the problem cannot be solved through law enforcement efforts alone.\r\nThat's why, in addition to providing an assessment of the current availability of meth, the policy office must set short- and long-term goals focused on reducing demand, which means expanding prevention and treatment programs, as well as on reducing supply. To ensure accountability, the meth plan should also include performance measures related to those goals.\r\nWe know that fentanyl and other opioids are ravaging our country and that we must do all we can to prevent this, but we can't ignore the risks that other drugs pose in the process.\r\nWe must act now to prevent methamphetamine from turning into a full-blown national epidemic. This is a problem that won't go away on its own.\r\nDianne Feinstein, a Democrat, is the senior U.S. senator from California.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://bass.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-bass-issues-statement-regarding-arrest-international-boxer-justin", "Rep. Bass Issues Statement Regarding Arrest of International Boxer Justin Juuko", "2020-12-29", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Karen Bass", "B001270", "bass.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\"The Ugandan government must stop unlawfully arresting, detaining, and beating citizens who have opposing views. This action is clearly trying to intimidate Ugandans who oppose the government before the upcoming presidential elections.\n\"On December 12th, the government arrested international boxer Justin Juuko, a Ugandan citizen and California resident. Reportedly, Juuko was arrested along with Garrypaul Mayanja, an FDC activist in Masaka, a district in south-central Uganda. The two were were reportedly conducting training for polling agents ahead of the general election on January 14. The charges must be investigated, and the government should release Mr. Juuko unharmed at once.\n\"Just last week, international human rights activist and attorney Nicholas Opiyo was arrested and is still being unjustly held in custody until January 11th. Opiyo's work on human rights has earned him numerous international awards. He founded Chapter Four Uganda, an organization that advocates for legal protections to human rights, provides training and support for other Ugandan human rights law organizations, and coordinates legal responses to civil rights violations. Mr. Opiyo is being targeted and denied bail for his tireless efforts in advancing human rights and must be released immediately.\n\"Both of these men are being detained simply for their human rights advocacy and their right to peacefully challenge the current government. The Ugandan government must make the safety of all activists and opposition of the current regime a priority. The continued repression of civil society ahead of the upcoming elections cannot be tolerated.\n\"I urge the Ugandan government to release Mr. Juuko, Mr. Opiyo, and all other activists and opposition leaders at once, listen to the will of the people, and have free and fair presidential elections in January.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://mikethompson.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/thompson-releases-end-of-congress-report", "Thompson Releases End of Congress Report", "2020-12-29", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Mike Thompson", "T000460", "mikethompson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington  Today Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) released a report on the 116th Congress, outlining important constituent service and legislative milestones over the last two years. A statement from Thompson is below.\nIt's the greatest honor of my life to represent my community in Congress and I work hard every day to ensure that my staff and I are serving our district. Despite the tough year we have all had, I am proud to have continued my work solving problems for people and responding to their concerns and questions. Through our outstanding casework operation, we resolved more than 3,000 cases for constituents and returned over $5.3 million to them in the 116th Congress, critical funding in such a hard economic year. This includes over $40,000 in economic impact payments to constituents who did not initially receive their payments as intended from the CARES Act.\nOn the legislative side, 13 of my bills were signed into law.From expanding access to telehealth during the pandemic, to providing low-income tax credits, to expanding access to affordable housing in our disaster counties, my legislation is helping our constituents confront the multiple disasters facing our communities.As Chair of the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee, I was able to move legislation to help green the tax code, create incentives to hires veterans and disadvantaged employees and support the hardworking men and women in our district.I look forward to continuing to serve our district and provide the best service possible through my legislative and casework operations.\nThompson reported 13 bills signed into law, 175,843 responses to constituent mail, 39 Town Halls and 657 Capitol and White House tours in the 116th Congress. He also was able to resolve 3,017 constituent cases and return $5,378,754.33 to constituent through the casework process over the past two years.\n###\nCongressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means where he chairs the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures. Rep. Thompson is Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. He is also Co-Chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus and a member of the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Coalition.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://bass.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-bass-applauds-inclusion-foster-youth-grants-omnibus-relief-bill", "Rep. Bass Applauds Inclusion of Foster Youth Grants  In Omnibus Relief Bill", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Karen Bass", "B001270", "bass.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "This pandemic has exposed the most vulnerable populations in our country  especially the nearly half a million young people in our child welfare system and those who age out' of foster care every year. This bill will provide emergency temporary supports and flexibilities for older foster youth, grandparents raising grandchildren & other kinship families, home visiting for at-risk pregnant & parenting families, foster care prevention services, and other child welfare services through the end of 2021. We are encouraged that direct relief will be delivered to these communities in need.\nCOVID-19 Child Welfare Provisions:\nIncreases funding and provides support for older youth who experienced foster care:\n Provides $350 million for the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (Chafee) to support older foster youth and youth transitioning into adulthood.\n\tProvides $50 million for the Educational & Training Vouchers Program and increases maximum award amount to $12,000 per youth.\n\tTemporarily waives state match requirement for additional Chafee funding.\n\tRaises the maximum age for Chafee-eligible former foster youth through age 26.\n\tProvides temporary program flexibilities, including lifting the 30 percent spending cap on housing costs and accommodating pandemic-related disruptions in work and education.\n Prevents children from aging out of foster care and being at risk of homelessness during the pandemic:\n Prohibits states from requiring a child to leave foster care solely due to their age during the pandemic.\n\tFor youth who have aged out of foster care during the pandemic, requires states to permit youth to voluntarily re-enter care.\n\tAllows states to use additional Chafee funds to offset costs caused by these requirements for youth not eligible for federal matching funds.\n Expands access to Family First Prevention Services:\n During the public health emergency, waives state match for evidence-based mental health, substance abuse, and parenting skill services, to allow states to invest in prevention services that keep children safely at home.\n Provides emergency funding for the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families program:\n Provides $85 million and waives state match for additional funds to support family preservation, family reunification, adoption, and other supportive services.\n Expands funding for the Court Improvement Program:\n Provides an additional $10 million for courts handling child welfare cases and temporary flexibilities to conduct virtual hearings, and waives the state match for the new funds.\n Expands access to kinship navigator programs:\n During the public health emergency, waives the state match and allows states to use models not yet in the Evidence Clearinghouse for kinship navigator programs, to provide greater access to federal funding to support grandparents and kin caregivers.\n Makes technical corrections needed in response to FMAP increase:\n Makes a technical correction to Title IV-E treatment of the 6.2% Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) increase for Family First Transition Act funding.\n\tMakes a technical correction to apply the 6.2% FMAP rate increase to the District of Columbia's foster care program in the same way it applies to states.\n Additional Child Welfare Provisions:\nProvides stable housing opportunities for young people age out of foster care:\n Provides three-year FUP vouchers to all young people who are between the ages of 18 and 24 and leaving foster care who are at risk of homelessnesswith the opportunity to extend those vouchers by two years (for a total of five years) by voluntarily participating in self-sufficiency activities.\n Makes higher education more accessible by simplifying the FAFSA process:\n Simplifies the needs analysis for education expenses so that no family contribution is required for anyone who is eligible for a maximum Pell grant award or for families eligible for means-tested family support programs like SSI, WIC, TANF, and SNAP.\n\tMakes it easier for former foster youth to establish independent status.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/speeches/a-massive-wealth-transfer-that-s-either-inadequate-or-unnecessary", "A Massive Wealth Transfer Thats Either Inadequate or Unnecessary", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman McClintock today delivered the following remarks on the House floor:\nA Massive Wealth Transfer That's Either Inadequate or Unnecessary  \n\tSpeech in Opposition to HR 9047  \n\tCongressman Tom McClintock\nDecember 28, 2020\nMr. Speaker:\n Let's get this straight: the small shopkeeper who's just lost their entire savings because of the lockdowns will get the same $2,000 grant as the government bureaucrat who's been enjoying a steady paycheck at home for the past ten months.\n This money is wholly inadequate for those who have been harmed by the lockdowns and wholly unnecessary for those who have not. And this free money doesn't come from heaven -- it comes from the future earnings of those who will be struggling to get back on their feet  making the post-lockdown recovery more difficult and prolonged.\n Much of the burden of this debt will fall on the young, who have already borne the brunt of the lockdowns. It is in a very real sense, a massive wealth transfer from the future to the present, from the young to the old and from those who have been hurt by the lockdowns to those who have not.\n There's only one way to end the suffering caused by the lockdowns. END THEM.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://mikethompson.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/thompson-legislation-to-prevent-fire-accidents-signed-into-law", "Thompson Legislation to Prevent Fire Accidents Signed Into Law", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Mike Thompson", "T000460", "mikethompson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington  Today Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) announced that his Portable Fuel Container Safety Act was signed into law as part of H.R. 133, the omnibus spending bill. The legislation was championed by his constituent Margrett Lewis.\nFlame accidents have tragic consequences, but the solution is smaller than a dime and cheaper than a nickel. When my constituent, Margrett Lewis, came to me with her family's story, I knew we had to do something, said Thompson. That's why I am proud to see this critical bill become law so we can implement the simple and cost-effective solution of flame mitigation devices. Thank you to Margrett for being a tireless champion for this bill and for helping to keep our communities safer from flame accidents.\nIt's bittersweet. This law, too late to save my daughter from the horrors of a burn unit, ensures that every year, 1,000s will be protected from tragic burn injuries and death. I'm so proud of her and her twin sister for moving forward, said Margrett Lewis, a local Sonoma mother who championed the drafting and passage of the bill.\nThe passage of this bill will undoubtedly reduce the occurrences of the phenomena of flame jetting' in this nation and the resulting burn injuries that are so painful, debilitating and disfiguring, said Napa County Fire Captain Steven G. Becker, who helped to bring this issue to Thompson's attention before the first bill introduction. With such a small monetary cost for the solution, the resulting reduction of the injuries, associated suffering and expense of what usually is lifelong treatment, the consumer will experience very little impact aside from increased safety.\nUnder current standards, flammable or combustible liquids can ignite within their containers causing more than 160,000 fires, injuring nearly 4,000 people, and killing 454 each year. Flame mitigation devices can help prevent these types of accidents, but currently there is no requirement for them to be used for the consumer containers found in most homes and for everyday use. Thompson's bill establishes safety standards to help prevent these tragic accidents and you can click here to learn more.\nThe Portable Fuel Container Safety Act will prevent hundreds of people from suffering disfiguring burns each year by implementing a low-cost safety improvement to prevent flame-jetting, said Harold A. Schaitberger, General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters which represents more than 323,000 professional fire fighters. This important, life-saving legislation is now law, thanks to Representative Thompson and his commitment to its passage.\nBurn injuries are among the most severe any patient can face. In addition to untold pain, burn survivors must endure a lengthy treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation period, sometimes lasting a lifetime.This legislation will create common-sense safety measures for portable fuel containers that will prevent thousands of injuries each year, said William L. Hickerson, MD, FACS, President of the American Burn Association. \nThe legislation is endorsed by the American Burn Association, the Congressional Fire Services Institute, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Association of State Fire Marshalls, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Phoenix Society of Burn Survivors.\n###\nCongressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means where he chairs the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures. Rep. Thompson is Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. He is also Co-Chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus and a member of the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Coalition.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/floor-speech-on-caring-for-americans-with-supplemental-help-act-of-2020", "Floor Speech on Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help Act of 2020", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the Floor of the House of Representatives in support of increasing direct payments to Americans to $2,000 via H.R. 9051, the Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help (CASH) Act of 2020. Below are the Speaker's remarks:\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding and I thank him for his masterful work in not only bringing this legislation to the Floor, but working in a bipartisan way on so many important initiatives in the COVID and the Omnibus bill that the President happily signed for us last evening. I thank him for his initiatives that are job-creating, that stimulate the economy and that help meet the needs of the American people.\n\nI'm interested in the comments made by Mr. Brady, because he said we could be putting more money into small business and we do, indeed, in the COVID package, around $300 billion. And I think it is important to note, Madam Speaker, that that brings it to about, almost a trillion dollars since March 27th  28th  when the President signed the CARES Act, about $950 billion for small business. Nearly a trillion dollars, very important.\n\nSmall business is the heart of our economy. What could be more optimistic for anyone to do than to follow their dream, start a small business, create jobs, create wealth, create capital? So important. We see the importance of that to the tune of about a trillion dollars, just under a trillion dollars in these past several months.\n\nBut, if you want to talk about job creation, I hope the gentleman will join us when we go forward to do state and local: our health care workers, honoring our heroes. They are at risk while losing their jobs and they risk their lives to save lives. We are talking about health care workers. We are talking about police and fire, our first responders. We are talking about transportation, sanitation, food workers. We are talking about our teachers, our teachers, our teachers, the custodians of our children for a large part of their day. They are at risk of losing their jobs because of the failure of the Republican side of the aisle to support funds for state and local governments to honor our heroes.\n\nWe want to honor them. We cheer them and applaud them. Let's give them pay. Let's let them have job security. Let's give them PPE, the equipment that they need to do their jobs. So, if you want to talk about saving jobs or growing jobs, for the purpose the distinguished gentleman from Texas mentioned, how are we going to administer  focus on the distribution and administration of the vaccine? Where do you think that happens but in city, county and state hospitals in large measure, by health care workers in those places wherever it is distributed on an individual basis? But, they are the heart of the matter.\n\nAnd that is why we need to go forward with another bill that invests in our state and local governments, not to talk about government, but to talk about services: health care services, education, transportation, making our lives possible, making our very existence possible by what they do. And, without them, how do we function?\n\nSo, again, let's create jobs. Let's save jobs. Let's grow jobs by administering this vaccine as fairly, as equitably as possible, and free to everyone in our country because we are not protected, none of us  unless all of us are protected, none of us is protected.\n\nSo, this $2,000  which, thank you for bringing to the Floor on Christmas Eve. Was roundly rejected by our Republican  asked for Unanimous Consent, this could already be, exist as a law if it happened, but it didn't. So, now, today we have another chance.\n\nSome of the Republicans said, Oh, if they really wanted that, they would have called for a vote that day.' That wasn't true. It's important to note that was a pro forma session and you had to have the consent of the Republicans to bring the bill to the Floor. They withheld their consent.\n\nSo, here we are today, in a legislative day, where we just act with the Majority to bring the legislation to the Floor. I hope it will enjoy a strong bipartisan support. The President of the United States has put this forth as something that he wants to see and part of his signing the legislation yesterday. I hope that will be  that view will be shared by the Republicans in the Senate. Because we will pass this bill today. Either under suspension or under a rule, where it just requires a majority vote. Under suspension, as you know, two-thirds vote, requires Republican, a large number of Republican votes, which I hope we will have, because I do think the American people would love to see that unity on their behalf.\n\nWe are a consumer economy. Putting money into the hands of the American people is a boost to our economy. Not much. This isn't a big stimulus package. It's a  the COVID bill is an emergency supplemental. But this piece will make it, will make it something very important to growing  sustaining our economy.\n\nAnd I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the work that your committee did. Brandon, thank him, and the others, for putting in the Dependent clause. Otherwise, sixteen years and under would get the direct payment. But me, as a mother of five, grandmother of nine, I know that children are dependent after sixteen years, especially if they are still in school. And there are others who are dependent because of one thing or another, some physical challenges that they may have in life. Who knows what goes on in a family. But, nonetheless, if they are dependent, they will be receiving the direct payment, another important boost for America's working families, another important boost for our economy as we go forward.\n\nSo, let us  let me, again, thank the Chairman for his work. It's a simple vote to put more money. Our goals have been: crush the virus, crush the virus, honor our heroes who help us crush the virus, and put money in the pockets of the American people. Today, we would be doing that right now. This legislation would be a lifeline for millions of Americans. It improves on the previously passed relief bill by including dependents, ensuring that families with children in college and adults living with disabilities or elderly family members can also receive relief.\n\nRepublicans have a choice. Republicans have a choice: vote for this legislation or vote to deny the American people the bigger paychecks this need. To reject this would be in denial of the economic challenges that people are facing and it would deny them, again, the relief they need. And with that, I urge a strong bipartisan vote for the aptly named CASH act.\n\nThank you, Mr. Chairman.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-national-defense-authorization-act-veto-override", "Pelosi Statement on National Defense Authorization Act Veto Override", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after the House voted on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis to override the President's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act:\n\nWith this overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, the House has upheld our sacred Constitutional responsibility to keep our country and our people safe. The National Defense Authorization Act has been passed on a bipartisan and bicameral manner for sixty years, and it will become law, despite the President's dangerous sabotage efforts.\n\nThe President's reckless veto would have denied our servicemembers hazard duty pay; our families paid family leave, child care, housing improvements and health protections; and our veterans their benefits. It would have senselessly deprived our allies and country of key protections for global peace and security  including for cyber-security, following a massive attack on our country. And it would have undermined our nation's values and work to combat racism, by blocking overwhelmingly bipartisan action to rename military bases and infrastructure after officials who served in the Confederacy.\n\nThe President must end his eleventh-hour campaign of chaos, and stop using his final moments in office to obstruct bipartisan and bicameral action to protect our military and defend our security.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-trump-signing-bipartisan-coronavirus-relief-and-omnibus", "Pelosi Statement on Trump Signing Bipartisan Coronavirus Relief and Omnibus Funding Bill", "2020-12-27", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after the President signed the bipartisan coronavirus relief and omnibus funding bill:\n\nThe signing of the bipartisan, bicameral coronavirus relief legislation is welcome news for the fourteen million Americans who just lost the lifeline of unemployment benefits on Christmas Weekend, and for the millions more struggling to stay afloat during this historic pandemic and economic crisis.\n\nThis relief legislation is a down payment on what is needed to crush the virus, put money in the pockets of the American people and honor our heroes  our health care workers, first responders, transit and sanitation workers and teachers. We need to ensure robust support for state and local government to distribute and administer a vaccine, keep workers employed and prevent devastating service cuts  and we must do so as soon as possible.\n\nNow, the President must immediately call on Congressional Republicans to end their obstruction and to join him and Democrats in support of our stand-alone legislation to increase direct payment checks to $2,000, which will be brought to the Floor tomorrow. Every Republican vote against this bill is a vote to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny the American people the relief they need.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-house-republicans-blocking-unanimous-consent-request-to", "Pelosi Statement on House Republicans Blocking Unanimous Consent Request to Increase Economic Impact Payments", "2020-12-24", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nSan Francisco  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement on House Republicans blocking Democrats' Unanimous Consent request to increase economic impact payments to $2,000, as the President called for:\n\nToday, on Christmas Eve morning, House Republicans cruelly deprived the American people of the $2,000 that the President agreed to support. If the President is serious about the $2,000 direct payments, he must call on House Republicans to end their obstruction.\n\nHouse and Senate Democrats have repeatedly fought for bigger checks for the American people, which House and Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected  first, during our negotiations when they said that they would not go above $600 and now, with this act of callousness on the Floor.\n\nOn Monday, I will bring the House back to session where we will hold a recorded vote on our stand-alone bill to increase economic impact payments to $2,000. To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need.\n\nHopefully by then the President will have already signed the bipartisan and bicameral legislation to keep government open and to deliver coronavirus relief.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://aguilar.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/aguilar-issues-report-constituents-116th-congress-comes-close", "Aguilar Issues Report to Constituents as 116th Congress Comes to a Close", "2020-12-23", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Pete Aguilar", "A000371", "aguilar.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Aguilar issued a report to residents of California's 31st Congressional District to review his work on behalf of Inland Empire families in the 116th Congress, which convened on January 3, 2019. Reflecting on the past two years, Aguilar commented:\nThis past year has been incredibly challenging for Inland Empire families, and my focus has been on providing our region with the resources needed to navigate this crisis. As we enter a new year with the pandemic still devastating communities like ours, I will continue working to support the small businesses, frontline workers, first responders and families who are the backbone of San Bernardino County. The incoming Biden-Harris Administration marks an opportunity for us to work together to build a better country with a brighter future for all who live here. I look forward to getting to work.\nDuring the 116th Congress, Rep. Aguilar delivered for the Inland Empire by: \n Helping 1,102 Inland Empire residents resolve outstanding issues with federal agencies, such as accessing the Social Security, Medicare and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits they have earned;\n\tReturning more than $1.3 million that the federal government owed to CA-31 residents by federal agencies, including IRS refunds, veterans' benefits, Social Security payments and more;\n\tAnnouncing over $340 million in federal funding for the Inland Empire, including funding for local first responders and fire departments, Inland Empire schools and job training programs;\n\tAnnouncing more than $174 million in federal funds to help support Inland Empire residents during the coronavirus crisis;\n\tHosting small business town hall meetings to help businesses navigate coronavirus relief resource;\n\tSecuring $10.5 million and a national distinction to help Cal State San Bernardino become a key pipeline for national cybersecurity jobs;\n\tHelping Inland Empire veterans connect with local resources on health care, housing, and employment and providing assistance with VA claims through Veterans Resource Fair\n\tProviding Inland Empire seniors with free health screenings and help obtaining information on local food programs, health services, and Medicare, Social Security and veterans benefits through a Senior Fair;\n\tNominating local students to the US Military Service Academies;\n\tHosting 28 events and meetings to help connect local agencies with federal grant opportunities; and\n\tParticipating in more than 220 meetings, tours and events with CA-31 residents.\n Throughout the past two years, Rep. Aguilar fought for legislation to help San Bernardino County families by: \n Passing the CARES Act, a $2 trillion stimulus and aid bill that gave most Americans direct payments of up to $1,200, provided $350 billion in relief to small business owners, expanded unemployment insurance benefits for affected workers, supplied approximately $200 billion to hospitals and health care providers, and granted $150 billion to state and local governments for emergency response;\n\tPassing H.R. 133, a bill that includes $600 direct payments to most Americans, extends unemployment benefits provides rent and nutrition assistance funding, and funds forgivable loans and grants for small businesses;\n\tPassing the Santa Ana Wash Plan Land Exchange Act, which was signed into law in 2019, resulting in an estimated $47 million in investments into local infrastructure projects and expanded conservation areas for threatened or endangered plants and animals within the Santa Ana Wash;\n\tAdding amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 to:\n\t\tRecruit and retain top military cybersecurity talent from institutions like California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) by permanently authorizing a successful direct-commissioning pilot program established by Rep. Aguilar in 2017;\n\t\t\tEnhance the transparency of the country's nuclear security by making certain funding for the nuclear program contingent on the release of reports currently being withheld by the Trump Administration; and\n\t\t\tCombat white supremacist, extremist and criminal-gang activity in the military by requiring the Pentagon to report the total number of allegations, investigations, and inquiries related to this type of activity each year;\n\t\t\n\tWorking to secure funding for and pass key initiatives as Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, including:\n  $12 million for the Department of Defense Cyber Scholarship Program, which benefits students at California State University San Bernardino;\n\t$46.5 million for the National Science Foundation's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions program, for which CSUSB may compete;\n\t$67 million for the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, which trains teachers at 22 California State University campuses including CSUSB;\n\tRobust funding for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports San Bernardino County's Regional Conservation Investment Strategy;\n\t$6.7 billion for VA Veterans Health Administration's medical facilities, including the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System;\n\tRequiring HUD to ensure DACA recipients can access FHA loans and become first-time homebuyers; and\n\tMandating the Office of Refugee Resettlement to invest in technology to track separated children in their care so they can be reunited with their parents;\n  Passing amendments to H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, to make the Inland Empire more competitive in applying for federal grants to reduce emissions and fight pollution;\n\tAuthoring H.R. 8974, the FHA Fairness Act to increase access to Federal Housing Administration loans for homebuyers in the Inland Empire;\n\tIntroducing the JOBS Act to help Inland Empire job-seekers and businesses connect with employment resources;\n\tReintroducing the REPORT Act, a bill drafted in response to the December 2, 2015 terror attack in San Bernardino that requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a report to Congress after an act of terrorism occurs in the United States; and\n\tServing on the Committee on House Administration, participating in hearings to expose voter disenfranchisement and assisting in the passage of legislation to create the Women's History Museum and the Museum of the American Latino.\n In addition to the legislation he's introduced and authored, Rep. Aguilar helped the House pass hundreds of bipartisan bills in the 116th Congress. These include bills to provide relief to the American people in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, reform our law enforcement agencies, invest in our nation's infrastructure, expand access and increase affordability of health care, bring transparency to the VA system, and protect Dreamers and immigrant families across the country.\nRep. Aguilar has represented California's 31st Congressional District since 2015. He sits on the House Appropriations Committee, where he serves as Vice Chair, and on the Committee on House Administration. Rep. Aguilar was recently elected by his colleagues to serve as Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus for the 117th Congress.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://bass.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-bass-statement-arrest-ugandan-human-rights-lawyer-nicholas-opiyo", "Rep. Bass Statement on Arrest of Ugandan Human Rights Lawyer Nicholas Opiyo", "2020-12-23", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Karen Bass", "B001270", "bass.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Los Angeles, CA Office  \n\t\t4929 Wilshire Blvd  \n\t\tSuite 650  Los Angeles,CA 90010  \n\t\tPhone: (323) 965-1422  \n\t\tFax: (323) 965-1113\n\tWashington, DC Office  \n\t\t2021Rayburn HOB  Washington, DC 20515  \n\t\tPhone: (202) 225-7084  \n\t\tFax: (202) 225-2422", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://kevinmccarthy.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccarthy-applauds-new-soda-ash-royalty-rate", "McCarthy Applauds New Soda Ash Royalty Rate", "2020-12-23", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "CA", "Kevin McCarthy", "M001165", "kevinmccarthy.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today,House Republican LeaderKevin McCarthy(CA-23)applauded the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM)actionssetting a new U.S. royalty rate for soda ash of 2% for 10 years.\nFor years, unnecessarily high royalty rates for non-energy solid minerals in the United States have made it difficult for domestic producers to compete in the market. With today's announcement by BLM, our constituents will be protected from unfair advantages by foreign companies that are often state-subsidized, improving our standing in the minerals development industry. The globalmarketis ever-changing, and the decreased rate will help to stimulate local economies across the country. We applaud President Trump and Interior Secretary Bernhardt for taking this critical and important step to make America more competitive in thesoda ashindustry.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://khanna.house.gov/media/newsletter-archive/2020-review", "2020 in Review", "2020-12-23", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Ro Khanna", "K000389", "khanna.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Happy holidays!\nAs 2020 comes to a close, I would like to highlight some of the work I have done in Washington, D.C. and the Bay Area over the past year to improve the lives of people in our district and across the country.\nThis was an especially difficult year. We experienced COVID-19 and its economic fallout, international conflicts, racial injustice, the loss of a beloved Supreme Court Justice, and a historic Presidential election. I know many of you are struggling, but I want you to know that I have and will continue to serve you as best as I can. It is an honor to represent you in Congress.\nBattling COVID-19 and Providing Relief\nIn March, stay-at-home orders officially went into effect in California and elsewhere across the nation. In our district, Dr. Sarah Cody in Santa Clara led the way and took swift action that saved lives. In response, Congress passed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, which included funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 testing, a one-time $1,200 stimulus check for individuals making less than $75,000 a year, and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help small businesses.\nI believe the CARES Act was a positive step forward in providing relief, but more was needed. That is why I joined Speaker Pelosi in sending a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza to ensure that small business loans provided by the PPP were available to startups in Silicon Valley. Also, I know that a one-time stimulus check is not enough, which is why I partnered with Rep. Tim Ryan to introduce the Emergency Money for the People Act. Our bill would provide a recurring monthly check of $2,000 to every American making less than $130,000 per year ($260,000forjoint return filers).\nAdditionally, while more Americans than ever worked from home during the pandemic, many were forced to work in high-risk conditions without appropriate equipment, safety standards, or job protections. These workers are doctors and nurses, grocery and drug store employees, delivery drivers, and many others who are integral to keeping the country functioning during the pandemic. Because they deserve better support and protection, I joined Senator Elizabeth Warren to introduce the Essential Workers Bill of Rights, which outlines necessary health and safety protections, universal paid sick, family, and medical leave, and support for childcare for essential workers during the pandemic.\nIn May, I introduced the Emergency Medical Supplies Procurement Act with Senator Bernie Sanders to address ongoing medical supply shortages across the country. This bill would provide an additional $75 billion to produce personal protective equipment, ventilators, pharmaceuticals, and other necessary medical supplies and hospital infrastructure.\nI also sent two letters to House and Senate leadership on medical supply shortages, one in August and the other in October. The first letter advocated for the mass distribution of free facial coverings to all Americans, funding for a Public Service Announcement campaign encouraging mask usage, and research into mask efficacy and optimal design. The second letter urged Congressional leadership to develop a comprehensive plan to prevent and mitigate the impact of future pandemics.\nAlthough the House passed a $3.4 trillion HEROES Act in May, and an updated $2.2 trillion HEROES Act in October, the Senate failed to pass or even vote on either version of the HEROES Act. Instead, Congressional leadership settled on and passed a new $900 billion COVID-19 relief package earlier this week.\nThis new COVID-19 relief package is a much-needed lifeline for the millions in crisis due to the pandemic, which is why I voted for it. However, I believe it is much less than we need. I will continue to push leadership to prioritize sending stimulus checks of $2,000 per month, boosting unemployment benefits, funding state and local governments, and increasing food, rent and mortgage assistance throughout the pandemic. Struggling American families need help now. We cannot afford to wait.\nPolice Brutality and Reform\nIn May, the country was horrified when they witnessed a police officer kill George Floyd. His shocking murder was yet another painful entry in the long legacy of racial discrimination in our country. Police killings of unarmed Black people are evidence that systemic racism in America persists, is pervasive, and necessitates bold, transformative reform.\nI joined over 200 of my colleagues in cosponsoring the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which included my bill, the PEACE Act, to change the standard for the use of force for law enforcement officers so that deadly force is used only as a last resort. I was proud to vote with a majority of my colleagues to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in the House.\nThe bill would also lower the criminal standard to convict law enforcement officers for misconduct in federal prosecutions, end qualified immunity for law enforcement, authorize the Department of Justice to issue subpoenas in investigations of police departments for a pattern or practice of discrimination, and create a national registry of complaints and records of police misconduct.\nSupreme Court Term Limits\nIn September, we lost of one of the greatest judicial minds in our nation's history, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was a trailblazer and true champion of both gender and racial equality. While we mourn her loss, we must honor her legacy by continuing the fight for greater equality for all.\nWhat we cannot do is allow our country to face a national political crisis every time a vacancy occurs on the Supreme Court. That is why I introduced the Supreme Court Term Limits and Regular Appointments Act. My bill would establish 18-year term limits on Supreme Court justices. After their 18-year terms, justices would be allowed to continue their service on lower courts if they choose. Current justices would be exempt from the term limits. Going forward, the bill would create a regular appointment process to allow every president to nominate a new justice to the Supreme Court during each odd year, guaranteeing each president the opportunity to nominate two justices per four-year term.\nNo War Against Iran Bill Passes with Bipartisan Support\nIn January, Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was assassinated without Congressional notification or approval. I consider that attack a dangerous act of military interventionism. In response, Iran struck our bases in Iraq, causing brain injuries to our soldiers. In response, I introduced the No War Against Iran Act, which passed with a bipartisan majority of the House restricting any taxpayer funding for an unauthorized, unconstitutional war with Iran.\nThe Constitution is very clear on the delegation of power when it comes to matters of war and the power of the purse. Passing this bill was an important step towards reclaiming the important checks and balances established by the Framers, and preventing the Soleimani assassination from leading to a full-scale war. We must pursue a responsible, thoughtful foreign policy that prioritizes diplomacy and open communication.\nThe 21st Century Jobs Act\nIn October, I introduced the 21st Century Jobs Act. This bill would create a Federal Institute of Technology, with approximately 30 locations across the country, and allocates $900 billion in Research and Development funding for emerging technologies like advanced manufacturing, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and cybersecurity. The 21st Century Jobs Act also includes:\n Funding for better and more widespread STEM instruction in public schools, specifically focused on computer science.\n\tSTEM scholarships for students left behind.\n\tTax incentives for the federal government's contractors to locate part of their workforce in rural and forgotten areas across America, and\n\t$8 billion toward teacher training in STEM fields.\n Government investments in science in the decades after World War II created the greatest middle class the world has ever seen. This bill will make sure the jobs of the future are in the U.S., and that they will be spread around our great nation, rather than focused on a small set of superstar cities.\nTwo New Laws, Honoring a Fallen Hero, and Supporting Veterans\nI am proud to report that I have had five bills become law in my four years in Congress. That makes me one of the most successful California legislators in Congress.\nThe Identifying Barriers and Best Practices Study Act was passed by the Senate and signed by the President in October. This new law requires the Government Accountability Office to study and report on disability and pension benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to members of the National Guard and members of reserve components of the Armed Forces.\nIn November, the Information Technology Modernization Centers of Excellence Program Act passed the Senate and was signed into law by the President earlier this month. It requires the General Services Administration to establish an Information Technology Modernization Centers of Excellence Program to help bring state of the art technology and cybersecurity to the federal government. This program makes government more efficient and more helpful to the American people.\nLast year, I introduced a bill renaming the post office in Cupertino, CA after fallen Navy SEAL, Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew G. Axelson. Axelson was originally from Cupertino. He was killed during combat operations in Afghanistan in 2005. The bill passed the House in September, passed the Senate earlier this month, and was signed into law this week.\nOn December 7th, the House passed the Health Care Access for Urban Native Veterans Act. This bill would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense to share medical facilities and services with urban Native American organizations.\nWorking to Serve You in the District\nIn March, our Santa Clara office quickly adapted to county health orders and developed protocols for effectively serving constituents while working from home. This included both answering phones live and upgrading our online service system. As a result, our office successfully completed casework for more than 450 COVID-19 related requests, including issues related to small business loans, unemployment assistance and stimulus checks while also resolving casework for over 1,000 constituents with federal agency issues.\nWe were also able to meet the challenge of conducting virtual events since March. In addition to two monthly town halls, I hosted multiple forums and roundtables to tackle issues such as the local response to COVID-19 and wildfires, essential workers' rights, mental health and domestic violence in the age of COVID-19, the US Census, and a Series on Race in the wake of the George Floyd's death. \nA Few of My Op-eds\nHOW WE STOP WAR WITH IRAN\nCNN\nRo Khanna and Bernie Sanders\nBIOMANUFACTURING WILL BRING RURAL AMERICA TO THE FORE IN NATIONAL RESPONSE TO COVID-19\nDes Moines Register\nRo Khanna Tom Vilsack\nGUEST OPINION: REBUILDING OUR ECONOMY WITH HIGHER EDUCATION, APPRENTICESHIPS\nCourier Times\nRo Khanna and Brian Fitzpatrick\nRETHINKING U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY: MASKS, NOT MISSILES\nMercury News\nRo Khanna and William J. Perry", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-president-trump-veto-of-national-defense-authorization-act", "Pelosi Statement on President Trump Veto of National Defense Authorization Act", "2020-12-23", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nSan Francisco  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement on the President's veto of the bipartisan, bicameral National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):\n\nThe President's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act is an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops, endangers our security and undermines the will of the bipartisan Congress. For 60 years, the NDAA has been passed on a bipartisan and bicameral basis.\n\nIn a time when our country was just targeted with a massive cyberattack, it is particularly hard to understand the reasoning behind the President's irresponsibility. Disturbingly, Trump is using his final hours in office to sow chaos, including by denying our servicemembers a long-overdue pay raise and hazard duty pay; our families paid family leave, child care, housing and health protections; and our veterans the benefits that they need and deserve. The President's veto also deprives our country and allies of tools to protect global security  including for cyber-security.\n\nTrump's veto violates our national values, as it would block action to rename military bases and infrastructure named after those who served in the Confederacy  which is supported by an overwhelming majority of the American people, by House and Senate Democrats and Republicans and by our servicemembers and top military leaders.\n\nNext week, December 28, the House will take up the veto override with bipartisan support.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://roybal-allard.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=401779", "Congresswoman Roybal-Allard Statement on Alex Padillas Appointment to U.S. Senate", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Lucille Roybal-Allard", "R000486", "roybal-allard.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "I am thrilled with Governor Newsom's decision to appoint California's Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, to serve as United States Senator from California. Secretary Padilla will serve for the remainder of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' term in the United States Senate.Secretary Padilla is an Angeleno through and through, and I am proud to have watched his career as he has devoted himself in service to the people of California. From his role on the Los Angeles City Council as a member and later as president, to his work in the California State Senate, and finally as our Secretary of State, Alex has shown that he is a fierce advocate for Californians. Alex is a role model to so many Latino youth in our state, and I know that his appointment as our senator will show every Latino child that anything is possible in our nation.I know that Alex will take his love of our state to the U.S. Senate, and I look forward to working with him in the 117th Congress. I congratulate his family, his wife Angela, and his three sons on this historic achievement.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=31DD0C4A-90BC-4677-AA6C-BC2465159C56", "Feinstein, Collins Bill to Create Smithsonian for Womens History Passes Congress", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) today announced that the Smithsonian Women's History Museum Act passed the Senate as part of the yearend omnibus funding package. This bipartisan legislation will establish a Smithsonian museum honoring American women.\r\n Women have been a central part of American history from our founding to the present day in every way, whether it's science, business, the arts or politics, said Senator Feinstein. A permanent museum to celebrate those contributions and tell the stories of so many incredible women is long overdue. I'm pleased to see our bill to establish a Smithsonian museum for women's history finally pass.\r\n As our Women's Suffrage Centennial year draws to a close, I am delighted that Congress was able to work together in a bipartisan way to pass this legislation, said Senator Collins. I look forward to the creation of a museum in our nation's capital that celebrates the invaluable contributions women have made to our nation.\r\n \"On behalf of the Commissioners of the US Commission to study the potential for an American Women's History Museum, we offer our sincere praise and gratitude to Senators Collins and Feinstein for their years of leadership on this momentous piece of legislation. The personal energy and drive that they put forth was supported by ideas and input from women and men from across the country, of all ages and walks of life, in addition to leading authorities and experts on women's history and the museum community, said Jane Abraham, chair of the American Museum of Women's History Congressional Commission. We enthusiastically look forward to the day when our citizens and visitors visit the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum and gain a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the role that women played in building America. Congratulations Senators Collins and Feinstein!\"\r\n In December 2014, Congress created a congressional commission to study the potential for an American museum of women's history in Washington, D.C. This bipartisan commission unanimously recommended the creation of a new Smithsonian museum dedicated to women's history. Incorporating their recommendations, this bill will establish a national museum to collect, study and create programs on a wide spectrum of American women's experiences, contributions and history.\r\n The bipartisan bill is supported by the American Historical Association, the National Coalition for History, the Women's Business Development Center, Women in Aerospace, the National Foundation for Women Legislators, Women in Defense, the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission and many other organizations.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=7259109A-A6C0-44CA-8729-2E31E04A3482", "Feinstein: Padilla Excellent Choice for Senate Appointment", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on Governor Newsom's decision to appoint California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill Senator Kamala Harris' Senate seat:\r\nGovernor Newsom has made an excellent choice by appointing Alex Padilla to fill Kamala Harris' Senate seat. I very much look forward to working closely with Alex and I believe that together we can be a strong team for California's benefit.\r\nAlex has a long record of public service at all levels of government. Before his tenure as California's secretary of state, Alex served eight years in the State Senate and another eight years on the Los Angeles City Council.\r\nCrucially, Alex is someone who understands the many challenges that Californians are facing, and I believe he is very well-suited to fight for them for years to come. I also believe Alex brings a critically important voice to the Senate as the first Latino senator from California.\r\nI look forward to continuing to work with Kamala Harris as vice president and look forward to getting to work with Alex as soon as possible.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://bass.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-bass-congratulates-assemblymember-dr-shirley-weber-appointment", "Rep. Bass Congratulates Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber on Appointment as California's Secretary of State", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Karen Bass", "B001270", "bass.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) issued the following statement after Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber was appointed to serve as California's Secretary of State. Prior to being elected to the California State Assembly in 2012, Dr. Weber served on the San Diego Board of Education, and as a Professor of African-American Studies at San Diego State University.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://bass.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-bass-congratulates-california-secretary-state-alex-padilla-united", "Rep. Bass Congratulates California Secretary of State Alex Padilla on United States Senate Appointment", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Karen Bass", "B001270", "bass.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "I've known Alex dating back to when he served our city as the youngest-ever President of the Los Angeles City Council. We served together in the State legislature where he passed landmark legislation to make California the first state in the nation to require chain restaurants to post calorie information directly on menus. More recently as our Secretary of State, Alex modernized our electoral process and led the effort to provide ballots by mail statewide so Californians could safely vote in this year's election.  \n\t  \n\tToday, our state gains yet another champion following a distinguished line of individuals who have shattered glass ceilings and hurdled obstacles in their way. After then-Senator Harris's historic election in 2016 as the first woman of color to represent California, we now have another historic barrier shattered as Alex will be the first Latino to serve California in the United States Senate.  \n\t  \n\tI look forward to continuing our fight for progress and representation in all facets of our government and am excited to work with Senator Padilla in the years to come.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://costa.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/costa-welcomes-long-awaited-covid-deal", "Costa Welcomes Long-awaited COVID Deal", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Jim Costa", "C001059", "costa.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(FRESNO, CA)  Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) released the following statement after House passage of stimulus legislation to provide needed relief to the American people:\n\t\t\t\t After months of impasse, Congress can finally deliver for the American people, said Costa. As a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, I worked with members of the House and Senate on a bipartisan basis to forge a compromise that will provide overdue support to Americans still reeling from the pandemic. While it doesn't respond to all our needs, this is an important step that will buy the American people time as we look forward to more comprehensive relief next year.The deal, which was largely based on the Problem Solvers Caucus framework that Rep. Costa helped craft, includes important funding to strengthen our healthcare response, increase nutrition assistance, extend federal unemployment benefits, and provide small business relief:To provide financial relief to Americans:\n\t\t\t\tProvides $166 billion in in direct checks to Americans including $600 to individuals making up to $75,000 per year, $1200 to couples making up to $150,000 per year and an additional $600 per child.\n\t\t\t\t\tExtends the deadline for states and cities to use unspent money approved for them by the Cares Act, giving governments until year's end before the money must be returned.\n\t\t\t\tTo ensure Americans' health and safety: \n\t\t\t\tInvests $69 billion for testing, contact tracing and vaccine development and distribution to\n\t\t\t\t\tExtends Provider Relief Fund (PRF) funding for one year\n\t\t\t\t\tProvides $250 million for the FCC COVID-19 Telehealth Program to support efforts of healthcare providers to address coronavirus\n\t\t\t\tTo assist families and vulnerable communities: \n\t\t\t\tProvides $13 billion in total funding for nutrition assistance, including:\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTemporarily increases individual monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by 15 percent for 6 months\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpands the Pandemic-EBT program to cover families with children in childcare\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvides $400 million in funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), including funds for storage and administration, to support food banks and food pantries\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvides increased funding for school and childcare meal programs and benefits for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tExtends CARES Act unemployment assistance for16weeks withfederal supplemental unemployment insurance benefits expanded by $300 per week\n\t\t\t\t\tProvides $25 billion for rentaland housingassistance grants and extends eviction moratorium until Jan. 31, 2021\n\t\t\t\t\tProvides $10 billion for a new Child Care Stabilization Fund Grant program for childcare providers\n\t\t\t\t\tProvides $7 billion for broadband funding to bridge the digital divide and ensure affordable access to broadband during the COVID 19 pandemic\n\t\t\t\t\tProvides $54 billion in education funding, including emergency relief for K-12 and higher education\n\t\t\t\t\tExtends Student loan deferment to April 2021\n\t\t\t\tFor our small businesses: \n\t\t\t\tProvides $325 billion in funding for the Small Business Administration, including:\n\t\t\t\t\t\tStreamlines PPP loan forgiveness for loans under $150k\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvides eligibility for a second round of PPP loan eligibility, including 501 (c)(6) organizations, live venue operators, and restaurants\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvides $20 billion in additional funding for Economic Injury and Disaster Loan (EIDL) Grants\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tAs the representative for one of the top producing agricultural districts in the country, Congressman Costa played a pivotal role in strengthening and stabilizing our food supply chains, including protecting our food workers:\n\t\t\t\tOur food industry workers are critical to ensuring that no American goes hungry, said Costa. I'm thankful that our leaders recognized how important food security is to our national security and agreed to adopt the protections I outlined for essential farm workers.\n\t\t\t\tEnsuring the integrity of our food supply chains and assisting farmers, farmworkers, and producers:\n\t\t\t\tProvides $13billionin total funding foragriculture, including:\n\t\t\t\t\t\tStrengthens COVID-19 worker protections for our agricultural labor force on farms, in food processing and distribution facilities, and other food organizations\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t$100 million for the Specialty Crop Block Grant program\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t$400 million for a new Dairy Donation Program\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t$75 millionfor the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach Programforsmall, disadvantaged, minority, and veteran farmers", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://kevinmccarthy.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccarthy-on-passage-of-covid-relief-and-government-spending-bills", "McCarthy on Passage of COVID Relief and Government Spending Bills", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "CA", "Kevin McCarthy", "M001165", "kevinmccarthy.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 133) to fund the federal government in Fiscal Year 2021 and provide additional relief to Californians and small businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.Congressman McCarthy secured multiple priorities for our communityin this legislation.\nMcCarthy released the following statement:\nAmericans need their government to work for them. Republicans have fought to provide Americans the support they need during these challenging times, but Nancy Pelosi waited until the final hour to work with Republicans and President Trump to developcommonsensesolutionsthat could have become law months ago.\nI am grateful this relief will be signed into law by President Trump soon. The legislation includes many important provisions that will support ourfamilies andsmall businessesin our community and across the State, including COVIDvaccinedelivery so that we can restore our way life before the virus.\nWhile this legislation will provide needed relief, the best rescue package is to put our trust and confidence in the American people and reopen our country as soon as possible. As we enter the New Year, I am more committed than ever to fight for ourcitizens,small businesses, and for the individual liberties that have been threatened by government overreach.\nBackground  \n\t\nCongressman McCarthy helped to secure the following provisions important to CA-23 in the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations component of H.R. 133:\n $4 million to support Valley Fever and other mycotic disease research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\n\t$9.3 million to build a new Army National Guard Vehicle Maintenance Shop in Bakersfield\n\t$16.7 million to build a new Vehicle and Aerospace Ground Equipment Maintenance Facility at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center\n\t$40 million to build a new, state-of-the-art Flight Test Engineering Laboratory Complex at Edwards Air Force Base\n\t$69.5 million to combat and suppress Citrus Greening Disease to protect California's fresh citrus industry\n\t$76 million to support Impact Aid Federal property payments for schools,like those in Sierra Sands Unified and Muroc Joint Unified School Districts, that serve military communities\n\t$125 million for the Bureau of Prisons to modernize and repair facilities like the Taft Correctional Institution\n\t$134 million to fund water storage infrastructure projects in California and the West authorized by the WIIN Act of 2016\n\t$149 million for the Diesel Emission Reduction Act and Targeted Airshed Grant programs to clean up the air in the Central Valley\n\t$206 million to repair subsidence on the Friant-Kern Canal to bring more water to Tulare and Kern County families and farmers.\n Congressman McCarthy also supported the following provisions important to CA-23 in the COVID relief component of H.R. 133:\n $28 billion in additional funding to support the development and purchase of vaccines,therapeutics, and tests and tomake the vaccine available at no charge to all Americans\n\t$15 billion to provide financial support for event venues, theaters, and museums impacted by COVID, which may assist entities like the Fox Theater and other local iconic institutionsthat have been shuttered\n\t$13 billion to provide financial assistance toAmerica's agricultural producers, which will help Kern, Tulare, and California farmers, ranchers, and workers\n\tExtension of the Paycheck Protection Program to help small business owners who have fought to keep their doors open and their employees on the payroll, as well as expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program to include eligibility for certain 501(c)(6) nonprofit organizations, and clarifying tax treatment related to PPP expenses so that our small businesses are not hit with an unexpected tax hike\n\tExtension of the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund spending deadline through December 31, 2021 to allow states and localities to use these funds to meet local pandemic needs\n\tMore resources for child care centers and K-12 schools to help them safely reopen\n\tDirect payments to Americanindividuals andfamiliesof $600 per individual and child, phased out at certain income thresholds", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-10th-anniversary-of-end-of-don-t-ask-don-t-tell", "Pelosi Statement on 10th Anniversary of End of Dont Ask, Dont Tell", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nSan Francisco  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement on the 10th anniversary of the historic end of the discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy:\n\nTen years ago, our nation took bold action to end a fundamental injustice that had inflicted shame and distress on tens of thousands of brave, patriotic LGBTQ servicemembers. With the repeal of the hateful Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy, we strengthened our national security and reaffirmed the bedrock principle that those willing and able to serve be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of who they are or whom they love.\n\nLGBTQ Americans have always served in our military with honor and distinction, from the earliest days of America's history. Our nation owes them an immense debt of gratitude. Yet, three and a half years ago, the Trump Administration shamefully abandoned our founding promise of equality with its hateful transgender military ban. It is our great unfinished work to reverse this disgraceful ban and defend the freedoms of all who serve our nation  just as they defend ours.\n\nA decade after sending Don't Ask, Don't Tell' into the dustbin of history, House Democrats remain committed to honoring our extraordinary LGBTQ servicemembers and all those who don the uniform. As we celebrate this momentous anniversary, we will continue fighting to build on this progress and finally enact the Equality Act to fully end discrimination against all LGBTQ Americans once and for all.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://ruiz.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/federal-lawmakers-including-congressman-ruiz-say-covid-relief-bill", "Federal Lawmakers Including Congressman Ruiz, Say COVID Relief Bill is Insufficient", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Raul Ruiz", "R000599", "ruiz.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "President Donald Trump told lawmakers to amend the latest COVID-19 relief bill, 24 hours after congress passed it.\nTrump called the covid relief bill a 'disgrace,' in a video posted on his Twitter Tuesday night. He added that the bill delivered too much money to foreign countries, but not enough to Americans.\nThe measure comes at a crucial time for the economy as federal unemployment benefits are about to run out.\nIf President Trump signs the current $900 billion \"Pandemic Relief Package,\" Americans would see a $600 bump to their bank accounts as soon as next week.\nIt wasn't just President Trump that had concerns about the bill. Many Democrats, includingCongressman Dr. Raul Ruiz, wanted the package to be bigger saying the relief is \"insufficient.\"\nNews Channel 3's Peter Daut joined a video news conference featuringRuizand Southern California Congressmen Ted Lieu, Scott Peters, and Mike Levin Tuesday morning, just hours after Congress passed the bill. The Congressmen said that while the $900-billion package is better than nothing, it does not go far enough.\n\"This legislation falls well short of what our country needs,\"Ruizsaid.\nUnder the legislation, $600 stimulus checks will be sent to people who make less than $75,000 a year. They'll also get $600 for each of their dependents. It also includes $300 a week in federal unemployment benefits for the next 10 weeks.\nA top priority for Democrats that did not make it into the bill was aid for state and local governments.\n\"Unless we provide that aid, that means firefighters, police, teachers are all going to face tough times and potentially layoffs,\" said Rep. Scott Peter (D-52 district).\nIn May, House Democrats passed a $3.4 trillion package and then passed a version of that measure in October that was reduced to $2.2 trillion.\nBefore the election, Democrats rejected an offer from the Trump Administration for a $1.8 trillion package.\nCongressional Republicans, many of whom wanted to keep the price tag under $1 trillion, argue the bill reflects their position.\n\"We're agreeing to be smart about financing these extraordinary policies,\" said Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell.\nBut lawmakers on both sides, including Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have blasted the bill's short time-frame, arguing they did not have enough time to fully read its more than five-thousand pages.\nNews Channel 3's Peter Daut askedRuizabout her comments.\n\"For COVID-relief, we had the sense of urgency from the American people that we needed to pass a bill,\"Ruizsaid.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://ruiz.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/local-reps-say-federal-stimulus-bill-provides-essential-not-enough-relief", "Local Reps Say Federal Stimulus Bill Provides Essential But Not Enough Relief", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Raul Ruiz", "R000599", "ruiz.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Southern California Democratic Reps. Lieu, Levin, Peters, andRuizlaud the eleventh hour passage of a bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill, but said the leaner than desired package leaves many gaps that the new administration will immediately need to address.\nThis relief package was far too small, said Rep. Ted Lieu, who represents Santa Monica as part of California's 33rd congressional District. We had the choice of either doing nothing or passing some relief to the American people, but to me, this is just a downpayment so hopefully we can do additional stimulus when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris come in on January 20.\nThe $900 billion package which Lieu, Peters and Levin worked to secure in Congress, is much smaller than the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed in March.\nIt provides a round of $600 direct payments to adults and children, revives supplemental unemployment benefits to $300 a week for 11 weeks, and provides $280 billion of forgivable paycheck protection loans for small businesses.\nThe representatives said this was sorely needed aid for their struggling constituents, but emphasized that a lot of benefits will run out in a matter of weeks.\nI suggested, and a lot of the new dems in my caucus suggested, that we committed to smart measures like automatic stabilizers in the beginning. That would have prevented us from having to come together in these fits and starts to reauthorize money, said Rep. Scott Peters.\nPeters is Vice Chairman of the New Democrat Coalition and is involved in the push to include automatic stabilizers in relief legislation, which would tie government assistance to economic triggers.\nStabilizers could be tied to relief measures like PPP loans or direct payments to families. For example, extended unemployment benefits could be tied to the unemployment rate, so the level and duration of unemployment benefits would be directly related to economic conditions.\nPeters hopes the Biden administration will be more amenable to the concept, which would provide more economic certainty for people and decrease reliance on last minute congressional deals.\nThe representatives said this bill was passed in the nick of time to avert an impending recession and provide sorely needed relief to families struggling to put food on the table. They hope that more proactive COVID-19 relief legislation can be passed in the new year.\nThe HEROES Act was the ideal bill in the ideal moment, said Rep. Mike Levin, referring to the relief act that cleared the Democrat controlled house in May and died in the Republican controlled senate. This bill was left until there was a worsening public health crisis and economic fatigue in dealing with the pandemic, until the American people were desperate, until there was a political crisis at hand so that they can feed us a half baked sense of recovery.\nThe federal relief package, despite its limitations, is very welcome in Santa Monica and Southern California as it includes $82 billion for education, $10 billion for child care, $16 billion for vaccine development and distribution, and $13 billion for food stamps. It does not include state and local aid money, which is something the representatives said they intend on pushing for in the New Year.\nWe are looking forward to working with a new Biden administration to provide the aid that is necessary for states, local municipalities and also increase the support that's truly necessary, not only to help our struggling families, but also to prevent a great depression, saidRep. Raul Ruiz.We need this administration to safely and quickly end the pandemic, boost our local economy and build back better.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=7EA4B003-B57B-48F8-A8CF-B8011405FB24", "Senators Call on Interior Department to Cancel Oil, Gas Leases Across Public Lands in Utah", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein today joined a group of senators calling on the Department of the Interior to cancel hundreds of oil and gas leases across Utah that threaten fragile landscapes and, if developed, will further exacerbate the impacts of climate change.\r\nIn a letter to DOI Secretary David Bernhardt, the Senators cite how fossil fuel leasing and development on public lands managed by DOI is a primary contributor to climate change, accounting for nearly 24 percent of the nation's annual carbon dioxide emissions.\r\nJoining Senator Feinstein on the letter, which was led by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), were Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).\r\nDue to successful litigation and administrative appeals, the Utah-Bureau of Land Management has been forced to reconsider decisions on more than five hundred leases, covering more than 700,000 acres of public lands in Utah. We urge you to outright cancel these leases, the senators wrote.\r\n\"The more than five hundred leases being reconsidered by the Bureau are located in some of the nation's most wild, scenic, and culturally rich areas. Hundreds of them encompass Bureau-identified lands with wilderness characteristics proposed for wilderness designation in S. 3056, America's Red Rock Wilderness Act,\" the senator continued.\r\nThese oil leases threaten environmentally sensitive and culturally rich lands throughout Utah that Congress has worked to protect. Given the significance of these lands, we request that you cancel these leases, the senators concluded.\r\nThe full letter is available hereand below:\r\nDecember 21, 2020\r\nDear Secretary Bernhardt:\r\nWe are writing to call for the cancellation of hundreds of oil and gas leases across Utah that threaten our climate and, if developed, will further exacerbate the impacts of climate change. Due to successful litigation and administrative appeals, the Utah-Bureau of Land Management has been forced to reconsider decisions on more than five hundred leases, covering more than 700,000 acres of public lands in Utah. We urge you to outright cancel these leases.\r\nFossil fuel leasing and development on public lands managed by the Department of the Interior is a primary contributor to climate change. In a recent report, the United States Geological Service concluded that the development and combustion of fossil fuels extracted from public lands account for nearly twenty-four percent of the nation's annual carbon dioxide emissions.\r\nThe leasing and development of Bureau-managed minerals is the primary source of the Interior Department's significant greenhouse gas emissions. The development of the oil and gas leases in Utah currently under review by the Bureau will, by the agency's own estimate, contribute significant amounts of new climate change-driving emissions. Confronted with the climate crises, the significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions that will result from development on these leases is unacceptable.\r\nThe more than five hundred leases being reconsidered by the Bureau are located in some of the nation's most wild, scenic, and culturally rich areas. Hundreds of them encompass Bureau-identified lands with wilderness characteristics proposed for wilderness designation in S. 3056, America's Red Rock Wilderness Act. Due to the significant threat these leases pose to our climate and wild places, we ask you to cancel them and to reject the proposed development in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness.\r\nOne lease (UTU-93713) deserves particular mention because it is within Congressionally designated Wilderness: the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness area. The Bureau issued this lease without allowing for public participation and without preparing analysis required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Federal courts have held that such actions violate the law.\r\nThe Bureau rushed to issue this lease in February 2019 with full knowledge that the public lands it encompassed were set to be designated as Wilderness in the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, which was signed into law on March 12, 2019. This historic, bipartisan law created 1.3 million acres of Wilderness across the nation, including the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness. It also added the Green River, which flows through Labyrinth Canyon, to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. This remote stretch of desert river is one of the most famous in our nation due to its solitude, rich cultural history, and unmatched scenic beautyvalues enjoyed by thousands of Americans every year. The proposed development will destroy Congress sought to protect when it created the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness.\r\nThese oil leases threaten environmentally sensitive and culturally rich lands throughout Utah that Congress has worked to protect. Given the significance of these lands, we request that you cancel these leases. Thank you for considering our request.\r\nSincerely,\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=9D340816-B520-455A-BEBE-8B55B8BA72C2", "Feinstein: California Water Priorities Well-Represented in Omnibus Funding Bill", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today applauded the inclusion of California water priorities in the federal funding bill for fiscal 2021 including Feinstein provisions to improve dam safety and establish an airborne snow observatory and measurement program within the Department of the Interior.\r\n Modernizing our water infrastructure is one of the most important investments we can make in California's future, Feinstein said. We know climate change is real and that it's having tangible effects now. We see it in wildfires every year, and we see it in the dry weather and droughts that plague us. We have to do more to save water from the wet years to use in the dry years, and this bill moves us toward that goal. It also makes critical investments in dam safety and climate change research, and I'm proud to support it.\r\nCalifornia-specific drought and environmental resilience funding\r\n The bill provides more than $1 billion for Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation water infrastructure and drought resilience programs in California. Specifically it includes:\r\n \r\nAn additional $332 million to fund California projects under the WIIN Act, including:\r\n\r\n$206 million for the Friant Kern Canal restoration, which completes the federal cost share for the canal's Middle Reach, fully restoring a 60 percent loss in the canal's conveyance capacity due to subsidence.\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n$35 million for five water recycling projects in Los Angeles, Monterey, Soquel, Oceanside, and Palmdale.\r\n$18 million for two desalination projects in Camarillo and South Orange County.\r\n$40 million for habitat restoration and other environmental projects.\r\n$26 million for preconstruction and design work to expand the Sites Reservoir and Los Vaqueros Reservoir, two major off-stream surface storage projects with significant benefits for wildlife refuges and threatened and endangered fish species as well as water supply.\r\n$7 million for studies on other off-stream and groundwater storage and conveyance projects.\r\n \r\n \r\n$28 million for the San Joaquin River Restoration project.\r\n \r\nDrought resilience programs benefiting the West:\r\n \r\n$55 million for WaterSMART grants and $63 million for the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse program in addition to the water recycling funding mentioned above.\r\n \r\n \r\n$9.5 million for desalination research and development in addition o the desalination funding above.\r\n \r\n \r\n$8 million to fund repairs to critical Reclamation canals to help recharge aquifers and comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act\r\n \r\nAdditional water infrastructure-related investments:\r\n \r\n$192.5 million for the Whittier Narrows dam safety project in Los Angeles County.\r\n \r\n \r\n$14 million to stand up the Corps' new program to leverage up to $1 billion in low-interest loans for non-Federal dam safety projects throughout the country, potentially including several projects in California.\r\n \r\n \r\n$7.5 million to update Army Corps Flood Control manuals to help places like the Oroville Dam operate more safely and efficiently.\r\n \r\n \r\n$5 million to continue research and development on atmospheric rivers to improve reservoir water level forecasting abilities and operations.\r\n \r\n \r\n$50 million for donor and energy transfer ports, such as the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.\r\n \r\n \r\n$12.5 million for a cutting-edge program to design nature-based resiliency projects and natural infrastructure options in drought, flood, and post-fire recovery areas in the west.\r\n \r\nPriorities included as part of the Water Resources Development Act\r\n \r\nA Feinstein provision that makes the FEMA grant program for non-federal dam safety projects work better for dam owners and state dam safety agencies.\r\n \r\n \r\nA provision directing the Army Corps of Engineers to prepare a feasibility study on potential dam safety improvements to Oroville Dam.\r\n \r\n \r\nA total of 36 specific studies and project authorizations in California including:\r\n \r\n \r\nSan Diego Shoreline expedited completion of erosion control where four people were tragically killed earlier this year due to bluff collapse.\r\nCable Creek flood control and water supply study in San Bernardino County\r\nSalton Sea perimeter remediation study\r\n \r\nSnowpack measurement program\r\n The funding bill includes a provision drafted by Senator Feinstein, the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act, to establish an airborne snow observatory and measurement program within the Department of the Interior. Without accurate readings, water managers could be forced to unnecessarily release water from reservoirs, reducing the water in storage that is needed to address potential drought. The funding bill includes $3 million for this program and authorizes another $15 million over the next five years.\r\n We need to be smarter in our approach to water management, and that starts with knowing exactly what's out there, Feinstein said. By funding this snowpack measurement program, we'll help boost our water conservation efforts, increase water supply and improve delivery forecasts across the West. I want to thank Representative Josh Harder for working with me to get this bill enacted.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A15C847E-757E-439C-8819-F92A8BEE843F", "Feinstein, Cornyn Bill to Prevent Online E-Cigarette Sales to Minors Passes Congress", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) today announced passage of The Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, legislation to prevent online sales of electronic cigarettes to minors. The bill applies the same safeguards already in place for traditional cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products, and was included as part of the omnibus federal spending bill for fiscal year 2021.\r\n We're facing a youth vaping crisis that's being exacerbated by the pandemic, Feinstein said. Young people who use e-cigarettes are now five times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19. We must stop this vaping crisis by preventing minors from buying vaping devices in the first place. Requiring age verification to buy e-cigarettes on the internet will go a long way toward lowering addiction rates among our youth.\r\n The use of electronic cigarettes among children has become more and more pervasive, with a third of underage users buying e-cigarettes online, said Cornyn. I look forward to President Trump signing this into law so we can help stop this generation of young Americans from developing unhealthy addictions.\r\n The bill requires online e-cigarette retailers to:\r\n \r\nVerify the age of customers for all purchases.\r\nRequire an adult with ID to be present for delivery.\r\nLabel shipping packages to show they contain tobacco products.\r\nComply with all state and local tobacco tax requirements.\r\n \r\n According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 3 million high schools students used electronic cigarettes in 2018, a 78 percent increase over the previous year. Today, one in five U.S. high school students report using e-cigarettes, which have become the most commonly used tobacco products by youth in the United States.\r\n A survey published in the American Journal of Health Promotion found that 32 percent of underage e-cigarette users reported purchasing products online, making online sales the single largest source of purchases for underage users.\r\n The bill is supported by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, California Physicians Alliance, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Children's Health Fund, Go2Foundation for Lung Cancer, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, National Association of Convenience Stores and Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A601A573-15E1-4B99-B354-64D3729B4614", "Feinstein Supports COVID-19 Relief Package", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on the passage of a COVID-19 relief bill that includes vital assistance for families and businesses continuing to suffer due to the pandemic:\r\n This COVID-19 package includes funds for crucial programs like direct payments to working Americans, unemployment benefits, rental relief, help for small businesses and student loan forbearance. These funds are vital not only for the millions of people still out of work but also for the overall stability of our economy. While Democrats pushed for more robust funding, this package represents necessary, immediate relief for families, businesses and communities as we await full deployment of the vaccine and the incoming Biden administration.\r\n Provisions in the COVID-19 relief package include:\r\n \r\nProvides $300 per week in expanded federal unemployment benefits for 11 weeks, ending March 14. These are critical benefits to the nearly 1.8 million unemployed Californians and to California gig workers and contractors who would not otherwise qualify for benefits.\r\n \r\n \r\nIncludes $25 billion for rental assistance, including a provision to extend the federal evictions moratorium until the end of January 2021.\r\n \r\n \r\nProvides a second round of direct payments of $600 per adult and $600 for each of their children. Individuals earning $75,000 per year will receive the full benefit, which will then decrease to zero for those earning $99,000 per year in income.\r\n \r\n \r\nIncludes $325 billion to help small businesses stay afloat, including $284 billion to expand the Paycheck Protection Program and allow small businesses with 300 or fewer employees that have sustained 25 percent or more in lost revenue in any quarter of 2020 to apply for a second forgivable CARES Act small business loan. This provision earmarks a percentage of funds for minority-owned small businesses, businesses with 10 or fewer employees and community development financial institutions.\r\n \r\n \r\nProvides $82 billion for K-12 schools, colleges and universities to safely reopen and cover costs associated with sanitation and distance learning. The bill also includes a provision to extend CARES Act student loan forbearance through April 30, 2021, continuing the pause on monthly payments and interest accrual on federal student loans.\r\n \r\n \r\nIncludes $69 billion to assist with the COVID-19 response, including financial relief for hospitals; conduct testing and contact tracing; procure personal protective equipment; and procure and distribute COVID-19 vaccines.\r\n \r\n \r\nProvides $10 billion for child care providers struggling to stay open because of the pandemic. Grants may be used for personnel; sanitization and cleaning; and meeting mortgage obligations, rent, utilities and insurance.\r\n \r\n \r\nIncludes $15 billion in grants to live venue operators, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions, which have been among the hardest-hit parts of the economy by the pandemic.\r\n \r\n \r\nIncludes a temporary 15 percent increase for four additional months for food stamp benefits, plus funding to support food banks and food pantries and school and child care meal programs.\r\n \r\n \r\nProvides $45 billion for transportation systems to ensure continued operations and prevent furloughs and layoffs. Includes funding for public transit, the bus industry, airlines, airports and Amtrak.\r\n \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=FB4BC5F0-2AE4-468E-AE34-EE29FEBB646A", "Senators Push Financial Services Companies to Not Insure Arctic Drilling", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today joined Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to press executives of 22 financial services companies to not insure any oil and gas developments in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The senators cited significant financial risk, catastrophic damage to one of the world's most delicate ecosystems and the acceleration of climate chaos as reasons.\r\nThe senators' letters (sent to AIG, Allianz, Aviva, AXIS, Chubb, CNA, Generali, Liberty Mutual, Lloyd's, Markel, Munich Re, QBE, RLI, SCOR, Sompo, Swiss Re, Talanx, The Hartford, Tokio Marine, Travelers, WR Berkley and Zurich Cantonal Bank) follow a series of efforts by the Trump administration to auction off Arctic Refuge oil and gas leases in the coming weeks before President-elect Biden is sworn in.\r\nThe Arctic is on the frontline of climate crisis, warming at three times the rate of the rest of the world. Fossil fuel extraction in these areas risks exacerbating climate chaos and irreparably damaging the local environment, the lawmakers wrote.\r\nIn addition to highlighting the detrimental impacts of boosting the use of fossil fuels on the future of our planet, the senators emphasized the financial risks of investing in Arctic oil extractionrisks that have led 27 major financial institutions, including five major American banks, to decide not to invest in Arctic oil and gas development projects.\r\nOil and gas development in the Arctic is increasingly financially risky. Arctic drilling operations would face extreme and treacherous conditions with severely limited access to respond to an oil spill or an accident. The environmental, social, and governance factors linked with these developments will likely expose your company to unnecessary reputation, legal, and financial risk, they continued.\r\nIn light of their grave concerns, the senators requested that the companies not insure the exploration, production, or transportation of oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; implement a formal policy prohibiting new insurance products or the extension of existing insurance productssuch as surety bonds, commercial multiple peril insurance, and reinsuranceto cover Arctic oil and gas projects; and rule out investments in companies involved in Arctic Refuge development. The lawmakers requested that these new policies and announcements be made publicly, and that the executives inform the lawmakers of the actions they take regarding the requests by December 31.\r\nFull text of the letter is available here and follows:\r\nDecember 21, 2020\r\nAs you may be aware, the Trump Administration recently finalized plans to sell oil leases in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the final days of their administration. Any companies interested in leasing in the Arctic Refuge will be looking for new insurance coverage for their planned developments. Exploring drilling in the Arctic Refuge is financially risky given the historic low of oil prices and the transition away from fossil fuels happening around the world.\r\nWe ask that you put the health and safety of the planet and the people dependent upon the Arctic Refuge first and not insure any oil and gas developments in the Arctic Refuge.\r\nThe Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the world's most delicate ecosystems. It is a sacred space to the Gwich'in people and has supported the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous populations and subsistence hunters for thousands of years. It is also home to endangered species such as bowhead whales, polar bears, and ringed seals and it supports critically important fisheries and migratory birds. The Arctic is on the frontline of climate crisis, warming at three times the rate of the rest of the world. Fossil fuel extraction in these areas risks exacerbating climate chaos and irreparably damaging the local environment.\r\nOil and gas development in the Arctic is increasingly financially risky. Arctic drilling operations would face extreme and treacherous conditions with severely limited access to respond to an oil spill or an accident. The environmental, social, and governance factors linked with these developments will likely expose your company to unnecessary reputation, legal, and financial risk. In light of this financial risk 27 major financial institutions,[1] including five major American banks, have already decided not to invest in oil and gas development in the Arctic.\r\n\r\nIn addition, this development is fraught with legal challenges. There are four active lawsuits challenging the Arctic Refuge leasing program including multiple complaints filed by several tribal communities who depend on the Arctic Refuge and its natural resources to sustain their communities, cultures, and ways of life.\r\nWe ask that your company:\r\n \r\nNot insure the exploration, production, or transportation of oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge;\r\nImplement a formal policy prohibiting new insurance products or the extension of existing insurance contracts to cover the exploration, production, or transportation of oil and gas in the Arctic Refuge, including surety bonds, commercial multiple peril insurance, and reinsurance;\r\nRule out investments in companies involved in Arctic Refuge development and those that do not have policies prohibiting their own involvement in the Arctic Refuge; and\r\nMake these new policies and announcements open to the public.\r\n \r\nWe request that you consider the policy changes listed above regarding oil and gas development for the protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the health and safety of the communities it serves. Please respond to inform us about the actions you take regarding our requests by December 31st. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.\r\nSincerely,\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://aguilar.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/aguilar-votes-pass-bipartisan-covid-19-relief", "Aguilar Votes to Pass Bipartisan COVID-19 Relief", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Pete Aguilar", "A000371", "aguilar.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Pete Aguilar voted for H.R. 133, a comprehensive legislative package that funds the government in Fiscal Year 2021 and provides relief to the American people during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Some of the bill's key provisions include:\n \nDirect payments of up to $600 for each adult and child in a household, including citizens in mixed-status families;\n\t$25 billion for rent-assistance programs and a federal ban on evictions through January 2021;\n\t$13 billion for nutrition assistance programs;\n\t$10 billion for child care assistance to help child care providers open;\n\tMore than $300 billion in small-business assistance funding through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), including dedicated funding for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs);\n\tAn extension of Unemployment Insurance and an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits;\n\tTax credits to support employers providing paid sick leave;\n\tAn expansion of Pell grants that will reach more than 500,000 new students and ensure more than 1.5 million students can access the maximum benefit;\n\tFunding to accelerate the distribution of vaccines and ensure vaccines are free for everyone.\n \nThis bill will provide much-needed relief to Inland Empire families and small businesses as we enter the new year, and will help ensure members of our community can receive the vaccine free-of-charge as soon as possible. I welcome this bipartisan compromise, but I will continue to fight to help communities like San Bernardino County navigate this crisis. I look forward to working with the incoming Biden Administration to build on this support to provide lasting economic relief to our region and end the spread of this virus, said Aguilar.\nRep. Aguilar serves as Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, the committee responsible for drafting and negotiating funding bills like H.R. 133, and was recently elected to serve as Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://bera.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-bera-votes-to-provide-urgent-relief-to-families-and-small-businesses", "Rep. Bera Votes to Provide Urgent Relief to Families and Small Businesses Impacted by COVID-19", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Ami Bera", "B001287", "bera.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC  Congressman Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-07) voted today to provide urgently needed relief to American families and small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. H.R. 133, which passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support, provides $900 billion in emergency coronavirus relief and sufficient funding to fund the federal government through Fiscal Year 2021.\nEven though we're almost a year into this pandemic, a record number of Americans continue to die each day from the COVID-19 virus while the number of unemployed workers has reached historic numbers. As we enter the holiday season and with public health experts anticipating the next few months to be the deadliest part of the pandemic, American families and small businesses need to know that help is on the way, said Rep. Bera. While today's vote is an important step in defeating this virus and getting our economy on a path to recovery, much more assistance is needed. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate, and with the incoming Biden Administration, to provide additional support to Americans early next year.\nThe COVID-19 relief package will:\n Provide direct payment checks to Americans worth up to $600 per adult and child;\n\tSupport small businesses with over $284 billion for first and second forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans;\n\tHelp keep families housed with $25 billion in rental assistance and an extension of the eviction moratorium through January 30, 2021;\n\tExpand nutrition assistance by $13 billion through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help relieve the current hunger crisis;\n\tExtend increased unemployment insurance benefits for Americans out of work; and\n\tAccelerate the free and equitable distribution of safe COVID-19 vaccines.\n Included in the package are provisions championed by Representative Bera to end surprise medical billing for unexpected out-of-network emergency and scheduled care.\nThe last thing a patient should have to worry about when visiting their doctor or an emergency room are unexpected and expensive medical bills that can lead to major debt and financial ruin, said Rep. Bera. Today's vote will give Americans a peace of mind when visiting their doctor or health care provider.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://lamalfa.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/lamalfa-supports-omnibus-and-fourth-covid-19-spending-package", "LaMalfa Supports Omnibus and Fourth COVID-19 Spending Package", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "CA", "Doug LaMalfa", "L000578", "lamalfa.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(Washington, DC)  Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) issued the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 133, the Bipartisan-Bicameral Omnibus & COVID-19 Relief Package. The Omnibus spends $1.4 trillion to fund the federal government through the end of FY21. The COVID-19 relief package spends approximately $900 billion, with $325 billion in new aid, $429 billion in repurposed CARES Act funding, and $140 billion in reauthorized Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds.\nLaMalfa said: Less than three months ago, a $1.8 trillion COVID-19 relief package was nearly agreed to, but in order to deny a win for President Trump before the election, Democrats obstructed bipartisan negotiations. By combining this legislation with $560 billion in previously authorized CARES Act funding, this bill is able to contain new spending to $325 billion, without sacrificing significant financial relief to healthcare workers, small businesses, low and middle-income Americans, and schools.\nI'd specifically like to commend President Trump for his commitment to hard-working Americans who were displaced from their jobs because of COVID-19. When the initial $600 per week of unemployment insurance expired, he directed FEMA to provide a $300 per week supplement to make up for Congressional dithering. Tonight's package continues the President's initiative.\nThe final portion of this bill also includes an end to surprise medical billing, something many Americans are unfortunately familiar with. This bipartisan compromise could have been accomplished at any point during this year, rather than stuffing it into a year-end spending package. Instead, House Democrats spent the last two years passing their hyper-partisan bills that never became law. America deserves better, a majority that actually works to find common ground on issues Americans care about the most.  \n\tProvisions in the fourth COVID-19 spending package include:\n A $600 non-taxable Economic Impact Payment (EIP) to Americans who make less than $75,000 per year.\n\t\tMarried couples are eligible for an EIP with a gross adjusted income capped at $150,000. Families can receive an additional $600 per child.\n\t\t\n\tAn additional $280 billion to reopen and strengthen the Paycheck and Protection Programs\n\t\tBusinesses under 300 employees and have had a 25% reduction in revenue are eligible for a second round of loans\n\t\t\tIncreases the PPP loan amount for restaurants and hotels from 2.5x payroll to 3.5x, providing an extra month's worth of payroll support\n\t\t\n\tNearly $20 billion for vaccine production\n\tOver $2 billion to expand rural broadband\n\t$13 billion to support the agriculture sector under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP)\n\tImproved healthcare for rural and underserved communities\n Provisions in the FY21 Omnibus include:\n $1.4 billion for Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service for wildfire suppression\n\t\tCongressman LaMalfa helped secure an additional $25 million for hazardous fuel reduction projects\n\t\t\n\tAn estimated $1.5 billion to cover previous commitments made in the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program (WHIP) to support eligible farmers and ranchers around the country who suffered financial losses as a result of natural disasters that occurred in calendar years 2018 and 2019.\n\t$3.9 billion for rural development programs, as well as more than $38.1 billion in loans for rural housing, rural utilities, and rural businesses\n\tAllows the Trump Administration to reallocate $929 million from the failed High Speed Rail Project\n\tAn additional $1.375 billion in border wall funding\n\tA 3% pay raise for military personnel\n\tThe largest pro-life victory in a generation by maintaining the Trump Administration's Title X Family Planning regulations, which have resulted in abortion providers - such as Planned Parenthood - leaving the federal program.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/vote-notes/vote-note-on-the-covid-relief-and-omnibus-spending-package-when-its-too-good-to", "Vote Note on the Covid Relief and Omnibus Spending Package: When Its Too Good To Be True", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Vote Note on the Covid Relief and Omnibus Spending Package: When Its Too Good To Be True\nCongressman Tom McClintock\n\nThe covid relief provisions in this bill are immensely popular  they provide $600 direct cash payments to individuals earning up to $75,000, (plus $500 per child), a $1,200 per month bonus to unemployment benefits, and $325 billion in PPP forgivable loans to businesses.\n\nBut I cannot in good conscience vote for it. When something seems too good to be true, it usually is.\n\nIf the aid were targeted to those who have been devastated by the lockdowns, it might be justified. But the bill makes no such distinction. Neither the personal nor first-time PPP grants are contingent on the recipient being financially harmed by the lockdowns. (Although the second round PPP grants do to some extent). The aid is wholly inadequate for those who were harmed and wholly unnecessary for those who weren't. In effect, this becomes a massive wealth transfer from victims to non-victims.\n\nFor example, the waiter whose income has been slashed will get the same $600 as the government bureaucrat who's been enjoying a steady paycheck at home. A thriving law firm qualifies for the same first-time PPP grant as a restaurateur who has been decimated.\n\nSimilarly, the $300 weekly unemployment bonus means that the minimum wage grocery store clerk who shows up at 4:00 every morning and works a full shift gets paid LESS than their roommate who stays home and collects unemployment.\n\nThe bill is inequitable and will have to be repaid from the future earnings of all Americans, making the post-lockdown recovery more difficult and prolonged. It is combined with an omnibus spending bill that further widens the deficit, bringing our nation closer to a debt crisis that has destroyed so many nations before us.\n\nThe covid portion of the bill alone will require borrowing $900 billion, about $7,200 that an average family will have to repay through direct taxes, tax-driven price increases, lower wages or inflation. (Although $429 billion is reprogrammed from the earlier CARES Act, it doesn't change the fact that it is all borrowed money that must be repaid.) Much of it will fall on young people in the years ahead, who are least at risk from covid and have already borne the brunt of the lockdowns.\n\nLess than a year ago, Americans enjoyed the lowest poverty rate in 60 years, the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years and the strongest income growth in 40 years. History will look back on the lockdown orders as the most self-destructive mistake in the history of human civilization. It is clear from the data that they have had no significant effect on covid mortality  some of the harshest lockdowns have accompanied the highest covid death tolls  and vice versa.\n\nWorse, deaths directly caused by the lockdowns  from increased suicides, drug and alcohol abuse, delayed health treatments and health screenings, and poverty related deaths are likely far to exceed covid deaths. Excess deaths due to drug overdoses alone now exceed covid deaths in San Francisco. The UN warns of 130 million additional deaths by starvation worldwide because of the effect on the global economy.\n\nCovid didn't cause this damage. Government did. The only genuine relief from the covid lockdowns is to end them. That's the one thing this bill doesn't do.\n\nEvery day that goes by without ending them, and every dollar borrowed to continue them, makes the road back to prosperity longer and harder.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://mikethompson.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/thompson-votes-to-pass-covid-19-relief-package", "Thompson Votes to Pass COVID-19 Relief Package", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Mike Thompson", "T000460", "mikethompson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington  Today Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) voted to pass H.R. 133, an end of year funding package that includes Coronavirus relief and an omnibus spending bill that funds the Federal government through September 30, 2021. A statement from Thompson is below.\nToday I voted to pass the latest round of Coronavirus relief funding, including both health care and economic response provisions. This bill was far from perfect and it is not commensurate to the magnitude of this crisis. It's not nearly enough funding and does not include enough relief for our health care systems that are overwhelmed or the families, workers and small businesses that are struggling financially. The package does not include funding for state and local governments or aid to our restaurant industry.\nHowever, the bill does offer some relief and so it's an important step in helping our nation respond to and recover from this pandemic. It includes critical aid to speed up COVID-19 vaccination rollout, support for our schools, funding for our struggling small businesses, and a desperately needed extension of the expanded unemployment insurance. I view this package as a bridge to a bigger agreement that we must pass in the coming months. Know that I will be working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and the President-elect to get more Coronavirus relief legislation passed as soon as we can in the 117th Congress.\nYou can click here to read a summary of H.R. 133 and you can click here to watch a floor statement from Thompson in support of the bill.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://napolitano.house.gov/media/press-releases/napolitano-hails-final-passage-wrda-socal-nation", "Napolitano Hails Final Passage of WRDA for SoCal & Nation", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Grace Napolitano", "N000179", "napolitano.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(WASHINGTON, DC) Today, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-El Monte), coauthor of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020which was included in the FY2021 Omnibus Appropriations billhailed final passage of the critical water infrastructure and jobs bill for Southern California and the nation.\nOur bipartisan Water Resources Development Act will create much needed American jobs and boost our economic recovery, while upgrading our nation's water infrastructure and safeguarding our environment, Napolitano said.The big accomplishment in this bill is the provision I drafted that will provide a six-fold increase in funding to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for dredging, cleanup, and maintenance, something for which I have fought for many years. All of Southern California, including my San Gabriel Valley district, is reliant on the economic productivity flowing through the ports that benefits inland manufacturing, warehousing, shipping, and goods movement. The improvements this bill makes to our Southern California ports will benefit businesses and jobs throughout our region. We included this important provision after the Subcommittee visited the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach earlier this year to learn about ongoing needs there. I want to thank Los Angeles Port Executive Director Gene Seroka and Long Beach Port Executive Director Mario Cordero for their advocacy and assistance on this vital harbor improvement provision. This bill also includes the language necessary for my district and other wildfire prone regions of the country to improve efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers to remove unauthorized, human-made flammable equipment and materials from Corps property, Napolitano continued. This will help prevent forest fires from starting on Army Corps lands such as the San Gabriel and Los Angeles rivers.\nAs we in the West are in a continuous fight against drought, I am proud to have secured provisions to give the Corps more ability to focus on long-term water reliability of arid communities and local water supply, Napolitano added. This will further focus the Corps on using Whittier Narrows, Santa Fe, and other dams in our region for water supply with local water agencies. WRDA is a bipartisan agreement betweenthe House and Senate, and authorizes $10 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to carry out water resources development projects and studies, as well as policy direction to the Corps for implementation of its Civil Works missions. As Chairwoman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee and the highest-ranking California member of the full Committee, Napolitano successfully included in the bill the following new funding and other key provisions:\n Currently, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and 4 of the other largest ports in the nation receive only $25 million per year in federal assistance yet provide critical funding to smaller ports up and down the west coast and eastern seaboard; this bill increases the amount to $175 million annually to the largest ports, including Los Angeles and Long Beach. Napolitano has long been a staunch proponent of ensuring LA County gets back more of its fair share and fought to secure this additional equity and funding for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.\n\t\tExpands the maintenance activities that the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach can use this funding for to include harbor dredging, environmental cleanup, seismic retrofits, and berth maintenance. These items were specifically requested by the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.\n\t\t\tThis additional maintenance will improve operations at these ports which will allow more ships to call on Los Angeles and Long Beach and have a ripple effect on the Southern California economy. 1 out of every 9 jobs in Southern California is related to these ports, according to the Port of Los Angeles. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handle a combined 348 Million Metric Revenue Tons (MMRT) of products annually, including everyday items such as electronics, cars, commercial/residential equipment, and food.\n\t\t\n\tDirects the Corps to prioritize the removal of flammable, human-made materials that are unauthorized to be present on certain Corps lands and pose a fire risk that is a threat to public safety. This will help prevent forest fires from starting on Corps property.\n\tRequires a comprehensive study on adding water supply to the primary mission areas of the Corps. Corps dams and projects were primarily built for flood control, but in the West we have been gradually changing reservoir operations to improve water supply for local communities. This provision will move the Corps to making water supply a primary responsibility to address water shortage issues felt around the country.\n\tAddresses affordability and improved coordination with economically disadvantaged communities. Requires the Corps to provide flexibility in addressing water resource needs of low-income communities and communities of color. Provides technical assistance to these communities with resiliency planning. Requires the Corps to review its process for consultation with minority and tribal communities, and updates the Corps' environmental justice considerations for Corps projects.\n\tRequires the Corps to use more nature-based construction and develop projects in a sustainable manner to reduce environmental impacts, improve long-term resiliency, and create additional benefits for local communities with recreation, improved water quality, and water supply.\n Since being elected Subcommittee Chair in January 2019, Napolitano has worked diligently, always on a bipartisan basis, toward enactment of a biennial WRDA. Her Subcommittee held seven hearings and roundtables which offered Members, stakeholders, and the general public numerous opportunities to provide valuable testimony and input, which ultimately helped produce WRDA 2020:\n On April 10, 2019, the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment (Subcommittee) held a hearing entitled, The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Full Utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and Investment in our Nation's Waterways Matter. The Subcommittee received testimony on the role that ports, harbors, and inland waterways play in our communities and their economies.\n\tOn July 10, 2019, the Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, Water Resources Development Acts: Status of Implementation and Assessing Future Needs, at which several witnesses discussed the Corps' implementation of the congressionally authorized WRDAs. The hearing also began the process to inform the development of WRDA 2020.\n\tOn October 19, 2019, the Subcommittee held a roundtable in Islamorada, Florida.The purpose of this roundtable was to define the challenges states and communities face in rebuilding and to determine possible solutions to address America's water infrastructure needs. Participants included representatives from several public and private stakeholder groups with an interest in water resources infrastructure.\n\tOn November 19, 2019, the Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, Concepts for the Next Water Resources Development Act: Promoting Resiliency of our Nation's Water Resources Infrastructure. The Subcommittee received testimony related to the role of resiliency in the construction, and operation and maintenance of projects carried out by the Corps.\n\tOn January 9, 2020, the Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, Proposals for a Water Resources Development Act of 2020. This hearing provided Members with an opportunity to review these reports, review the process the Corps undertakes for developing its projects, and identify future needs to inform the development of WRDA 2020.\n\tOn February 27, 2020 the Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, Proposals for a Water Resources Development Act of 2020: Members' Day Hearing. The purpose of this hearing was to provide Members of Congress with an opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee on their priorities in relation to the Corps.\n\tOn March 6, 2020, the Subcommittee held a field roundtable in Baldwin Park, California in Napolitano's district, for a policy discussion on America's Water Resources Infrastructure: Concepts for the Next Water Resources Development Act. Participants included several local elected officials from the Los Angeles region, as well as local experts on regional water resources issues.\n # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://napolitano.house.gov/media/press-releases/napolitano-s-nchez-chu-secure-1925-million-whittier-narrows-dam-safety-project", "Napolitano, Snchez, Chu Secure $192.5 Million for the Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Project", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Grace Napolitano", "N000179", "napolitano.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(WASHINGTON, DC) Today, Congresswomen Grace F. Napolitano (D-El Monte), Linda T. Snchez (D-Whittier), and Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) announced they had secured $192.5 million for the Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Project in the FY2021 Omnibus Appropriations bill.\nWe are proud to have secured $192.5 million in federal funding for this vital dam safety project, an enormous victory for San Gabriel Valley residents and millions more throughout our region, Napolitano said. Since first learning about flood risk concerns over a decade ago, I have encouraged the Army Corps of Engineers and my colleagues in Congress to make Whittier Narrows Dam the top budgetary priority and I am grateful they have listened to our calls. I want to thank Congresswomen Snchez and Chu for joining me in pursuit of this funding year after year. I also want to express my gratitude to Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Marcy Kaptur and our esteemed outgoing full Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey for recognizing the importance of Whittier Narrows Dam as one of the most significant flood control projects in the country with the funding to back it. Lastly, I want to thank the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local leaders COL. Julie Balten, Deputy David Van Dorpe, South Pacific Division Commander Brig. Gen. Paul Owen, and the national Corps leadership of Assistant Secretary R.D. James and Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, for their continued efforts to study, design and prepare for this project. We will continue to work with the Corps as construction will soon begin, and we will fight to secure the remaining funds in the coming years. Restoring the Whittier Narrows Dam is a matter of life and death for the communities I represent, including the City of Pico Rivera where the Dam is located. That is why I have worked closely with my colleagues over the past decade to ensure the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the funding it needs to begin this critical project and protect millions of downstream residents and small businesses from catastrophic flooding, said Congresswoman Linda T. Snchez. I want to thank Reps. Napolitano and Chu, Senator Feinstein, and appropriators for working with me to ensure construction of the project commences on schedule as part of the omnibus appropriations act. This important milestone will make our communities more resilient in the face of increasingly dangerous and damaging storms. I am grateful to the Los Angeles District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for working with community leaders to address logistical concerns as construction gets underway. I am committed to working with the Corps, community leaders, and my colleagues in our Congressional delegation to minimize the construction's impact on the community as much as possible, while also ensuring continued funding for and timely completion of the project.\nFor years, the Whittier Dam has been suffering from underfunding that has put countless lives and homes along the San Gabriel River at risk, said Congresswoman Chu. That is why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rated the dam as having among the highest risk of failure in the whole country. And with climate change bringing greater storms to our area, that risk of breaking was growing. I had the opportunity to examine this dam up close on a tour earlier this year, and I am grateful to the engineers and professionals who are doing their best to maintain it. But they cannot do it alone. That is why I have fought for years to secure the necessary funding to repair this dam, and the $192.5 million in this legislation is a significant step in the right direction. I'm so grateful to the Corps for their hard work and prioritization of this project, to my colleagues Reps. Napolitano and Snchez for their partnership as we worked for years to secure this funding, and to the House Appropriations Committee for including this important funding. I will continue to advocate for funding for this project until it has been completed.\nNapolitano is the Chairwoman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resourcesand Environment, which has jurisdiction over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She helped secure this money through her leadership on the Subcommittee and through multiple hearings, meetings, legislation, and letters to the Corps. Napolitano held a Congressional roundtable and tour of Whittier Narrows Dam on March 6, attended by both Snchez and Chu, as her Subcommittee continued preparations for a biennial Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). At the beginning of 2020, Napolitano, Snchez, who represents the City of Pico Riverawhere the dam is locatedalong with several adjacent cities, and Chu spearheaded a letter with other local Representatives to House Appropriators requesting funds for this critical safety repair project at Whittier Narrows Dam. The FY21 Omnibus Appropriations bill is expected to pass both the House and Senate today, sending it directly to the President's desk for his signature. The money provided for the Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Project will fund construction through the next 2 years. Reps. Napolitano, Snchez, and Chu will continue to advocate for the remaining funds in following fiscal years to finish this $385 million project.\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://napolitano.house.gov/media/press-releases/napolitano-votes-coronavirus-relief-and-omnibus-agreement-delivering-critical", "Napolitano Votes for Coronavirus Relief and Omnibus Agreement, Delivering Critical Lifelines and Federal Funding to San Gabriel Valley Families & Businesses", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Grace Napolitano", "N000179", "napolitano.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(WASHINGTON, DC) Today, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-El Monte) voted for the Coronavirus Relief and FY2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bill Agreement to deliver critical lifelines and federal funding to struggling families and businesses amid the raging pandemic.\nIt's been over 7 months since we passed the Heroes Act, and we can't wait any longer, Napolitano said. Americans need help now with unemployment, putting food on the table, and paying bills. I'm proud we fought for and secured unemployment insurance enhancements, support for small businesses of all sizes, direct cash payments to lower and middle-income families, rental assistance, and other lifelines to struggling families and businesses.\nWhile the relief package meets many critical needs, it is extremely frustrating that Republicans blocked funding for state and local governments, which face looming budget shortfalls and painful layoffs, Napolitano said. Mayors from all thirteen cities in my district made clear to me in our conversations over the past several months that this was their number one priority, knowing full well the painful consequences and cuts that would follow. It is imperative we pass robust funding directly to state and local governments in the next relief legislation and that we act soon.\nHowever, I am pleased the Omnibus includes funding that I requested for so many critical projects to San Gabriel Valley and Southern California families, agencies, and businesses, Napolitano said. It funds the Whittier Narrows Dam safety project, puts forth a strong, bipartisan water infrastructure bill, provides low-income households with financial assistance to pay their water bills, and boosts investment in vital water recycling projects in the West as we combat drought and climate change. Through increased funding, the Youth Challenge Program will continue to grow and help many more forgotten youth and their families. Lastly, we are expanding life-saving mental health services as we address the crisis unfolding in our communities, which has been worsened by the pandemic, and ensure help to all in need.  \n\t\nSome of the Numerous Initiatives that will benefit San Gabriel Valley Coronavirus Relief Package:\n Accelerating vaccine distribution and crushing the coronavirus: Provides billions in urgently needed funds to accelerate the free and equitable distribution of safe vaccines to as many Americans as possible as soon as possible, to implement a strong national testing and tracing strategy with billions reserved specifically for combating the disparities facing communities of color, and to support our heroic health care workers and providers.\n\tStrong support for small business: Critical funding and policy changes to help small businesses, including minority-owned businesses, and nonprofits recover from the pandemic. Includes over $284 billion for first and second forgivable PPP loans, expanded PPP eligibility for nonprofits and local newspapers, TV and radio broadcasters, key modifications to PPP to serve the smallest businesses and struggling non-profits and better assist independent restaurants,and includes $15 billion in dedicated funding for live venues, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions. The agreement also includes $20 billion for targeted EIDL Grants which are critical to many smaller businesses on Main Street.\n\tCommunity Development Financial Institutions and Minority Depository Institutions: Includes dedicated PPP set-asides for very small businesses and lending through community-based lenders like Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs); $9 billion in emergency U.S. Treasury capital investments in CDFIs and MDIs to support lending in low-income and underserved communities, including persistent poverty counties, that may be disproportionately impacted by the economic effects of the COVID19 pandemic; and $3 billion in emergency support for CDFIs through the CDFI Fund to respond to the economic impact of the pandemic on underserved low-income and minority communities. \n\tRental assistance: $25 billion in critically needed rental assistance for families struggling to stay in their homes and an extension of the eviction moratorium.\n\tDirect payment checks: New round of direct payments worth up to $600 per adult and child, also ensuring that mixed-status families receive payments. \n\tEnhanced Unemployment Insurance benefits: Unemployment Insurance benefits continue for millions through $300 per week UI enhancement for Americans out of work.\n The FY21 Omnibus bill included funding for the following priorities Napolitano requested for her district and the Southern California region:\n Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Project  $192,500,000  The project will construct safety improvements to address recently found flood risks and deterioration at the dam.\n\tLow-Income Household Drinking Water and Wastewater Emergency Assistance Program - $638,000,000  This program was created by Rep. Napolitano and Rep. DeFazio as chairs of the Water Resources Subcommittee and Transportation and Infrastructure full Committee, respectively. The program will provide direct funding to low-income residents to help with paying water and wastewater utility bills. States will work with water utilities to publicize this program and identify households that need this assistance, especially for those facing economic hardship related to the pandemic.\n\tWater Resources Development Act - $10,000,000,000  Authorizes funding to port improvement, flood control, water supply, and environmental restoration projects around the County. Rep. Napolitano is the coauthor of this Act as she is the Chairwoman of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee.\n\tWater Recycling and WaterSmart - $131,415,000  These funds are used by local water agencies and cities to provide affordable and long-term water supply in our region with effective, drought-proof water recycling and water efficiency projects.\n\tNational Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program (NGYCP) - $210,000,000 - The NGYCP is a joint federal-state partnership run by the National Guard that enhances the life skills, education levels, and employment potential for at-risk youth by providing them the opportunity to earn their high school diploma or GED, at no cost. California has three programs: Sunburst Youth Academy at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, Grizzly Youth Academy at Camp San Luis Obispo, and the Discovery ChalleNGe Academy in Stockton. Congresswoman Napolitano is working to bring a fourth program to Southern California.\n\tCommunity Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) - $757,571,000  The MHBG awards funding to states to supplement existing and/or new mental health services.\n\tCertified Community Behavioral Health Clinics Expansion Grants - $250,000,000 - CCBHCs partner with emergency rooms, law enforcement, and veterans' organizations to provide 24-hour access to outpatient mental health healthcare and substance abuse treatment.\n\tNational Institutes of Health - $42,934,000,000 - Investments in research will aid in developing rapid, effective treatments for behavioral health disorders and facilitate early identification and intervention.\n\tLoan Repayment Program for Substance Use Disorder Treatment Workforce - $16,000,000 - This program works to expand the substance abuse treatment workforce by providing loan repayment for eligible mental and behavioral health professionals working full-time in high-need communities.\n # # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://panetta.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-panetta-commends-house-passage-900-billion-temporary-covid-relief", "Congressman Panetta Commends House Passage of $900 Billion Temporary COVID Relief Package", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Jimmy Panetta", "P000613", "panetta.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC  Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) commended the House passage of $900 billion in COVID-19 relief funding. The relief legislation was passed as part of a larger end of year spending package. The relief bill includes funding for vaccine distribution, direct payments, unemployment assistance, small businesses, schools, rental assistance, broadband access, state and local governments, farmworkers, food assistance programs, and more. The legislation will now go to the Senate for consideration.\nAfter months of work with my Problem Solvers Caucus and our Senate counterparts, we were able show leadership the way to yes'. That's one of the many reasons why I was proud to vote yes on today's bipartisan COVID temporary relief package, said Congressman Panetta. This legislation will provide federal funds and temporary protections for our restaurants and other small businesses, our farmworkers and other frontline workers, and the many more who continue to struggle amid this bruising pandemic. However, our work is not finished as we must continue to fight for an additional stimulus bill in 2021 to ensure the successful long-term recoveries of our economy and public health throughout the central coast and across our country.\nThe COVID relief package includes the following provisions:\n $19 billion in vaccine procurement and distribution.\n\tDirect payments of up to $600 per adult and child.\n\t$300 per week boost to unemployment benefits, and an 11 week extension of the CARES Act unemployment programs.\n\tA 15% funding increase to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).\n\tExtension of SNAP eligibility for college students who previously have not had access to the program.\n\t$400 million for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which supports food banks and pantries .\n\tFunding to ensure school meal and child and adult care food programs can continue serving children and families.\n\t$25 billion for rental assistance.\n\t$284 billion for first and second forgivable PPP loans, including larger loans for restaurants.\n\t$15 billion in dedicated funding for live venues, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions.\n\t$82 billion in funding for colleges and schools.\n\t$10 billion for childcare assistance.\n\t$27 billion for state highways, struggling transit agencies, Amtrak and airports.\n\t$7 billion to increase access to broadband for students, families, and unemployed workers.\n\t$22 billion for the health-related expenses of state, local, tribal and territorial government.\n \nThe full text of the COVID relief package can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://panetta.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-bipartisan-14-trillion-omnibus-spending-package", "House Passes Bipartisan $1.4 Trillion Omnibus Spending Package", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Jimmy Panetta", "P000613", "panetta.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC  Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) commended the House passage of a bipartisan $1.4 trillion FY2021 Omnibus spending package. The FY2021 Omnibus funding measure includes appropriated funding for COVID relief, veterans' healthcare, clean energy, and more. The spending package also addresses expiring tax provisions for small businesses such as Central Coast wineries, families, and clean energy. The Omnibus will now go to the Senate for consideration.\nIt has been a privilege to work on, and I was proud vote for, this bipartisan end of year Omnibus spending bill to provide critical federal funding for the people and projects of the Central Coast, said Congressman Panetta. This type of huge bill takes collaboration and compromise in order to deliver federal support to those who need it the most. I was glad to do my part to move this spending package forward, which also includes my bill, the HOSPICE Act, to improve oversight in Medicare hospice facilities. As we enter a new year and continue to endure this pandemic, Congress must continue to work together to play its part and lead when it comes to providing federal funding for the people not just of our districts, but also of our nation.\nThe FY2021 Omnibus package includes tax provisions for:\n Emergency Disaster Tax Relief for those affected by wildfires, including increases in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocations to expand affordable housing for displaced individuals.\n\tRenewable energy by including a two-year extension of the solar investment tax credit.\n\tSmall brewers and wineries by making permanent excise tax cuts in the Craft Beverage Modernization Act.\n\tBusinesses who have kept their workers hired throughout the pandemic through an extension and expansion of the Employee Retention Tax Credit.\n\tLow-Income Families by allowing them to use 2019 income to determine their 2020 Earned Income Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits.\n\tStudents by doubling the Lifetime Learning Credit for tuition and education expenses.\n\tEnergy-efficient buildings by making energy efficiency improvement credits permanent.\n \nThe FY2021 Omnibus package includes the following provisions:\nCentral Coast\n At least $1.5 million in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding for flood control projects in economically disadvantaged areas. The Pajaro River Flood Risk Reduction Project qualified for and received this funding last year and remains a very strong candidate for the funding.\n\t$3.84 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Operations and Maintenance account, which has been a lifeline to the Corps' maintenance dredging project in the Santa Cruz Harbor.\n\tLanguageelevating the San Justo Reservoir Mussel Eradication Project, which is eligible to compete for additional funding provided in the Bureau of Reclamation's Water Conservation and Delivery account.\n\t$15,498,985 from the Bureau of Reclamation's Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program for the Pure Water Monterey Groundwater Replenishment Project.\n\t$6,075,000 for the Bureau of Reclamation's Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program for the Pure Water Soquel Groundwater Replenishment and Seawater Intrusion Project.\n Agriculture and food safety\n $435 million for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which helps fund innovative specialty crop research, education, and extension. This is a $10 million increase from the previous fiscal year.\n\tLanguage directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to complete a strategic plan within 180 days of enactment for the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AGARDA), supporting research on long-term and high-risk challenges in agriculture.\n\tLanguage encouraging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that any recordkeeping and traceability requirements associated with the high-risk foods list apply across the food supply and distribution chain.\n\tLanguage encouraging the FDA to work in partnership with existing government food safety programs and the industries they represent as it continues implementation of regulations to stop foodborne illness.\n\t$15,093,000 for Section 514 and 516 farm labor housing grants, which can be used to buy, build improve, or repair housing for year-round and migrant or seasonal domestic farmworkers. \n\t$1.018 billion to help farmers, ranchers, and other private landowners conserve and protect their lands, including funding for flood prevention and watershed rehabilitation projects.\n\tLanguage that continues allowing the Secretary of Agriculture to waive matching fund requirements for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative.\n\t$18 million for the National Organic Program to protect the integrity of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's organic label.\n Food and nutrition assistance\n $114 billion in required mandatory spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. This fully funds participating as well as the SNAP enhanced allotments authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.\n\t$25.1 billion in required mandatory funding for child nutrition programs, including funding for free and reduced-price school meals and funding for the Summer Food Service Program.\n\t$1.97 billion for international food aid programs that work to reduce famine and increase food security overseas.\n\t$5.27 billion in wildland fire management funding.\n Healthcare\n Additional oversight and transparency of Medicare hospice providers, through Congressman Panetta's HOSPICE Act.\n\tProtection for patients from surprise out-of-network medical bills.\n Transportation\n $45 billion for transportation providers, including funding for transit agencies, state highways, and private motor coach, school bus, and ferry industries.\n COVID Response\n Funding to purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines and develop a strategic national stockpile.\n\tFunding for direct grants to states for COVID-19 testing, tracing, and mitigation programs Funding for grants for childcare providers.\n Veterans\n Supports servicemembers and military families by fully funding a 3.0 percent military pay raise.\n\t$90 billion for VA medical care, including funding to provide homelessness assistance, suicide prevention and outreach, and gender-specific care.\n\t$1.1 billion for Federal TRIO programs, an increase of $7 million.\n\tFully funds the 3.0 percent military pay raise.\n\t$90 billion for VA medical care, including funding to provide homelessness assistance, suicide prevention and outreach, and gender-specific care.\n \nEnvironment and clean energy\n $7.026 billion for DOE's Office of Science to support energy innovation of the future.\n\t$2.86 billion for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.\n\t$427 million for ARPA-E to support the development of clean, affordable, and secure energy.\n\t$367.7 million for a reliable, resilient electric grid.\n\t$2 billion for NASA Earth Science, including climate observing programs.\n\t$182 million for NOAA Climate Research.\n Education\n $149 million for Hispanic Serving Institutions and increase of $6 million.\n\t$14.1 billion for special education through the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, an increase of $186 million.\n\t$1.1 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).\n\t$730 million in the expansion of broadband service to provide economic development opportunities and improved education and healthcare services.\n Housing\n $43.4 million in new targeted vouchers to reduce homelessness among families with children, individuals, the unsheltered, veterans, and survivors of domestic violence.\n\t$107 million for Education for Homeless Children and Youth, an increase of $5 million above the 2020 enacted level.\n The full text of the omnibus spending package can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/media-center/pelosi-updates/americans-need-urgent-covid-relief", "Americans Need Urgent COVID Relief", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Remembering 300,000 Americans  \n\tOn Monday, our nation crossed an unthinkable milestone of grief: 300,000 Americans killed by the coronavirus, even more than were killed in combat in World War II. Our hearts are broken for all the families who have lost loved ones, and we are praying for them, all those who have been infected and those courageous essential workers putting themselves at risk of infection. \n\nWhile the authorization of a vaccine gives us hope, we must embrace the testing, tracing, treatment, mask wearing and social distancing to prevent more senseless death until the vaccine is available to all.Congress must come together and reach bipartisan agreement this week on coronavirus legislation to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people. We cannot go home without it.\n\n\n\nUpholding our Democratic System  \n\tOn Monday, members of the Electoral College met in state capitals across the country to cast their vote for President and Vice President, as prescribed in our Constitution. I was proud to appoint San Franciscan Mattie Scott to cast our district's vote in the Electoral College for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Twenty-four years ago, Mattie Scott turned her grief at her son's murder into a decades-long fight to confront the tragedy of gun violence and to end all forms of violence in San Francisco and across the nation.  \n\t  \n\tAs the founder of Healing 4 Our Families and Our Nation and California President for Brady United Against Gun Violence, Mattie is a powerful force for progress, harnessing her courage and determined spirit to empower families and heal our communities. Thanks to her strong moral leadership, Mattie has helped move the conversation around gun violence into the forefront of our national dialogue, building coalitions of survivors, families and young people to raise their voices and ensure that elected officials are fighting against the devastating toll that the gun violence epidemic is inflicting on California communities and families throughout the country. Every day, Mattie is working to protect our children and build a brighter, more just and equal future for all. Our city was fortunate to have her as a representative in the Electoral College.\n\n\n  \n\t\nStaying Up To Date on COVID in San Francisco  \n\tWith the ever-present threat of COVID-19, it is important to stay updated with the ongoing changes in our community.Below you can find some of those changes as well as tools and resources to help with these developments:\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tA constituent's daughter contacted my office because her mother's retirement benefits through the Social Security Administration (SSA) had been discontinued. My office contacted SSA to resolve this issue and request benefits resume immediately and pay retroactively for the months it was discontinued. The error was quickly fixed by SSA, and my constituent received her missing benefits retroactively and began receiving her monthly benefits again.Caseworkers in my San Francisco office work to address any problems or concerns you may have with a federal government agency. To submit a Casework Authorization Form, pleasevisitmy website.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/floor-speech-on-emergency-coronavirus-relief-omnibus-agreement", "Floor Speech on Emergency Coronavirus Relief & Omnibus Agreement", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the Floor of the House of Representatives in support of the bipartisan agreement on the emergency coronavirus relief and omnibus package. Below are the Speaker's remarks:\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.\n\nI associate myself with your comments and that of our Chaplain, Father Conroy, that it is appropriate to start today with a prayer, every day, but especially a day when we are seeing over 300,000, and the number getting higher, of Americans who are dying from the coronavirus.\n\nWe have hope because there is a vaccine. We have hope because we have a president who recognizes science and, again, the need for us to distribute the vaccine in the most equitable and fair and free way. By that president, I mean the one who will take office one month from now, Joe Biden.\n\nI do want to speak to the bill that will be on the Floor shortly. It is a good bipartisan bill. It does  is different from bills that have been proposed on the Senate side by the Republican Leader. It does things that his bill never did and that is, it addresses the food needs of the American people. Maybe 15 million children are food insecure in our country and adults as well. Millions of families on the verge of eviction, and this legislation addresses the rental needs and short-term moratorium.\n\nWe can accept the short-term because we'll have a new president during the length of that moratorium to extend it further, if necessary. We also have in the legislation direct payments, which were not in the Republican bill  to America's working families. I would like them to have been bigger, but they are significant and they will be going out soon.\n\nThe President may insist on having his name on the check, but make no mistake, those checks are from the American people. The American peoples' name should be on that check, no individual, because that is the source of the resources for those checks: tax-paying Americans.\n\nIn addition to that, the list goes on of some of the very positive things that are on the bill. And, quite frankly, some of them did not  we did not come to agreement until yesterday. Whether we are talking about WRDA, the Water Resources Development Act, a big jobs bill; it had bipartisan support, but some disagreement over language. And, by the time that was resolved, it pushed the bill from coming to the Floor later.\n\nWe didn't have, at the start of the day, sick leave. That is in the bill, almost $2 billion for sick leave. It didn't have the EITC, the Earned Income Tax Credit for working poor people to have that boost, as well as the Child Tax Credit. It did not have the Employment Retention Tax Credit. Bipartisan support, WRDA and on that.\n\nAnd then, we came to agreement not only on the language, but where that initiative would be placed about. Many of these things need to be precisely written and assembled in order for a bill to come to the Floor, which we anticipate will be not too  pretty soon this morning.\n\nOne of the things, though, that's disappointing, because for a long time now our House Democrats and Senate have been saying we want to crush the virus, put money in the pockets of the American people and, per the title of our bill before, honor our heroes: our state and local workers who are on the front line. When we talk about those on the front line, our heroes, necessary in meeting and crushing this virus, we are talking about health care workers in cities, counties and states. We are talking about first responders, police and fire, someone first on the scene to help someone with the coronavirus. We are talking about our teachers, our teachers, our teachers, the custodians of our children for a large part of the day. We are talking about our transportation, sanitation, food workers, those who make our lives possible.\n\nI think it would be interesting to point out that as enthusiastic as we are about the PPP provisions in this bill, and we all support them in a bipartisan way, it's important to note that small businesses  I always say there is nothing more optimistic than starting a small business, maybe getting married  but the optimism, the hope, the dream that people have is completely, shall we say, darkened by this assault of this virus.\n\nAnd that's why we had to start by crushing the virus. We didn't do it. We couldn't pass legislation until now because the Administration simply did not believe in testing, tracing, treatment, wearing masks, sanitation, separation and the rest  scientific approach. It becomes clear to us, now, that they believed in herd immunity, quackery, springing right from the Oval Office, and not denied sufficiently by some of the CDC and the rest.\n\nSo, now, we have a vaccine and that gives us hope. A vaccine that is  springs from science. People say around here sometimes, I'm faith-oriented, so I don't believe in science.' And I said, Well, you can do both.' Science is an answer to our prayers and our prayers have been answered with a vaccine. And in this legislation, we have provision for it to be developed, purchased and distributed in a way, again, that is fair and equitable and free.\n\nWhat we couldn't get ever, even with the previous legislation just on testing, et cetera, was the adequate language to recognize that this coronavirus has taken a terrible toll on our whole country, more so among people of color. More people have died from the coronavirus, people of color. If you were a child who was Hispanic, you had an eight times more chance of going to the hospital because of the coronavirus than a white child. If you are African American, you had five times chance more of going to the hospital because of the coronavirus.\n\nSo, now we have a vaccine that we hope will reach everyone as soon as possible. What I  what I'm heartbroken about about this bill, though, is, while we make an attempt to crush the virus, we don't do it adequately enough in terms of recognizing the toll on people of color. But we will have to do that in the public sentiment of it and in the demands that we make on governors and others who are in charge of the distribution.\n\nBut we put money in the pockets of American people. We want to do more. But, nonetheless, we are meeting the deadline, December 26, when Unemployment Insurance, which was vital.\n\nBut the third thing, honoring our heroes, as I said earlier, our health care workers, first responders, police and fire, sanitation, transportation, food workers, teachers, teachers, teachers, we just decided that, while they are on the front line, while they are risking their lives to save lives, many of the health care workers and police and fire, et cetera, they're about to, many of them, to lose their jobs. Many of them have already lost their lives. Many have lost their jobs. So, why is it that this Congress and this White House refuses to recognize the value, the contribution, the sacrifice of our  our, again, heroes, our people on the frontline?\n\nIt's interesting, I think, to note that when we passed  we passed a number of bills in a bipartisan way, and we'll pass this one, today. In the course of that, in the CARES Act and follow-up on the PPP bill, and this bill now, we are approaching $1 trillion that we are putting out for PPP. If that is what is needed and is spent effectively, that's a worthy expenditure, but almost $1 trillion, well over $750 [billion]. This bill alone over $300 billion. So, we have PPP now, in order for the private sector to function. In order for us to live our lives, we need to have the public sector: public transportation, public schools, public health, the list goes on.\n\nSo, it's not about public/private, it's about people, people who are doing the jobs. Again, risking their lives to save lives. They lose their life and maybe lose their job. Many have lost their lives. Many more have, of course, lost their jobs. So, we have nearly, approaching, $1 trillion for the PPP, small business, which I support all the way, and $150 billion or $160 billion for state and local government, which enables the private sector to function, which enables us to crush the virus, which enables us to meet the needs of people. 150-60 [billion] versus well over $800 billion already. How could that be right?\n\nExcept Republicans insist on saying, We don't want to give money to blue states where the coronavirus is.' It's in red states, too. It knows no borders and it knows no party, this vicious virus. But, somehow or other, Republicans have said to our heroes, our health care workers, our teachers, our transportation, our police and fire and the rest, sanitation workers  so important  food, food, food  you are not worthy of support because, perhaps, you are in a blue state predominantly, and, therefore, we under-value your contribution to our society, to our economy, and especially now as we try to minister to the needs of people in this coronavirus crisis. Who do you think  these vaccines come into a state, they go from the lab to your arm, magically? No. They have to be received, distributed, administered and done so fairly, equitably and free. Who do you think is going to do those jobs if you don't respect the role of state and local government in all of this? Don't think about it as government. Think about it as people. Think about yourself needing all of that.\n\nSo, I would hope that as we see the need for what we have done in this nearly $900 billion legislation that we'll vote on today that everyone understands it's a first step. It's a first step, as President-elect Biden has said. It's a first step, and we will need to do more, more to get more virus assistance to crush the virus, but also more money to buy vaccines. We need to have the Defense Production Act in play to hasten the manufacturing of these vaccines, and we need to be able to, as I say, to get the job done, and that takes people. And people need to be respected. Their work needs to be valued. And  again, and their entities for whom  under whose auspices they work, public hospitals, all the rest.\n\nAnd education, so important, and yet, many of our teachers have lost their jobs. We need more teachers because we need more space to separate to, again, protect our children. We always said, if you want the economy to open up and you want our schools to open up, you must crush the virus. At least take the precautions so that people are not in jeopardy if they go to work or if they  when they go to school. Schools should be the safest places in America, should be the safest places in America for our children. And they can be if science is respected and if the mask wearing, distancing and the rest  but you need more space, you need better ventilation, as Bobby Scott tells us over and over, and you need more teachers.\n\nSo, this is a big mistake. The Republicans said, Well, you can get a small amount.' Not even approaching in any way the PPP, and again, no resentment there. We support that, but the recognition that that is important should also recognize that the sector of our economy that supports the private sector be recognized. And so, on that score, you come to a situation where, how could it be that we only have $160 billion for state and local, where we have nearly approaching $1 trillion for PPP, not recognizing that the private sector is connected to the public sector?\n\nNow, one more point on that. They said, You can have some money for state and local. We'll decide how it will be distributed, if you do surrender the rights of workers.' In other words, just in case anybody doesn't know, there are essential workers who are required to go to work. If they don't, because they're concerned about a danger to their health and the health of their families, because the workplace is not safe, they cannot go on Unemployment Insurance. And if they go to work and contract the virus, they have no recourse because that's the way the Republicans wanted. That's the way the Republicans wanted. It's so anti-worker. And just for good measure, just for good measure, they have thrown in certain aspects of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, OSHA, the list goes on, the Section 42 of their heinous liability bill of all of the actions that cannot be taken.\n\nWhen I asked one of the Republican Senators, where does the ADA  preventing the ADA to honor its response  Americans with Disabilities Act  honor its responsibilities, they said, Why don't I have the Chamber of Commerce call you and tell you?' I said, Why don't you not waste my time or the Chamber's time about why the ADA should not be enforced because of the virus?' This is coronavirus-centric. We said that we could find a compromise on liability, for the time of the virus and in a way that is fair to the  those  those employers who want to protect their workers and to the workers. They decided they would turn it into some massive, long-term, ever-encompassing liability. Just so wrong to work with. That's not what our system is about.\n\nBut nonetheless, still thought we could try to find a compromise. We couldn't. They were absolute. Just call the Chamber of Commerce. They'll tell you why they can't meet the needs of their workers.' But  but  getting back to the money, nearly a trillion PPP, $160 [billion]  and not even giving the states and localities the flexibility to use the funds for both addressing the COVID needs, the health needs but also the revenue lost. Even the Republican governors wanted that flexibility. But they wouldn't give it to us then, and they wouldn't give it to us now for fear that some blue state governor might  city or mayor, county executive might take advantage of that. We've never done enough for localities. That's a pitch we have made. That's what we had in the Heroes Act. But there was no  no market for that on the Republican side of the aisle.\n\nSo, when we say it's a first step, let us embrace it. Let us  you know, let us thank God Chuck Schumer was able to dismantle, in part, the Toomey resolution that would tie the hands of a President to meet the needs of the American people and our economy by exercising Section 13(3) of the national reserve  Federal Reserve Board.\n\nSo, we got past that, which took a long time. I thought Wednesday night we were finished. This monstrosity reared its head the next morning. Chuck effectively was able to fix it. It's still  it should not even have been initiated, but nonetheless, fix it in a way  excuse me  Leader Schumer, in a way that enabled us to go forward, and that's why it's taken us this long to get here in these last few days.\n\nSo, again, I look forward to Nita Lowey bringing the legislation to the Floor as the Chair of the Appropriations Committee. This will be her last bill on the Floor. In fact, it's the last bill for many of us here, but hers as Chair of the Appropriations Committee. She and her staff, Shalanda and Chris, and so many others, all of our chairs did such a remarkable job and their staffs deserve so much credit for all of this. And, again, we will do some good with this legislation, but we must recognize that more needs to be done to crush the virus, to put more money in the pockets of the American people, from the American people to the American people, and, again, to fill in the gap that has been purposefully left to honor our heroes with all that.\n\nAs we review policy and legislation and negotiation and all that, let's always have in our hearts every single one of the people who have died from the coronavirus. It can be stopped. It can be crushed, but that is a decision, it is a decision and decision to recognize where it is hurting people the most.\n\nSo, with that, I invite  I look forward to strong bipartisan vote today on this legislation, respecting it for what it does, not judging it for what it does not, but recognizing that more needs to be done. Again, with high praise for all of our chairs and, again, special recognition of Madam Chair Nita Lowey for her last bill on the Floor. I say congratulations to them, all the staff who worked so hard.\n\nBut again, it all comes back to families who lost their loved ones, those who became  millions and millions of people who were infected, some more seriously than others. We don't know the after-effects it may have. But we do know that we have hope, we have a vaccine and we have a President coming into office who believes in science and cares about people and recognizes  values the work that our first responders and health care workers, et cetera do for us.\n\nSo, Madam Chair, prayerfully, as you began  as our Chaplain began, prayerfully, I close my remarks, assuring for whatever it's worth, there's many that serve in this body and respect the American people have had a death in the family because of so many people who have lost their loved ones, and we have all lost.\n\nWith that, prayerfully, I yield back the balance of my time.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/floor-speech-on-hr-133-omnibus-appropriations-and-emergency-coronavirus-relief", "Floor Speech on H.R. 133, Omnibus Appropriations and Emergency Coronavirus Relief", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the Floor of the House of Representatives in support of H.R. 133, Omnibus Appropriations and Emergency Coronavirus Relief. Below are the Speaker's remarks:\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for the recognition. And I thank the gentlelady for bringing this important legislation to the Floor. I thank you and Ranking Member Kay Granger for bringing this in a very strong, bipartisan way.\n\nI spoke this morning at some length so it's on record as to my attitude here. I salute the legislation that is here and urge it's passage.\n\nBut I do want to take a minute to thank Madam Chair [Nita Lowey]. She has served in the Congress for a long time. We've  side-by-side over the years with Rosa DeLauro, Steny Hoyer and Mr. Clyburn as appropriators. I have seen her values-based, astute political knowledge, her strategic thinking, her encyclopedic knowledge of the legislation produce the results, understanding what the traffic will bear and what the country needs, first and foremost. So, Madam Chair, thank you. I don't know how many more times we will thank you. But, hopefully, when the coronavirus goes away, we can all join in embracing your great leadership and expressing gratitude.\n\nAnd, as I do, Mr. Speaker, I want to just again take a moment in recognition of the other chairs who worked to make this legislation so, so effective: Richie Neal with direct payments, with the Employment Retention Tax Credit, with Unemployment Insurance, to name a few. Congresswoman Velzquez, with small business. Under her leadership, and working in a bipartisan way, small businesses, which are the heart of our economy, have received almost a trillion dollars in these coronavirus bills, almost a trillion dollars. \n\nAnd we support that, but I also would hope there would be some commensurate recognition of the jobs of small business and the jobs of state and local government. They have only received $160 billion in all of these bills, $160 billion. Does that sound familiar? That's exactly the amount of money that the Republicans put in the CARES bill to give to the wealthiest in our country. And, yet, for all the states and localities  and it was retroactive, having nothing to do with the coronavirus: $160 billion. And they thought that was commensurate with the responsibilities of our health care workers, our state and local police and fire, first responders, transportation, sanitation, food workers, our teachers, our teachers, our teachers.\n\nSo, yes, there is more work to do, and it will cost some money, but it will protect jobs and, most importantly, it will meet the needs of the American people: to crush the virus and to do so in a way that brings us all into the future in a very safe way.\n\nAnd I thank Congresswoman Velzquez for her extraordinary leadership in that regard. Maxine Waters, coming to the needs of people: renters, landlords, et cetera, with her important legislation. Of course we want more, but for now, this will see us through. Her Community Development Financial Institutions legislation, her MDIs, making all that is available in the small business piece available to so many more people.\n\nMr. Scott, Bobby Scott of Virginia: school, student loans, child care. Thank you. Thank you for making it right. [Frank] Pallone, thank you, Mr. Pallone, for your leadership again and again. Vaccines, the vaccine issue is so important; how it is delivered, how it is produced, distributed. Going from vaccine to vaccination, from lab to arm, so much required and much of it is in this bill. Testing, tracing, still needed  provide a relief fund that goes along with that and for broadband, the personal interest you took in broadband.\n\nMr. DeFazio on transportation and WRDA. Yesterday morning, we didn't even have WRDA in the bill. That's why this all has taken longer to do. So, I thank him for the important role he played. You know about the airlines and the rest, but so much more. Mr. Peterson on the nutrition. People are hungry in our country and we had to fight for nutrition money, but I thank him for his persistence.\n\nAnd the advocacy of Jim McGovern, our champion on hunger in the Congress, as is Rosa DeLauro. I don't know if she's here. But Mr. McGovern has gone on hunger strikes and the rest and he really values what is in this bill on nutrition, to feed the hungry in our country. And Mrs. Maloney on paying the Postal Service.\n\nJust a brief reference to them to say thank you. This has been a long, difficult negotiation. These chairs, their members of the committee and their staff have been invaluable. Shalanda and Chris  I don't know where Chris is? Shalanda and Chris, thank you so much for making all of this happen.\n\nSo, with that, Mr. Chairman, I reference the statement I made this morning about wanting one thing and another, about the attitude we have to this and the need for us to recognize this as a first step and that the need for us to address the important contribution that our health workers, our police and fire, first responders, sanitation, transportation, food workers, our teachers, our teachers, our teachers.\n\nIf we're going to have safe  be safely re-enter our economy and schools, we must crush the virus. I have hope because of the [vaccine]  that's why we could support this bill. It doesn't go all the way, but it takes us down the path, a first step. I have hope because of the [vaccine] and I hope because of the election of Joe Biden as a President of the United States. A president who will follow science. He will follow science and he will recognize that we have to meet the needs of all of the American people, wherever they live in our country, especially addressing Barbara Lee's concerns about the communities of color that have been underserved in so much what have we have done.\n\nThank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time with great appreciation to Madam Chair, Nita Lowey. Thank you. Ranking Member Granger, thank you.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-announces-that-the-select-committee-on-the-modernization-of-congress-will", "Pelosi Announces that the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress will Continue Work in the 117th Congress Under Leadership of Chairman Derek Kilmer", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the extension of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, under the continued leadership of Chairman Derek Kilmer of Washington, for the 117th Congress.\n\nAs Speaker of the House, it is a privilege to once again appoint Congressman Derek Kilmer as Chairman of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress where he will continue his respected, effective work For The People, said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Chairman Kilmer is a leader and innovator, whose integrity and vision have guided the Select Committee in its efforts to advance bipartisan solutions to make the House more transparent, efficient and responsive to the needs of our communities. Strengthened by the historic diversity and dynamism of the 117th Congress, Chairman Kilmer and Members of the Select Committee will continue to champion the best ideas that ensure that the People's House can carry on its vital work now and for years to come.\n\nThrough bipartisan collaboration and a commitment to reform, I'm proud that this Committee has approved nearly 100 recommendations over the course of the last year and a half to make Congress work better for the American people. But our work is only getting started, said Chairman Kilmer. I'm grateful for the Speaker's support and the extension of the Select Committee through the 117th Congress. Together, Democrats and Republicans can continue to work together and make government function better for the folks we serve.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-remarks-at-media-availability-on-coronavirus-relief-omnibus-agreement", "Pelosi Remarks at Media Availability on Coronavirus Relief & Omnibus Agreement with Leader Schumer", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer held a media availability today in the Capitol Visitor Center. Below is a full transcript:\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Good evening, everyone.\n\nI'm very honored as well as, tonight, happy to welcome the distinguished Leader of the Democrats in the Senate. I want to salute him for the masterful work he did last evening to find a solution, to give us a path to bring the legislation forward that will help America's working families.\n\nOur purpose has always been to crush the virus, put money in the pockets of the American people, which we do in this legislation. Sadly, our third purpose to honor our heroes was not fully appreciated by our Republican colleagues and so our support for state and local government, while significant in this legislation, requires more to be done. So, we consider this a first step. And that, again, more needs to be done. And we're so excited that that will be happening under the Biden-Harris Administration, about 700 hours from now.\n\nWhat I'm excited about in this bill  and it is really the Democratic difference  is what it does for America's working families. As we see food lines all over the country. It was our legislation that had the initiatives for food, for nutrition, for our children in school and seniors, as well as America's working families, their rental assistance and so many  let me just say about food, maybe 15 million children in America are food insecure. Many adult food insecure people. Highest percentage of them, I believe, is in the state of Kentucky. Nonetheless, the food, the nutrition piece of it has always been central to our Democratic proposal.\n\nWith the millions of people on the verge of eviction, we have rental assistance and a moratorium until the Biden Administration. Food, rental assistance, Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit for America's working poor families. The Democratic difference. CDFI, assistance for Community Development Financial Institutions to help small business, minority-owned businesses, women-, veterans-, rural, Native American-owned businesses to participate in a way. Because they're not big and they don't have financial relationships, sometimes they are overlooked. But that is central to what our legislation has done.\n\nChild care, child care. Children learning, parents earning. Very important, especially in the time of the pandemic, when children cannot actually in many cases, go to school. Therefore, their parents can't go to work. Child care.\n\nAgain, these and so many other issues that are so central to the kitchen table needs of America's working families. That has always been my focus and that is the Democratic difference between what we have succeeded in doing and what was not even present in any way in any bills that the other side put forward in the Senate.\n\nIn addition, we're very pleased that investments in transportation system and what that means to our economy, jobs, etc. WRDA is in this legislation. We're very pleased that bipartisan, bicameral support for WRDA. That is a job creator, as well. The Employment Retention Tax Credit. Some of these things just made it in late this evening. That's why it's taking us longer to write the bill to bring it to the Floor. But these are some of the later developments. And, of course, we're very proud that surprise billing is a part of this.\n\nAnd again, one thing that we didn't achieve  the money that was left over from the CARES Act: we wanted to have flexibility, so it could be used for revenue loss, as well as Coronavirus expenses by our communities in our states. Republican and Democratic governors, alike, supported that. We did get an extension of one year. So, perhaps, unfortunately, with the spread of the virus, they will have those kinds of expenses.\n\nSo, in any case, whether it's education, transportation  let me just say this one thing, because I, from time to time, hear a question here, Mr. Leader: What took so long?' What took so long is because we could not get our Republican colleagues to crush the virus. I couldn't understand it. Why would they not want to invest in the science that has told us so importantly that it required testing, tracing, treatment, separation, sanitation and the rest?\n\nAnd when we had the bill in the Heroes Act and even in the smaller Heroes Act, because we reduced the time, they said, We just made a light touch on your language on testing.' No, 53 percent of it, to take out everything that referred to minority communities. Communities of color was so hard hit and all of this. And now, we see why. They didn't believe in the science, we knew that. But they did believe in herd immunity. And that's why they never, they never could come to that first bill pillar, to crush the virus.\n\nSo, for these and other reasons, we're on a new path now. I'm proud of the legislation. It's a first step, we need to do more. But they  what gives us hope is a vaccine, and we have to make that available, free and fairly, equitably distributed in our country and I encourage everyone to be vaccinated. And, again, what gives me hope is that in that 700 hours, Joe Biden will be President of the United States, bringing his values, his commitment to America's working families to the fore as we prepare for additional legislation.\n\nWith that, I'm very pleased to, again, welcome our distinguished Democratic Leader of the Senate, praise him for his masterful work last evening, to take us from a place where American working families were shortchanged and left out to dry, except for his brilliance in getting the job done for us. In that spirit, I welcome Leader Schumer to the podium.\n\nLeader Schumer. Well, thank you, Speaker Pelosi, and thank you for your steadfastness and focusing on the working families of America and their needs.\n\nNow, while this bill is far from perfect, nor is it the bill that we would pass if Democrats had a Majority in the Senate, it is a strong shot in the arm to help American families weather the storm.\n\nFor the 20 million people who would lose unemployment benefits the day after Christmas, help is on the way. To the millions of small business owners who are worried their businesses would go under, help is on the way. To families struggling with less money, direct payments mean help is on the way. To people who might have been evicted from their homes because they didn't have a job and couldn't afford it, help is on the way. To those who need food because they have no money because of the pandemic, help is on the way. And to all of America who wants to make sure that the vaccine is distributed free and fairly and quickly, help is on the way.\n\nSo, this bill is certainly not everything we wanted. Our Republican friends stood in the way of so much, but it is a strong, strong shot in the arm to get things going. We all know that President Trump has made the economy a mess by how he treated the pandemic. We all know that President Biden is entering his presidency in an economic deep hole caused by President Trump. This bill helps him begin to get out of that hole. It is $900 billion. That is the second largest stimulus amount of dollars that has ever gone into the economy. The first being the CARES bill, which we negotiated with Secretary Mnuchin, so it is a lot of money.\n\nUnfortunately, the troubles are so deep, the abyss is so, so, so long, that we need more, and this is just a first step. This is an emergency. We need a second bill to continue dealing with the emergency and to start stimulating our economy, so we get back to where we were. And that will be job number one in the new Biden Administration. And whether we have the Majority in the Senate or the Minority, we Democrats are going to push like anything to get a bigger, stronger bill.\n\nThis bill is a good bill. Tonight is a good night, but it is not the end of the story. It is not the end of the job. Anyone who thinks this bill is enough does not know what's going on in America, does not look into the eyes of a small business owner who's losing his business.\n\nThere are a lot of things in this bill that help New York. I'm very proud of the mass transit provision. I'm very proud of the Save Our Stages provisions. And when it came  comes to state and local, even though the Republicans were relentless against it, we found other ways to aid the states. So, the states will get at least some of the aid they need. The localities and the tribes will get some of the aid they need.\n\nBut the Republican relentlessness against state aid is just befuddling. Why is it any different when someone who works for the local government loses his or her job and can't feed their kids or someone from a small business loses it? They're all for helping the small businesses and so are we, because they employ people. But what's the difference between that and state and local governments where people are also losing their job and can't feed their families? Ideology gets in the way, ideology gets in the way.\n\nBut this bill gives us hope and confidence that we can do more, and we will do more. We must do more. And when we come back in January, that will be job number one, to fill in the gaps, the many gaps left by this bill and to make sure that this bill, a strong measure gets the  does the job by making sure it gets the money to the people as it was intended.\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Thank you very much, Mr. Leader, and thank you for your leadership and ensuring that as we go forward, the important role that our state local government plays in the lives of American people is recognized in the states in particular when it comes to the vaccine and how it is distributed and how it goes from vaccine to vaccination, from the lab to the arm. Important legislation, they're recognizing the role of the state and that  and then so many other things, whether it's education, transportation, so many initiatives that do help the states.\n\nBut I associate myself to your comments. We have $325 billion in this legislation for small business. It's bipartisan. We support that. However, if we had $325 billion for state and local government, our heroes, our health care workers who risk their lives to save lives, and now they might lose their jobs, our police and fire, first responder some of the first on the scene, when they have to administer to the needs of a victim of the coronavirus, our sanitation, transportation, we said, food workers, our teachers, our teachers, our teachers, the custodians of our children. We are not forgetting them. We're going to go forward and help them and recognize and honor them for how important they are to enable us to live the lives that we that we live. And so again, right now we're had we've had a readout of the of the relief package, and now we're going through the omnibus in a few short moments.\n\n* * *\n\nSo, we have time for a couple questions. Yes.\n\nQ: Speaker Pelosi, quick question, given how hard it was to get this deal, from May you were fighting. Are you under any illusion it's going to be easy to this part two next year?\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. I believe in public sentiment. You know that. And we have a great leader who has the confidence of the people that he is there for them, Joe Biden is. And he would, I think  the soapbox, the bully pulpit that he has to say, We're here for you. We know what you need, and we are going to fight the fight for you.' No, I think that it's  I think we're going to have a much easier time than we've had with the Republican Senate and a Republican President.\n\nLeader Schumer. Let me just say something. The number one reason we didn't get the bill we needed was the Republican Senate. And Donald Trump just obfuscated the whole issue.\n\nA Democratic President Joe Biden will be able to focus the American people's attention on the Senate, the Republican Members of the Senate, who are obstructing, getting in the way of what they need. If Joe Biden says we need $1,200 checks instead of the $600  they didn't have any money for checks in their bill. Well, he'll focus on the American people. If we feel we need more money for Unemployment Insurance, he'll focus on the American people.\n\nAnd I believe the Republicans who have had  who have been able to hide under Trump's circus, almost, will no longer be able to do it. I am very optimistic that we can get a lot more done in a Senate, certainly if there's a Democratic Majority, but even if a Republican Majority remains, with a new President who's going to focus the issue. He said he's making COVID his number one issue. Things will be easier, better and will produce even more.\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. And, on that score, so many of you have reported that we have delays because of bickering. It isn't bickering. It's a big difference in how we meet the needs of the American people. A budget should be a statement of our values. Clearly we have a different set of values when we're giving $150 billion to the wealthiest people in America to get the CARES Act passed and shortchanging those who are  who need  who need the money more and whose receiving that money injects demand into the economy.\n\nWhite shirt, white shirt. Yes.\n\nQ: Given all of the demand still out there that you've talked about, how large a package would you like to see President-elect Biden introduce next year as President and how much money for state and local aid do you think should be in that package?\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Well, we'll make a judgement all the time about what the needs are. I think that when you see the surge and the Coronavirus, you know that we cannot just think it's over or that we can ignore it.\n\nThe denial, the delay, the distortion, the calling it a hoax has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, not all of them attributed to President Trump, but most of them that could have been avoided. \n\nSo, this is a matter of life and death: the lives of the American people and the livelihood of our economy and their economic security. So we'll make a judgement as we go forward as to what has changed and what  what may be for the better or may be for the worse as we go forward.\n\nWhat Mr. Leader did you want to speak?\n\nLeader Schumer. I think we're gonna have a more robust bill on state and local and many other issues under the President  under President Biden's Administration than we've had now.\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. Yeah. And, again, the difference  people will see the difference. And I do think that there'll be some  there'll be some Republican Senators who will see the light when they  when the American people see what the difference is.\n\nLeader Schumer. And one other thing we left out: what's not in the bill is important also. We succeeded in removing a nasty corporate immunity provision, which would have prevented even the most reckless employers from having recourse. And, of course, we allowed the Fed to move forward. The Toomey sabotage was undone. So, it's not just what's in the bill, but what we got out of the bill. That's important as well.\n\nSo, three things about this bill: one, more relief than any bill, but the CARES bill, a good shot in the arm to the economy. Two, lots of help for people in many different ways, which we've outlined. By the way, none of which were in McConnell's bill: Unemployment Insurance, McConnell's bill, zero  enhanced UI; direct payments, zero; SNAP, zero; rental assistance, zero; transportation, zero; CDFIs, zero; SBA grants, zero; SAMHSA, zero; COVID research  NIH, zero; broadband, zero.\n\nHis bill had next to nothing in it. So, he's  and he is saying, you know that we share that with this. This bill is close to his bill. Thank God, it isn't. Thank God it isn't.\n\nSpeaker Pelosi. But to be exact, what he did say, which is amusing, it falls in the ballpark of what Senate Republicans have proposing since  since the summer, I guess it was. It falls in the ballpark, what ballpark is that?\n\nBut let me just say, to the extent that we can work in a bipartisan way, we're happy to do so. As the distinguished Leader said, this is a big bill, second only to the CARES Act, which we worked together on, changing it from a corporate, trickle-down bill to a working people, bubble-up bill, except they still got their $150 billion for the wealthiest people in America.\n\nBut as we go forward on all of this, to avoid what they tried to do with the liability  the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Labor Practices Act, OSHA, you name it  they were trying to prevent people from having any safety in the courts in many categories that had nothing to do with a Coronavirus. And when I asked one of the Republican Senators, Why do you have the Americans with Disabilities Act on your agenda to prevent them from filing a complaint?' He said, Let me have'  he said exactly this, Let me have the Chamber of Commerce call you and tell you why.' I said, Well, don't waste their time or mine.'\n\nRight now, I have to go vote so thank you all very much.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-covid-relief-wins-for-san-francisco", "Pelosi Statement on COVID Relief Wins for San Francisco", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement highlighting key wins for San Francisco in the bipartisan COVID-19 relief legislation passed in the House:\n\nToday, the House passed a strong emergency coronavirus relief agreement that secures urgently needed resources necessary to save lives and livelihoods in San Francisco and in communities across the country.\n\nThanks to Democrats' efforts, we secured billions of dollars to defeat the virus and accelerate the free and equitable distribution of vaccines. We secured direct payments to put money into Americans' pockets, including mixed status families, and averted the sudden expiration of Unemployment Insurance while adding a $300 per week UI enhancement for Americans out of work. We won critically needed emergency rental assistance, including $26 million for San Francisco, as well as an eviction moratorium to keep vulnerable families in their homes. And for those devastated by the economic impacts of the crisis, we increased access to capital for small and minority-owned businesses, won a 15 percent increase to SNAP benefits, expanded SNAP access to food insecure college students and secured $400 million for food banks facing dire shortfalls in 2021.\n\nIn San Francisco, families and businesses will receive vital funding to help address the health and economic crises inflicted by this pandemic. With thousands of frontline workers facing furloughs, the $819 million in transit funding for the region will be a lifeline to keep workers employed and ensure services keep flowing to residents in desperate need. We secured $37 million for San Francisco International Airport as well as the Payroll Support Program for airlines to bring employees back to work and lift up this essential industry. And to protect the health and safety of teachers, students and school staff, we secured over $10 billion in education investments for California, including nearly $7 billion for K-12 funding. With an additional $10 billion in short-term relief for child care providers we will help them stay open and help get parents back to work. And we further strengthen relief for students with the largest expansion of Pell Grant recipients in over a decade.\n\nDemocrats are proud to have secured the inclusion of the Save Our Stages Act, which secures $15 billion in support for live venues and arts institutions that enrich the Bay Area and communities across the country. And to support our hardest-hit businesses, House Democrats secured changes to the PPP initiative so that restaurants and hospitality businesses can borrow 3.5 times their average total monthly payroll, rather than 2.5 times for other businesses, while also streamlining the loan forgiveness process for very small businesses and restaurants. We will continue our work to provide additional support to help our most underserved businesses meet the pandemic's economic challenges.\n\nWhile we celebrate these key wins, we know that this is just a first step and that more is required to support San Francisco families. We look forward to working with the Biden-Harris Administration to advance relief that honors our state and local heroes on the frontlines of this crisis, crushes the virus and protects the health and well-being of all Americans.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-removal-of-robert-e-lee-statue-from-the-us-capitol", "Pelosi Statement on Removal of Robert E. Lee Statue from the U.S. Capitol", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement on the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from the crypt of the United States Capitol, where it had been stored prior to its removal and replacement with a statue of Barbara Johns of Virginia:\n\nThe removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee and its forthcoming replacement by a tribute to Barbara Johns, a civil rights pioneer and pride of Virginia, is welcome news. The halls of Congress are the very heart of our Democracy, and the statues within the Capitol should embody our highest ideals as Americans.\n\nThat is why, in my first term as House Speaker, under the leadership of Democrats in Congress, we relocated the Robert E. Lee statue out of a place of honor in National Statuary Hall, where a statue of Rosa Parks now proudly stands. And it is why we have worked to remove other symbols of hate in the Capitol and across our country, including by passing legislation this summer to remove statues of Confederate officials and other representatives of bigotry from the Capitol and by beginning the process of renaming military bases and infrastructure named after Confederate leaders through this year's National Defense Authorization Act.\n\nThe Congress will continue our work to rid the Capitol of homages to hate, as we fight to end the scourge of racism in our country. There is no room for celebrating the bigotry of the Confederacy in the Capitol or any other place of honor in our country.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://ruiz.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/will-california-finally-fulfill-its-promise-fix-salton-sea", "Will California Finally Fulfill Its Promise to Fix the Salton Sea?", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Raul Ruiz", "R000599", "ruiz.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Red flags flutter outside the schools in Salton City when the air quality is dangerous. Dust billows across the desert, blanketing playgrounds and baseball diamonds, the swirling grit canceling recess and forcing students indoors. Visibility is so poor you can't see down the block. Those days worry Miriam Juarez the most.\nJuarez, a mother of three and active volunteer at the schools, often received calls to pick up her 7-year-old son, Lihan, when sudden nosebleeds soiled his outfits. But she couldn't leave her job, harvesting vegetables in the fields that form square oases in the Coachella Valley. So she began packing fresh clothes for him every day, before COVID-19 halted in-person learning. It's OK. Just go to the office, she'd say. The ladies will help you change.\nThe doctor's diagnosis was unclear: Perhaps Lihan had allergies. Then, Juarez's 17-year-old daughter began suffering headaches and respiratory issues. Finally, Juarez got a runny nose and sore throat that lasted for days when the dust blew.\nJuarez blames the Salton Sea, California's largest lake. Only a few miles east of the family's neatly kept house, it's a cobalt-blue patch on the Colorado Desert, a roughly 325-square-mile oblong oddity that's twice as salty as the ocean.\nIt's also toxic  a looming environmental and public health disaster. The Salton Sea's shoreline is receding, exposing a dusty lakebed known as the playa. This sandy substance holds a century's worth of agricultural runoff, including DDT, ammonia, possibly carcinogenic herbicides like trifluralin and other chemicals. Its windborne dust travels across Southern California and into Arizona, but it's nearby communities  many of them populated by Latino farmworkers  that bear the heaviest burden.\nThe problem isn't new. Yet California, though largely responsible for fixing it, has barely touched the more than 25 square miles of exposed playa. It's been almost two decades since an agreement was signed in 2003, committing the Imperial Irrigation District, the Colorado River's largest user, to conserve water that once flowed from farms into the lake and send it to other districts. Knowing the lake would recede, the state committed to mitigating the health and environmental impacts. The state and federal governments have spent about $70 million so far, largely on salaries and studies. Meanwhile, the high-water mark has fallen nearly 10 feet, and salinity continues to rise.\nThe politicians admit they're years behind schedule, but they're adamant that the course has been corrected, the money is being put to good use and the future is bright. Currently, 16 state employees are planning projects to tamp down dust or rebuild wetlands, and that will grow to 26 once new positions approved in the latest budget are filled. They've also nearly finished permitting projects that will cover 30,000 acres, a little more than a third of the area that could eventually be exposed.\nState Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, who represents the region surrounding the lake, is optimistic. I believe 2021 will be a new story of the state of California living up to its responsibility and liability in terms of investing in what it signed up for at the Salton Sea, he said.\nStill, the state must overcome funding issues, disagreements with the feds, permitting bottlenecks and decades of inertia.\n'The enormity of the challenge ... was frankly overwhelming'\nFor years, the government stood still.\nOver tens of thousands of years, as it meandered across the West, the Colorado River occasionally filled the Salton Sea. The lake's most recent iteration formed between 1905 and 1907 when an engineering disaster diverted the river into the basin; since then, it has been fed largely by agricultural runoff from the Imperial and Coachella valleys.\nThe remaining water in former inlets is hypersaline and get its colors from salt-loving microbes as the Salton Sea slowly recedes away from Desert Shores, Calif., July 13, 2020.\nIt soon became clear that salinity levels would steadily increase. Since then, millions more people began relying on the Colorado River even as climate change threatened the waterway. In response to competing demands, the 2003 agreement diverted water from the Imperial Valley, and the lake level was guaranteed to drop.\nSo, the state released a sweeping proposal in 2007 with an $8.9 billion price tag  unfortunately, just as the Great Recession took hold. Folks got sticker-shocked and did not really pursue a full rehabilitation-restoration approach, Garcia said.\nStill, the agreement included 15 years of inflows to temporarily control salinity while the state decided on a plan. By late 2020, the California Natural Resources Agency had completed one dust-suppression project covering a mere 112 acres; the goal for the end of that year was 3,800 acres. For a very long time, the enormity of the challenge at the sea was frankly overwhelming, and there was very little action at the state level until 2014 or 2015, said Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, the lead department tasked with restoring the sea.\nThat one completed site, the Bruchard Road Dust Suppression Project, looks like someone tried to farm the surface of the moon. Tractors dug long, straight furrows through the white, sandy playa to catch the windblown dust. But more expensive wetland habitat restoration is needed; the lake has long been an important feeding ground along the Pacific Flyway, a migratory bird route on the Western Seaboard.\nIn order to fix the sea, government agencies, led by the state, will need to flood, plough or plant tens of thousands of acres to control dust and rebuild habitat. They're racing against the clock. An estimated 131 square miles of playa will be dry and exposed to the air by the time the lake reaches a degree of equilibrium  meaning the inflow from three small waterways and agricultural runoff will maintain a smaller lake  in 2047.\nFor a shallow body of water, the Salton Sea holds a large amount of sunk costs. Years of studies, salaries and office supplies have been purchased, but few shovels have been put to work.\nBut Arturo Delgado, an assistant secretary with the Natural Resources Agency and the state's Salton Sea czar, pointed out that a portion of the more than $355 million set aside for the lake  99% of it from bonds  needed to be spent sorting out permits and access to a complex checkerboard of state, tribal, federal and private land. The bulk of the funding that has been appropriated to date for the Salton Sea program has not been spent, he said.\nAs of late November, state agencies had used about $53 million, most of it going to ledger entries, including studies and planning activities, staffing and other design costs and annual surveys to monitor bird and fish populations.\" Glaring zeros marked the expended column next to several construction budgets.\nYears of indecisiveness mixed with land-access and permitting issues have bogged down the process; the state's own efforts to clean up the ecological disaster got stuck in the compliance process.\nFrankly, the permitting is probably more expensive right now than the actual projects, said Tina Shields, water department manager at the Imperial Irrigation District, which, separate from the state, completed about 2,000 acres of dust suppression on its own land around the lake.\nThe state is appropriating some funds, but the federal government has been slow to pitch in. The U.S. Department of Agriculture kicked in about $8 million for dust-suppression projects, and over the past five years, the Bureau of Reclamation spent about $11 million on water-quality monitoring, wetlands projects along polluted rivers that empty into the lake, and studies on the feasibility of using salty water for dust mitigation.\nWhen the Natural Resources Agency is finally ready for large-scale builds, the budget could get in the way. Individual construction sites are expensive, with one roughly 4,000-acre project set to break ground in 2021 costing an estimated $200 million. Another 160-acre design will cost $20 million. Cleanup along the New River, one of three small waterways flowing into the lake, comes with a $28 million bill.\nAnd, while California regularly calls on bonds to fund large projects, that money can't be used for operations and maintenance. Crowfoot acknowledged that the state lacks a mechanism to fund long-term monitoring and upkeep. At the beginning of 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom promised an additional $220 million, but that was predicated on a bond. When the pandemic hit, that idea and a parallel measure Garcia introduced in the Legislature both died, although Garcia said he'll reintroduce his bill in 2021.\nFor now, the state lacks a better funding plan. We don't have the reserves that we had prior to COVID-19, Garcia said. That money has been invested in our emergency response.\nThe Red Hill Bay restoration project will cover about a square mile of playa that has been exposed by the shrinking sea with a shallow water wetlands habitat, September 12, 2018.\n'I'm nervous, and I'm scared to see my son like that'\nIf Salton Sea restoration were to reinvigorate the Pacific Flyway, it would likely begin at the wetlands around Red Hill Bay on the lake's southeastern corner, where various agencies are constructing new habitat. An October visit found it far from inspiring. A flat patch of dirt covered several hundred dry acres, dotted with a few dead trees. A sign, complete with typos, showed a hopeful rendering of a functioning wetland and promised: Estimated construction in 2016.\nU.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., introduced the federal Salton Sea Public Health and Environmental Protection Act in November to streamline permitting and unlock additional federal dollars. He acknowledged the delays, but called the Red Hill Bay Restoration Project proof of concept that we can get a shovel-to-ground project started, adding, My number-one goal was to break ground on a project to rip that inertia to pieces and to start building momentum.\nThe son of farmworkers,Ruizgrew up just miles from the lake. He returned home to practice medicine after studying at Harvard University, and still wears gym shoes with his suits, as if he's about to run into the emergency room.Ruizcompares the lake to a patient in need of triage.\nA 2019 study conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California's medical school and a local nonprofit called Comite Civico del Valle estimated that nearly one in four elementary school children in northern Imperial County, the area nearest to the Salton Sea's exposed, emissive playa, suffered from asthma, about three times the national average.\nExposing this population to more and more poor air quality  in particular, particulate matter small enough to penetrate the lung-blood barrier that also carries toxins like arsenic, selenium and pesticides  would be devastating to the public's health,Ruizsaid.\nRuizsaid that divergent visions had stalled progress, while egos got in the way. Since entering Congress in 2013, he has tried to rally local lawmakers and called on the federal government to take a more active role.\nJuarez, in Salton City, welcomes the efforts but believes that if this problem affected a wealthier, whiter area like Palm Springs, it would've been addressed already. It's a sentiment her elected representatives share. So, she asked, Why is nothing getting done?\nIn 2020, the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District slapped the state and feds with notices of violation for failing to complete dust-control projects. The Imperial Irrigation District wants the state to act, too, citing the 2003 water transfer agreement. California politicians argue the federal government needs to step up because the Bureau of Reclamation owns much of the land underneath the lake. The feds insist they occupy a supporting role, and agency heads from Reclamation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refused to attend a September congressional hearing to discuss the government's role in cleaning up the lake.\nThe people in Salton City and other towns around the lake are still waiting. For Juarez, who began working in the fields when she was just 15, the clock is ticking on the American Dream her family built in the desert.\nIt's difficult to find hope in stepwise permit approvals while dust fights through cracks in her home. She takes her children to the doctor every six months and worries about Lihan. I'm nervous, and I'm scared to see my son like that, Juarez said.\nShe doesn't want to move away but is finally considering it. I don't want to stay here and see my kids sick, she said.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://scottpeters.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-peters-helps-house-pass-vital-emergency-covid-19-relief", "Rep. Peters Helps House Pass Vital Emergency COVID-19 Relief", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Scott Peters", "P000608", "scottpeters.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.Today, Rep. Scott Peters(CA-52) helped the House pass a long-awaited COVID-19 bill. The $910 billion emergency bill will provide immediate, short-term support to struggling families and businesses before Congress convenes in the new year to hammer out additional critically needed relief.\nThis bipartisan, bicameral deal offers some critical short-term relief for the American people, said Rep. Peters. San Diegans have been in desperate need of relief since March. Had Congress committed to smart measures like automatic stabilizers, which I've argued for from the outset, we could have saved many from months of overwhelming financial stress. But today's action will help a lot of people in need of aid now. In January, we must be ready to do more.\nRep. Peters was one of the 50 members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus that called on leaders throughout the year to put country over party. The coalition proposed a number of COVID-19 relief proposals to help broker compromise, and the latest version became the framework for the final bill.\nHighlights of the relief legislation include:\nStimulus checks: $600 direct payments to individuals, including adults and children. As in the CARES Act, the payment size decreases for individuals who earned more than $75,000 in the 2019 tax year, stopping at those who earned more than $99,000.\nUnemployment benefits:\n Supplementary $300 per week in enhanced unemployment benefits lengthened by 11 weeks, as well as the extension of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program for contract and gig workers.\n\tNew weekly $100 federal benefit for mixed earners who do not qualify for PUA, but have at least $5,000 a year in self-employment income.\n\tImprovements to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit that ensures families who face unemployment or reduced wages during the pandemic can receive a robust tax credit based on their 2019 income. The agreement will help keep workers in their jobs during coronavirus closures or reduced revenue. It also provides a tax credit to support employers offering paid sick leave, based on the Families First framework.\n Support for small businesses: \n More than $284 billion for first and second forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, expanding eligibility for support and modifying the program to serve the smallest businesses, nonprofits and independent restaurants. This is especially important given the key role restaurants play in San Diego's tourism economy. The pandemic and its subsequent restrictionsforced manyrestaurants to closetheir doors for good. It also sets money aside for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs).\n\t$15 billion for live venues, independent movie theaters and cultural institutions.\n\t$20 billion in targeted grants through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program.\n Housing and rental assistance:\n $25 billion in emergency rental assistance, prioritizing past-due rent payments for people who have demonstrable need. California is estimated to receive $2.6 billion to help alleviate stress on rent payers.\n\tEviction moratorium extended until January 31, 2021.\n Investments to tackle the public health crisis:\n $20 billion for the purchase of vaccines, $8 billion for vaccine distribution and $20 billion to assist states with COVID-19 testing. Vaccines will be available to Americans, free of charge, for those who need them.\n\tOver a hundred billion dollars in new health care funding:\n\t\t$55 million to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for medical countermeasures, devices, therapies and vaccines to combat COVID.\n\t\t\t$73 billion to Health and Human Services (HHS) for public health research and deployment, manufacturing procurement and distribution.\n\t\t\t$8.75 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).\n\t\t\t$23 billion to Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Research (ASPR), including $19.7 for Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and $3.25 billion for the Strategic National Stockpile.\n\t\t\t$25 billion for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency fund.\n\t\t\t$1.25 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research the clinical and long-term effects of the disease.\n\t\t\t$4.25 billion for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to provide increased mental health and substance abuse services.\n\t\t\n Boosts to School Safety: $82 billion to enhance classroom safety in colleges and schools:\n $4 billion for Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund.\n\t$54.3 billion for Elementary and Secondary (K-12) Emergency Relief Fund.\n\t$22.7 billion for Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund and includes the largest expansion of Pell Grant recipients in over a decade.\n Other:\n $14 billion for transit emergency relief.\n\t$10 billion for child care through the Child Care Development Block Grant program, with $250 million for Head Start.\n\t$13 billion in SNAP benefits and nutrition assistance.\n\t$7 billion to boost broadband access by building a new Emergency Broadband Benefit to help students, families and unemployed workers afford the broadband they need during this pandemic.\n The relief bill is tied to a historic $1.4 trillion package that authorizes federal spending on projects and programs for Fiscal Year 2021.\nThis bill is the fourth COVID-19 bill approved by the House and Senate. In April, Congress passed thePaycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Actto replenish federal assistance programs after they ran out of money. In addition to theCARES Act, passed in March, the House wrote and passed theFamilies First Coronavirus Response Act, which took steps to strengthen Americans' health care access and boosted financial security through paid sick leave and enhanced unemployment insurance. The House passed an initial $8.3 billion emergency supplemental bill to help states, communities and federal agencies combat the virus's spread in early March.\nAfter passing the House and the Senate, the bill will go to the president to be signed into law.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://mikethompson.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/thompson-receives-covid-19-vaccine", "Thompson Receives COVID-19 Vaccine", "2020-12-19", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Mike Thompson", "T000460", "mikethompson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington  Today Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) announced that he has received the first of two injections for the COVID-19 vaccine. This dose was received at the advice of the House Attending Physician for continuity of government purposes and he will receive the second dose in three weeks. A statement from Thompson is below and a photo is attached.\nAt the strong recommendation of the Office of the House Attending Physician, I received the first injection of the COVID-19 vaccine. I plan to get my second and final dose in three weeks. These doses were made available to Member of Congress for continuity of government purposes, consistent with direction from the National Security Council. I have no reservations about the science and research behind this vaccine and I'm grateful to all the scientists who made this possible. I encourage everyone to get it after consulting with their physician and following local guidance on distribution timetables.\nMy wife, Jan, is a nurse at St. Helena Hospital and she will receive her vaccination tomorrow. We feel very lucky to get these early doses and I'm going to do everything I can to deliver Federal funding to help speed up the rollout of this vaccine. We both want to remind everyone that we still need to continue safety protocols to keep every safe and crush the virus. Please continue washing your hands frequently, watching your social distance and wearing your masks. Let's get through this together.\nYou can click here to read the guidance from the House Attending Physician regarding COVID-19 vaccines for Members of Congress pursuant to continuity of government purposes.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=DF5207D6-F878-411B-8057-E440AD66A5C2", "Feinstein Calls on Professional Sports Teams to Promote Mask Use, Physical Distancing", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today called on the heads of major sports leagues urging them to publicly promote compliance with COVID-19 safety guidelines such as mask use and physical distancing.\r\n Earlier this month, the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, and American Nurses Association called on Americans to protect themselves and others by taking three critical, scientifically-proven steps to prevent spread of COVID-19: maintain physical distancing, wear a mask, and wash your hands. I ask that you and your athletes promote this important public health message to ensure every family knows how to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities, Senator Feinstein wrote.\r\n Letters were sent to the following CEOs:\r\n \r\nRoger Goodell, commissioner, National Football League\r\nRobert Manfred Jr., commissioner, Major League Baseball\r\nAdam Silver, commissioner, National Basketball Association\r\nGary Bettman, commissioner, National Hockey League\r\nCathy Engelbert, commissioner, Women's National Basketball Association\r\nLisa Baird, president, National Women's Soccer League\r\nDon Garber, commissioner, Major League Soccer\r\nSteve Simon, CEO, Women's Tennis Association\r\nMassimo Calvelli, CEO, Association of Tennis Professionals\r\nMike Davis, CEO, United States Golf Association\r\nJim France, CEO, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing\r\nVince McMahon, CEO, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.\r\nAndrew Wilson, CEO, Electronic Arts\r\nBobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard\r\n \r\n The letters were identical in content. Full text of the letter sent to Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League follows:\r\nDecember 18, 2020\r\nMr. Roger Goodell\r\nCommissioner\r\nNational Football League\r\n345 Park Avenue\r\nNew York, NY 10154\r\nDear Commissioner Goodell:\r\n I appreciate your efforts in May to recognize health care workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic through The Real Heroes Project. As you know, the pandemic continues to grow worse with record levels of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths across the country. I therefore urge you to organize again, use the public reach your athletes have to influence Americans' behavior, and underscore the need for people to follow public health guidance.\r\n Earlier this month, the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, and American Nurses Association called on Americans to protect themselves and others by taking three critical, scientifically-proven steps to prevent spread of COVID-19: maintain physical distancing, wear a mask, and wash your hands. I ask that you and your athletes promote this important public health message to ensure every family knows how to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities.\r\n I hope you will agree that we must all do what we can to overcome this virus.\r\nSincerely,\r\nDianne Feinstein\r\nUnited States Senator\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://aguilar.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/aguilar-names-winners-2020-congressional-app-challenge", "Aguilar Names Winners of 2020 Congressional App Challenge", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Pete Aguilar", "A000371", "aguilar.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Pete Aguilar announced that William Porayouw, Diya Theodore, Sanjana Fernando, and Richa Jos, all students at Redlands High School, are the winners of this year's Congressional App Challenge for the 31st Congressional District. Their app, Eudemonia, is a mental health and wellness app designed to provide users with a daily check-in and connect them with helpful resources and activities. The team met with Rep. Aguilar in a virtual ceremony held earlier this week. \nThe Congressional App Challenge is a great chance for Inland Empire students to show off their creativity and ingenuity, and that's what team Eudemonia has done with their app. I'm always proud to highlight the talented young people in our region, and I look forward to sharing their accomplishments in the US Capitol, said Aguilar.\nMental wellness has always been an important matter to me, and in an age of social distancing, it is something that I strongly feel needs more public awareness. Doing work at the intersection between technology and social activism has not only made me conscious of my role as a student in STEM, but as a citizen, said William Porayouw.\nWe created Eudemonia in an effort to promote mental wellness during a time in which we have seen fear and instability dominate the lives of many of our loved ones. Being able to work on this app with such an inspiring group has led me to realize the beauty of being able to bridge the barriers between computer science and social reform, said Diya Theodore.\n\"During the pandemic, I've come to realize that technology is only increasing its relevance in a modern world. However,the way we use theseincredibly powerful tools is up to us. Spotlighting mental wellness in a fun and creative way can help us be more mindful of our fast-paced lives, and hopefully bring more happiness to a world that could always use more, said Sanjana Fernando.\n\"In these unprecedented times, isolation and despair have taken a toll on our loved ones. As we move forward I believe mental wellness is of utmost importance in our lives. Working on Eudemonia has allowed me to recognize the social role technology plays in our community, said Richa Jos.\nAs this year's winner, Eudemonia will be featured on the Congressional App Challenge website, and the team will receive an invitation to the virtual #HouseofCode reception in 2021. More information on the app is available here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://napolitano.house.gov/media/press-releases/napolitano-awarded-gold-de-fleury-medal-us-army-corps-engineers", "Napolitano Awarded Gold de Fleury Medal by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Grace Napolitano", "N000179", "napolitano.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(WASHINGTON, DC) Today, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA-32) announced she had been selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to receive the Gold Order of the de Fleury Medal for her significant contributions to Army Engineering. I am incredibly humbled and honored to receive this medal from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of all my hardworking personal and Transportation Subcommittee staff,Napolitano said. The Corps of Engineers embodies the best of our nationsoldiers and civilians working every day domestically to protect us from flooding and to maintain our harbors, lakes, and rivers for the economic, recreational and environmental benefit of our country. The Corps designs and constructs our military bases, Veterans hospitals, and other key federal infrastructure, from the California delta to the Florida Everglades. And when abroad, the Corps provides the engineering and implementation support in the most difficult and dangerous places around the globe to keep our military safe, secure, and ready. The greatness of the Corps is found in the soldiers and civilians I have had a pleasure to work with during my 22 years in Congress and the past 6 years leading the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee. It is seen in their willingness to work with our communities to better service the needs of the people in all our areas, Napolitano continued. These incredible public servants in the Los Angeles District, the South Pacific Division, and throughout the nation devote their lives to protecting the American people and improving our natural resources. They are an unseen, dedicated, and critical part of our government. It is truly a highlight of my career to be recognized by these invaluable public servants, and I commit to continue advocating in Congress for their best interests, which are the best interests of the nation, and to support their mission, Napolitano concluded. Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, 55th Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, notified Napolitano of her selection to receive the award on December 7. Rep. Napolitano has been a staunch supporter of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, said Lt. Gen. Spellmon. Most recently she made securing funding for the Whittier Narrows Dam one of her top priorities. She understands the importance of dam safety work and water supply operations. She has spent years working with the Corps and advocating for this project and other infrastructure of national significance. The 54th Chief of Engineers, retired Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, selected Napolitano to receive the award. The award was scheduled to be presented in July 2020, however due to COVID-19, the award presentation is now scheduled for July 2021. The Order of the de Fleury was established in 1779 in honor of Francois Louis Tesseidre de Fleury, a French engineer, who volunteered to serve during the American Revolution. There are four different levels of the award, which are steel, bronze, silver and gold, with gold being the most prestigious. The chief of engineers selects one gold award recipient from inside the Engineer Regiment, and one recipient from outside the regiment, each year.\n  \n\t# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-hacking-of-us-government-agencies-and-corporations", "Pelosi Statement on Hacking of U.S. Government Agencies and Corporations", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement on the hacking of U.S. government agencies and corporations:\n\nThe news of the significant and far-reaching cyber-attacks targeting United States government agencies and corporations is further disturbing evidence that malign actors, including Russia, remain intent on undermining our national security and democracy.\n\nSadly and alarmingly, the Trump Administration has for four years turned a blind eye to Putin's attacks on our American democracy, including his ongoing efforts to attack our election systems and undermine faith in our democratic institutions.\n\nIn stark contrast to Trump and the Republicans, House Democrats have taken forceful action to defend our democracy from foreign attack, including through the SECURE Act and SAFE Act to protect our election infrastructure and the National Defense Authorization Act and additional legislation to provide tough sanctions against bad actors.\n\nWorking with the Biden-Harris Administration, the Congress will take strong, immediate action to secure our nation's infrastructure and digital defenses against these attacks. The era of impunity for our adversaries' assault on our democracy is over.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=27A04819-E44D-435C-AB06-FBC9D6051EB2", "Feinstein Introduces Bill to Minimize Climate Change Risk in Financial System", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced the Addressing Climate Financial Risk Act, a bill that would improve the ability of federal regulators to understand and mitigate risks from climate change within the financial system.\r\nClimate change is increasing the frequency and severity of wildfires, flooding, droughts and other natural disasters and extreme weather events. The damage and risk generated by these events  in addition to changes needed to transition to a lower-carbon economy  threaten to severely disrupt real estate values in high-risk areas, dramatically change whole sectors of the economy and make insuring against risk increasingly unaffordable. These trends, in turn, threaten the stability of the U.S. financial system, which is why it is so important to ensure financial regulators approach them in a comprehensive way.\r\nClimate change is real, it's happening now and it will have a profound effect on our financial system if we continue to do nothing, said Senator Feinstein. The cost of inaction has grown too high. We must act now to dramatically reduce carbon emissions, but we must also guard against the financial strain that we're seeing because of climate change. And that means ensuring that federal financial regulators have expertise in climate financial risk and develop an approach to mitigate that risk.\r\nWe applaud Senator Dianne Feinstein for introducing this legislation that would help address the systemic risk climate change poses to our financial system, said Steven M. Rothstein, managing director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. Federal financial regulators across the country are beginning to act, and this bill would help get them there faster. It's important to remember this is not about implementing a green agenda, but about keeping our economy and our people out of harm's way. Risk is risk.\r\nFossil fuel-driven climate change impacts pose a systemic risk to U.S. financial institutions, the U.S. financial sector as a whole, and the global economy, said Nicole Pinko, corporate analyst and engagement specialist, Climate & Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. This bill is a first step in ensuring that climate-related financial risks are evaluated and addressed throughout the U.S. financial system, which can help assist in a just and equitable transition to a low-carbon economy that works for everyone.\r\nProvisions of the Addressing Climate Financial Risk Act:\r\n \r\nEstablish an advisory committee on climate financial risk: The bill would establish a permanent committee on the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) made up of experts in climate science, climate economics and climate financial risk. The committee would advise FSOC in producing a report that would include recommendations on how to improve the ability of the U.S. financial regulatory system to identify and mitigate climate risk.\r\nUpdate supervisory guidance on climate risk: The bill would require federal bank and credit union regulatory agencies to update their supervisory guidance to include climate risk and to develop a strategy to identify and mitigate climate financial risk.\r\nUpdate non-bank designation guidance: The bill would require FSOC to specify how it will incorporate climate risk into its decisions about whether to designate risky non-bank financial institutions as requiring additional oversight by the Federal Reserve.\r\nRequire a Federal Insurance Office (FIO) report on insurance regulation and climate risk: The insurance industry is more directly affected by climate risk than other areas of the financial system. This provision would require the FIO to produce a report on how to modernize and improve climate risk insurance regulation in the United States. The report would be modeled on FIO's 2013 report on modernizing state insurance regulation.\r\nImprove global coordination: Climate change is a global problem that requires international coordination. This provision would provide a sense of Congress that U.S. financial regulators should join the Network for Greening the Financial System, formally join the Basel Committee's Task Force on Climate-Related Risk and work with international regulators on climate financial risk to the extent possible.\r\n \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A2E0A361-0041-4EC3-A0F6-EBC3FBA53379", "Feinstein, Bipartisan Group Send Letter Urging Trump Administration to Wave Late Filing Penalties for Taxpayers", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Kennedy (R-La.) and a group of bipartisan senators to send a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig urging the Trump administration to wave late filing penalties for taxpayers whose filing delay is caused by COVID-19.\r\nMany taxpayers are facing economic hardships and business closures due to COVID-19,the senators wrote.Taxpayers expect fair treatment from their government, and the current unwillingness to provide an expedited process for taxpayers and their advisors to request pandemic-specific relief places an undue burden on them. We ask that you move to address these issues immediately so the American people can receive the relief they urgently need.\r\nIn the letter, the senators urged the Trump administration to:\r\n\r\nCreate a special COVID-19 First Time Abatement option for taxpayers eligible for normal First Time Abatement where one can attest to filing difficulty directly caused by the pandemic;\r\nProvide written guidance directing IRS Customer Service Representatives to grant reasonable cause and COVID-related abatement requests liberally;\r\nDevelop and advertise specific COVID-related examples that qualify for reasonable cause abatement; and\r\nCreate a dedicated telephone number, or dedicated prompt, for taxpayers and their advisors to call to request COVID-related penalty relief.\r\n\r\nIn addition to Feinstein, Cramer and Kennedy, the letter was also signed by Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Boozman (R-Ariz.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.).\r\nThe letter is available here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=C09071D8-0E0A-47D1-9193-3461F5AA180F", "Feinstein: COVID-19 in California Perilous, Compliance with Stay-At-Home Essential", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement the latest COVID-19 figures in California:\r\n COVID-19 is ravaging California. Yesterday, 393 Californians lost their lives to this virus, the highest yet for a single day. Compared to two weeks ago, deaths are up 209 percent and cases 147 percent. These figures are staggering and they are heartbreaking; consider that yesterday, California reported more new cases than India, Germany or Britain.\r\n As bad as things are, we must recognize that they are likely to get worse. California's testing positivity rate is more than 11 percent and hospitals throughout the state are near capacity. In response, 98 percent of the population is under a stay-at-home order. I strongly support Governor Newsom's order and urge everyone to heed it.\r\n The data should erase any lingering doubts about the gravity of the situation in which we find ourselves. Vaccinations have now begun, but it will take months for them to be widespread. Until then, we must work toward this simple but hard solution: Wear masks, physically distance and limit gatherings to your immediate household.\r\n I understand the emotional, physical and often financial toll that these measures take on Californians. Congress is finally on the cusp of passing additional federal COVID-19 relief that will make it easier for businesses and workers to obey public health orders. But this much is clear: Our lives depend on our willingness to come together and follow these stay-at-home orders.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://aguilar.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/aguilar-introduces-bill-help-inland-empire-homebuyers", "Aguilar Introduces Bill to Help Inland Empire Homebuyers", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Pete Aguilar", "A000371", "aguilar.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Pete Aguilarintroduced H.R. 8974, the FHA Fairness Act. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan guarantee program helps prospective homebuyers secure low-interest home loans. The limits for these loans differ across regions and are determined using a formula that accounts for the median home price in a given metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The FHA Fairness Act allows cities in certain MSAs to access higher FHA loan limits by adjusting this formula to account for large MSAs like San Bernardino County where home prices can vary widely across the region. The bill would ensure that Inland Empire residents can access the loans they need to become homeowners, especially in higher-cost areas.\nAs the cost of housing continues to skyrocket, the dream of home ownership is falling out of reach for too many San Bernardino County families. By making this simple adjustment to the FHA loan limit formula, my bill will help more Inland Empire residents buy their first home and build a more secure financial future for their families, said Aguilar.\nAs an Inland Empire realtor, I know how important FHA loans can be to help local families achieve their dreams of homeownership. Congressman Aguilar's bill removes a key barrier by updating an outdated process and giving San Bernardino County residents access to fair loan limits. My clients would benefit from this legislation, and I look forward to seeing it enacted, said Heidi Burns, a Rancho Cucamonga real estate agent.\nRep. Aguilar serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and has made affordable housing a top priority. Last month, he announced more than $5 million in funding for Inland Empire emergency housing programs.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barragan.house.gov/barragan-urges-transparency-and-a-public-process-as-water-replenishment-district-hires-new-gm/", "Barragn Urges Transparency and a Public Process as Water Replenishment District Hires New GM", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nanette Barrag\u00e1n", "B001300", "barragan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nDecember 17, 2020\n\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragn expressed her deep concerns with the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) Board of Directors' rushed actions to force out its current general manager and hire a special interim general manager.\n\nWRD should continue its initial plans to hire an independent recruitment firm to conduct an open, ethical, and transparent search to fill the general manager position. Additionally, WRD must allow the public adequate opportunity to communicate feedback about potential candidates. Doing anything short of that would be a disservice to the millions of residents served by the WRD and erode the trust and reputation of the WRD, Barragn said in a letter to be read during the WRD Board meeting today.\n\nBarragn compared the WRD Board's lack of transparency and secretive hiring process to actions by the Trump Administration: For the last four years this country has endured an Administration who has no regard for facts, process, the law or transparency. Individuals were hired because of relationships and political favors, not necessarily qualifications. Actions were taken in the dark of night or behind closed doors as to not draw attention to the matters. We don't need that lack of trust and lack of transparency undermining our local groundwater agency.\n\nOn December 3, Congresswoman Barragn called into WRD's Board meeting to initially express her concerns. On December 7, she led the Los Angeles-area congressional delegation on a letter to the WRD Board urging transparency in the hiring process.\n\nThe WRD is the largest groundwater agency in the State of California and serves the critically important function of managing and protecting local groundwater resources for millions of L.A. County residents.\n\nFull text of Congresswoman Barragn's letter read at today's WRD Board meeting is below:\n\nDecember 17, 2020\n\nBoard of Directors\nWater Replenishment District of Southern California\n4040 Paramount Blvd.\nLakewood, CA, 90712\n\nDear Board of Directors:\n\nI remain deeply concerned by the Water Replenishment District (WRD) Board's rushed actions to force out its current general manager and hire a special interim general manager.\n\nMembers of the Los Angeles Congressional Delegation and the State Legislature have sent a clear message to the WRD Board: WRD should continue its initial plans to hire an independent recruitment firm to conduct an open, ethical, and transparent search to fill the general manager position. Additionally, WRD must allow the public adequate opportunity to communicate feedback about potential candidates. Doing anything short of that would be a disservice to the millions of residents served by the WRD and erode the trust and reputation of the WRD.\n\nFor the last four years this country has endured an Administration who has no regard for facts, process, the law or transparency. Individuals were hired because of relationships and political favors, not necessarily qualifications. Actions were taken in the dark of night or behind closed doors as to not draw attention to the matters. We don't need that lack of trust and lack of transparency undermining our local groundwater agency.\n\nMany cities, elected officials and vendors who work with the WRD have expressed concern and opposition to the proposal before you today in the name of good governance. Moving forward today on the proposed action to haphazardly hire a new general manager without a meaningful search and oust your current general manager will tarnish the WRD's reputation and result in a waste of taxpayer dollars.\n\nOur groundwater is precious. The management of the largest groundwater agency is a serious matter that must be protected and is deserving of good governance. I continue to believe the Board's conduct at its December 3rd meeting and today's Board actions, motives behind the actions, and behind the scenes conversations may best be investigated by the public integrity unit to ensure the public trust has not been abused.\n\nI encourage the Board to weigh the fiscal implications and calls for transparency raised by the many stakeholders it represents as it considers the contract for a special interim appointment.\n\nSincerely,\nRep. Nanette Diaz Barragn (CA-44)\n###\nNanette Diaz Barragn is proud to represent California's 44th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Carson, Compton, Florence-Firestone, Lynwood, North Long Beach, Rancho Dominguez, San Pedro, South Gate, Walnut Park, Watts, Willowbrook and Wilmington", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://lamalfa.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/lamalfa-announces-nominees-to-the-united-states-service-academies", "LaMalfa Announces Nominees to the United States Service Academies", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "CA", "Doug LaMalfa", "L000578", "lamalfa.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(Washington, DC)  Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) announced that he has nominated 14 North State residents as candidates to the United States Service Academies. The U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marines Academy each require a Congressional nomination in order to attend. The admissions process is highly competitive.\nLaMalfa said: I am pleased to nominate these remarkable young men and women from the North State.I'd also like to thank our review committee for their caring and unbiased interviews of the prospective candidates. Attending one of our nation's five U.S. Service Academies is a rare opportunity to earn an excellent education while being prepared to be great leaders in serving our country. It takes students of the highest caliber to receive a nomination, and I wish them all the best in these unique opportunities.\nCongressman LaMalfa's nominees were recommended by a committee of North State community leaders and veterans from various branches of the military. The committee recommended a slate of nominees after interviewing and carefully considering the academic and leadership backgrounds of each student who applied for the nomination. Having been nominated, the students must now compete with other nominees for an appointment to the academies. Academy officials will begin announcing appointments in January.\nCongressman LaMalfa's nominees for the service academies are:\nRobin Bae- Redding\nU.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Merchant Marines Academy, U.S. Naval Academy\nFletcher Bottke- Red Bluff\nU.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy\nAntonino Conte- Penn Valley\nU.S. Naval Academy\nReagan Dahle- Bieber\nU.S. Military Academy\nMoonglow Summer De Clarin  Berry Creek\nU.S. Air Force Academy\nKiana Emerson- Cottonwood\nU.S. Military Academy\nKale Hiller -Red Bluff\nU.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy\nKaitlyn Johnston- Cottonwood\nU.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Merchant Marines Academy, U.S. Naval Academy\nLawrence Mini- Palo Cedro\nU.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy\nCole Retzler- Nevada City\nU.S. Air Force Academy\nGreyson Reynolds- Oroville\nU.S. Naval Academy\nElsa Scherzinger- Grass Valley\nU.S. Naval Academy\nSophie Smith- Colfax\nU.S. Military Academy\nHunter Thomas- Chico\nU.S. Air Force Academy\n\nAny student with a strong desire to serve our nation as an officer in the United States Armed Forces is invited to contact Congressman LaMalfa in the spring of their junior year. Please visit his website www.lamalfa.house.gov for his nomination application and instructions. You may also call his Chico District office and speak with his U.S. Service Academy Advisor at (530)343-1000.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://panetta.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-panetta-introduces-provide-act-improve-va-support-veterans-impacted", "Congressman Panetta Introduces PROVIDE Act to Improve VA Support of Veterans Impacted by Major Disasters", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Jimmy Panetta", "P000613", "panetta.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC  Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) was joined by Representatives Clay Higgins (R-LA), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Greg Steube (R-FL), Cindy Axne (D-IA), and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) to introduce the bipartisan Priority Response for Veterans Impacted by Disasters and Emergencies (PROVIDE) Act. The PROVIDE Act directs the VA Secretary to ensure that veterans impacted by major disasters are eligible for expedited processing of disability claims. Moreover, the legislation would establish flexible evidence requirements for veterans that experienced major disasters, such as wildfires. Currently, evidence requirements for such claims fail to take into account that documents may have been damaged or destroyed. The Representatives' legislation would provide greater flexibility as to the type of evidence required for such VA disability claims.\nIn the wake of major disasters, which the Central Coast experienced this year with wildfires, the VA needs to provide better and quicker support for our nation's veterans, said Congressman Panetta. The PROVIDE Act will ensure that veterans get that type of understanding and support with their disability claims after they've experienced a major disaster. That type of expedited service and flexibility by the VA will allow our veterans to better access the resources they deserve and need to recover and succeed.\nVeterans who suffer losses in natural disasters should not have to wait at the back of the line for their VA claims to be processed. Timely access to those benefits is critical, said Congressman Higgins. This is something we saw first-hand following Hurricanes Laura and Delta. The PROVIDE Act gets government bureaucrats out of the way of Veterans trying to access their benefits and ensures priority processing status at the VA. These changes are necessary to help Veterans overcome disaster-related hardships and begin the recovery process. I'm proud to join Congressman Panetta in introducing this bipartisan bill.\nWe need to do a better job of taking care of our veterans in the aftermath of natural disasters, said Rep. Kathleen Rice. That's why I am proud be an original cosponsor of the PROVIDE Act which gives veterans impacted by natural disasters access to expedited processing of VA disability claims. I thank Congressman Panetta for leading this bipartisan effort to ensure our veterans receive the assistance they need when tragedy strikes.\nAfter our veterans put their lives on the line to protect our country, the last thing they should have to worry about is how to access necessary resources and care following a major disaster or emergency, Steube said. While we have hit major milestones with VA reform and improving programs for our nation's heroes, this legislation is an important next step to help get all struggling veterans back on their feet.\nOver the past two years, Iowa has weathered devastating natural disasters. In a matter of minutes, homes, businesses, and livelihoods were destroyed by floods and hurricane-level winds. But in the face of each crisis, our communities pulled together to respond, but we need more federal support, said Rep. Axne. That's why I'm proud to join Rep. Panetta on this legislation to ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs is ready to respond immediately and step in when veterans are impacted by disasters  helping them with housing, medical issues, and disability assistance right away.\n\"The last thing a veteran needs when their life has been upended by a natural disaster is to worry about their VA benefits, said Rep. Sherrill. The PROVIDE Act will give these veterans the ability to have their benefits processed quickly so they can focus on recovering after a disaster. I'm proud to join Representative Panetta and my colleagues in introducing this legislation, which will improve the lives of our veterans.\"\nUnlike other federal agencies, natural disasters did not fall into an expedite category for the DVA, said Dean Kaufman, Santa Cruz County Veterans Service Office. The PROVIDE Act will ensure that any veteran with a claim pending with DVA who has been impacted by a natural disaster will be guaranteed expedited processing.\nThe PROVIDE Act has been endorsed by the County of Monterey Military and Veterans Affairs Office, the County of Santa Cruz Veterans Services Office, and the United Veterans Council of Monterey County.\nThe full text of the PROVIDE Act can be read here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccine", "Pelosi Statement on COVID-19 Vaccine", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement regarding the COVID-19 vaccine:\n\nThis week has been one of great hope, as the FDA has announced an Emergency Use Authorization for a coronavirus vaccine, with a second vaccine expected to be authorized as soon as tomorrow. All Americans should have full confidence in the vaccines, knowing that they were reviewed and recommended by the FDA's advisory panel's independent experts.\n\nAccording to government continuity guidelines, Congressional Leadership has been informed by the Office of the Attending Physician that Members of the House and Senate are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. The Attending Physician further stated to Members My recommendation to you is absolutely unequivocal: there is no reason why you should defer receiving this vaccine.' With confidence in the vaccine and at the direction of the Attending Physician, I plan to receive the vaccine in the next few days.\n\nEven with a vaccine, I will continue to follow CDC guidelines by continuing to wear a mask and take other science-based steps to stop the spread of the virus.\n\nWe must all continue to embrace testing, tracing, treatment, mask wearing and social distancing as the vaccine is being distributed. It is imperative that we ensure that the vaccine will be free and delivered in a fair, equitable manner to as many Americans as soon as possible and that we accelerate its manufacture, including by invoking the Defense Production Act.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=AFDC51AE-F55A-47F0-9363-8E72F9622B17", "Feinstein, Grassley, Schatz Bill to Expand Cannabidiol, Marijuana Research Passes Senate", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) today applauded the Senate passage last night of their Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act, a bill to encourage scientific and medical research on marijuana and its compounds including cannabidiol, or CBD.\r\n Existing regulations make medical marijuana research difficult and have prevented us from understanding exactly how medical marijuana can be used safely and effectively to treat various conditions, said Senator Feinstein. Our bill streamlines the research process and paves the way for marijuana-derived medications that are FDA-approved to treat serious medical conditions, like intractable epilepsy, in a way that will keep consumers safe.\r\n I've been a strong supporter and lead Republican of this legislation since it was first introduced in 2016. This bipartisan bill is critical to better understanding the marijuana plant and its potential benefits and side effects. It will empower the FDA to analyze CBD and medical marijuana products in a safe and responsible way so that the American public can decide whether to utilize them in the future based on sound scientific data, Senator Grassley said. Researching marijuana is widely supported by my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and it's a smart step forward in addressing this current schedule I drug.\r\n Our bill will remove excessive barriers that make it difficult for researchers to study the effectiveness and safety of marijuana, and hopefully, give patients more treatment options, said Senator Schatz. The medical community agrees that we need more research to learn about marijuana's potential health benefits, but our federal laws today are standing in the way.\r\n This bill combines a bill previously introduced by Senators Feinstein and Grassley (the Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act) with a bill previously introduced by Senator Schatz (the Marijuana Effective Drug Studies Act.)\r\n In addition to Feinstein, Grassley and Schatz, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Jon Tester (D -Mont.) and Lisa Murkowski (R- Alaska).\r\nFull text of the bill is available here.\r\nBackground\r\n \r\nCurrently, both marijuana and CBD containing more than 0.3 percent delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (commonly known as THC) are classified as Schedule I drugs. As a result, research is subject to stringent regulations that can pose an obstacle to medical research.\r\n \r\n \r\nCBD is largely unregulated. But thousands of parents nationwide have used CBD oil to help their children who suffer from intractable epilepsy.\r\n \r\n \r\nThe bill requires HHS and NIH to submit a report to Congress within a year of the bills enactment into law on the potential harms and benefits of marijuana use.\r\n \r\n \r\nFew marijuana-derived products have been FDA-approved, and there is little available information about their interactions with other medications, appropriate doses or delivery mechanisms.\r\n \r\n \r\nThe goal of the Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act is to ensure that research on CBD and other potentially beneficial marijuana-derived substances is based on sound science while simultaneously reducing the regulatory barriers associated with conducting research on marijuana.\r\n \r\nA list of organizations that have endorsed this bill is available here.\r\nA one-page summary of the bill's provisions is available here.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barragan.house.gov/barragan-leads-bipartisan-call-to-prioritize-local-parks-in-future-economic-stimulus-or-infrastructure-package/", "Barragn Leads Bipartisan Call to PrioritizeLocal Parks in Future Economic Stimulus or Infrastructure Package", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nanette Barrag\u00e1n", "B001300", "barragan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nDecember 16, 2020\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, Congressmembers Nanette Diaz Barragn (Calif.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Deb Haaland (N.M.), and Joe Neguse (Colo.) led 28 of their colleagues in a bipartisan letter urging House leadership to include a one-time, emergency investment of $500 million for local parks in any future economic stimulus or infrastructure package.\n\nThis letter precedes local parks stimulus legislation Barragn plans to introduce in January. Local parks are at risk because of tightening state and local budgets during the pandemic.\n\nDuring this public health crisis, we have seen how critically important it is for Americans to have easy access to parks, said Rep. Barragn. They allow people to get outside, exercise, and get a mental health break from quarantine. However, the current economic downturn threatens to cut budgets and puts funding for parks on the chopping block. This would disproportionately impact communities that already have the least access, such as low-income communities and communities of color. A one-time stimulus in our local parks can protect jobs and preserve outdoor and recreational access for underserved communities.\n\nLocal and municipal parks play important roles in our communities, creating jobs and economic activity, promoting healthy lifestyles, and creating a sense of community. COVID-19 has drastically changed our world, and we must work to support programs and entities that have been hurt by this pandemic, said Rep. Fitzpatrick. By renovating and investing in our community parks, playgrounds, trails and green spaces through the Outdoor Legacy Partnership Program, we can ensure that our local parks will continue to play an important role in building healthier and more resilient communities.\n\nThe letter underscores the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on parks services and unemployment, and how a one-time investment of $500 million through an emergency Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program could preserve up to 100,000 at-risk local seasonal jobs, provide at least 8,000 new jobs, and renovate more than 500 sites, all while adding $1.37 billion in economic activity.\n\nGetting outside is important for maintaining physical and mental health during this crisis, but communities of color and low-income communities don't have equal access to outdoor recreation. The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the environmental and economic injustices that have existed in our country for too long. Investing in local parks will stimulate local job creation and economic activity and ensure everyone in our country has the opportunity to enjoy and benefit from the outdoors,said Congresswoman Deb Haaland, Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.\n\nLocal parks in my district provide incredible outdoor recreation opportunities to Coloradans and to visitors to our state and they fuel the main street economies and tourism in our local communities, said Congressman Joe Neguse. Along with many local parks across the country, Colorado's parks have experienced significant budget cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic and require robust economic relief to maintain operations. A significant, one-time investment in the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program will preserve countless seasonal jobs, invest in local economic activity and preserve the natural resources and outdoor spaces Coloradans love.\n\nA coalition of more than 200 organizations are supporting this letter and have sent a similar request to President-Elect Joe Biden's transition team. They write that, COVID-19 is a wake-up call: the time to address the long-standing gaps in outdoor access and quality has come. As it formulates a plan for relief and recovery, your Administration can lead the way.\n\nThe Outdoor Recreation Partnership (ORLP) Program was established by Congress in 2014 and is administered by the National Park Service. It delivers funding to build access to the outdoors in cities and towns of 50,000 or more residents. An emergency investment through an OLRP stimulus could alleviate the need for non-federal matches, be targeted towards underserved communities, prioritize shovel-ready projects, and provide health and wellness benefits to local areas.\n\nThe letter to House leadership was signed by: Representatives Nanette Diaz Barragan (Calif.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Deb Haaland (N.M.), Joe Neguse (Colo.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), Mike Thompson (Calif.) , Ann McLane Kuster (N.H.), Rick Larsen (Wash.), Dianna DeGette (Colo.) , Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), Allen Lowenthal (Calif.) , Grace F. Napolitano (Calif.), Tony Crdenas (Calif.) , Ro Khanna (Calif.), Carolyn B. Maloney (N.Y.) , Gerald E. Connolly (Va.), Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.), Kathy Castor (Fla.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz), Bobby L. Rush (Ill.), Bill Foster (Ill.), Jimmy Gomez (Calif.), Brendan F. Boyle (Pa.), Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), Albio Sires (N.J.) , Jos Serrano (N.Y.) , Barbara Lee (Calif.), Alcee L. Hastings (Fla.), Brad Sherman (Calif.), Peter Welch (Vt.) and Jess G. Chuy Garca (Ill.)\n\nFull text of the letter can be found here.\n\n###\n\nNanette Diaz Barragn is proud to represent California's 44th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Carson, Compton, Florence-Firestone, Lynwood, North Long Beach, Rancho Dominguez, San Pedro, South Gate, Walnut Park, Watts, Willowbrook and Wilmington.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barragan.house.gov/document-orlp-letter/", "Document: ORLP Letter", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nanette Barrag\u00e1n", "B001300", "barragan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "skip to content\n\t\n  \n \n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGeneral Info\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t Document: ORLP Letter \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLoading...\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t   \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t   \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Next PostDept of Public Health Vaccine Job Positions", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://kevinmccarthy.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/we-will-always-support-our-nation-s-heroes", "We Will Always Support Our Nations Heroes", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "CA", "Kevin McCarthy", "M001165", "kevinmccarthy.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Congressman Kevin McCarthy delivered a Floor speech on the VET TEC Expansion Act and the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Act, two bills he introduced this Congress to enhance existing veterans benefits programs by expanding and streamlining them.These bills subsequently passed the House today as part of the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020.\nHighlights of the speech arebelow, or you can watch it in its entirety here.\n\n\nSince coming to Congress in 2007, one of my most important priorities in this Chamber has been to protect and improve the benefits that our nation's veterans have earned and deserve.\nI introduced the VET TEC Expansion Act and the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Act earlier this Congress in response to comments and feedback I received from veterans and veterans organizations throughout my district and across the country. \nThe VET TEC Expansion Act would continue to ensure that our heroes can enhance the skills they developed in the military when returning to civilian life by providing access to non-traditional and technology-oriented courses through the VET TEC Pilot Program. This bill would expand VET TEC to include part-time courses and allow additional course providers into the VET TEC Pilot Program...\nIn addition, no veteran, in my district or anywhere in the country, should be homeless due to unnecessary VA staffing vacancies. The Reducing Veteran Homelessness Act would require that the VA contract out any consistently vacant HUD-VA Supportive Housing case management positions to community experts, so that unused housing vouchers can be matched with homeless veterans who need them most", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/cybersecurity-lawmakers-seek-details-damage-done-solarwinds-hack", "Lawmakers seek details on damage done by the SolarWinds hack", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Ted Lieu", "L000582", "lieu.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the heads of the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to brief them on the \"size, scope, and details\" of how a hacking campaign breached multiple agencies via a software widely used throughout the federal government.\nThe letter is one in a series of calls to action lawmakers made this week as new details emerge about how hackers managed to breach networks at the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Homeland Security as well as the National Security Agency and parts of the Pentagon through a vulnerability in the IT management software suite SolarWinds.\nTheDec. 15 letteris signed by Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).\nAsked about how quickly the lawmakers expect a response, a committee aide told FCW they expect to receive new information on a rolling basis. However, federal law requires agencies to provide a detailed report to Congress of any incident within 30 days, they added.\nThe senators are seeking an extensive account of what FBI Director Christopher Wray and CISA's acting chief Brandon Wales know about the incident so far such as a list of every agency that uses SolarWinds' Orion, the software suite that was compromised, as well as any agency that has reported specific breaches.\nThey are also asking for the \"categories and quantities of data\" that may have become susceptible, a description of how the FBI and CISA are responding to the incident and what help SolarWinds has played in assisting the government.\n\"Has the investigation of the impacted federal agencies identified any failures in implementation of the Federal Information Security Modernization Act or other relevant federal information security statutes?\" the letter states.\nThe senators also want to know whether or not the government's investigative efforts will include outreach to the private sector.\nSens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) yesterday also sent asimilar letterto Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin seeking information about the extent the hack has affected his agency and what is being done to respond.\nThe letter also suggests the lawmakers will lobby for financial sanctions against whatever country or group is formally attributed with orchestrating the attack.\n\"Once the U.S. government formally attributes the attack to specific actors, will the Treasury Department initiate a process to consider using the full panoply of economic, financial, cyber, and other sanctions tools Congress has provided to the Treasury Department, or other counter-measures, to respond appropriately?\" the letter said.\nBoth letters acknowledge media reports suggesting a Russian intelligence service was behind the attacks, but the affected agencies, SolarWinds and FireEye, a cybersecurity firm also investigating the hack, have not yet named a specific group or nation.\nRep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said he is crafting a bill to mandate vendors working with the federal government maintain a vulnerability disclosure policy.\n\"Additionally, I believe Congress should create a Select Committee on Cybersecurity. Presently, no single committee deals with cybersecurity, and we need to treat this issue like the ongoing threat it is,\" he said. \"Having a Committee dedicated exclusively to cybersecurity would allow Members to drill down and bring a variety of perspectives to bear.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://mikethompson.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/thompson-announces-evan-torres-as-2020-app-challenge-winner-for-fifth", "Thompson Announces Evan Torres as 2020 App Challenge Winner for Fifth Congressional District", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Mike Thompson", "T000460", "mikethompson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington  Today Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) announced that Evan Torres has been selected as the 2020 App Challenge winner for the Fifth Congressional District for his app Charity Checker, an app to determine the reputability of nonprofits.\nThe Congressional App Challenge is a great way to showcase our local technology talent and each year, I am excited to see the innovative designs from our students. Congratulations to Evan Torres for his winning app, Charity Checker, said Thompson. His helpful design will be on display throughout the upcoming year in our nation's Capitol and on the House website, and we are proud he will represent our district!\nYou can click here to watch a video outlining the concept and design of the winning app and you can click here to learn more about the Congressional App Challenge.\n###\nCongressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means where he chairs the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures. Rep. Thompson is Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. He is also Co-Chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus and a member of the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Coalition.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://ruiz.house.gov/media-center/e-newsletters/dr-ruiz-celebrates-victories-ca-36", "Dr. Ruiz Celebrates Victories for CA-36", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Raul Ruiz", "R000599", "ruiz.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friends,\n\nIn these difficult times, it is important tofind good news that brings us hope, joy, and inspiration.I want to share with yousome great victories for veterans, seniors, and families here in CA-36.\nDr. Ruiz's Legislation Signed into Law to Help Veterans, Address Opioid Crisis\nThe President has signed into law two of my bills:\n The Wounded Veterans Recreation Act is a victory for veterans in CA-36 and across the country. Clickhereto read more about this law that will empower veterans to improve their health and well-being.\n\tThe Easy MAT for Opioid Addiction Act will expand access to lifesaving care for patientswith opioid use disorder. Read morehere.\n Dr. Ruiz's Bills Pass House to Support Seniors and Efforts at the Salton Sea\nI am also pleased to report that the House passed my bill to strengthen access to Medicare coverage for seniors and my legislation to strengthen federal, state, and local partnerships at the Salton Sea. I'm working to get these bills signed into law.\n My bill, the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act, passed the House with broad, bipartisan support and will help seniors navigate the Medicare Part B enrollment process and avoid enrollment penalties. Read morehere.\n\tThe House also passed S. 1811, the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, which prioritizesthenorthern perimeter lake project at the Salton Seafor the Army Corps of Engineers.\n I will continue workingto stand up for families, workers, and seniors in CA-36. Please reach out if my office can assist you during this difficult time.\nSincerely,    \n\tRaul Ruiz, M.D.  \n\tMember of Congress\nIn Case You Missed It:\n Are you a CA-36 resident interested in serving in the Biden-Harris Administration? Find out how to applyhere.\n\tThere will befree COVID-19 testingat the Palm Springs Convention Center now through January 29, 2021.\n\tCoronavirus cases are continuing to rise in our district. Stay updated on the latest COVID-19 information for Riverside Countyhere.\n\tThe FDAhas approvedthe emergency use authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine after a thorough review process.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://ruiz.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/cares-act-stimulus-check-delays-inexcusable-irs-must-act-rep-raul-ruiz", "CARES Act Stimulus Check Delays 'Inexcusable,' IRS Must Act: Rep. Raul Ruiz", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Raul Ruiz", "R000599", "ruiz.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "While lawmakers wrangle over a fresh relief package and a second round of stimulus checks, some Americans are still waiting for their first payments nearly nine months after the CARES Act was signed.\nThe act granted $1,200 payments to millions of eligible individuals to help with the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.\nRep. Raul Ruiz(D-CA) haswritten to Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig, bemoaning the delays some of his constituents have faced. Hepreviously raised the issue in July.\n\"The stimulus checks were a critical element of the CARES Act meant to provide immediate and critical relief to millions of Americans who were suffering as businesses closed their doors to comply with necessary social distancing, pandemic precautions and quarantine orders, putting millions of Americans out of work,\"Ruizwrote in the letter to Rettig.\n\"While many received their checks in a timely manner, those who did not quickly found themselves further behind on bills, rent and other financial obligations.\n\"The fact that individuals are still fighting to secure the payments owed to them under the law is inexcusable to me.\"\nRuizwrote that he had contacted the IRS on behalf of 156 constituents, adding that \"many of these cases remain unresolved by your agency.\" Payments for 58 people had been secured after his office's intervention, he said.\n\"It is essential that you dedicate the necessary resources to resolving outstanding issues with unsent stimulus checks,\"Ruizwrote. \"For many people awaiting their checks, this can mean the difference between whether or not a family can put food on the table, buy necessary medication or pay their bills.\"\nIn a message shared on Twitter, Ruiz added: \"The #CARESAct became law over 250 days ago, yet some of my constituents have yet to received their stimulus checks. Today, I sent a letter to the IRS insisting they expedite all remaining stimulus checks!\"\nUnder the CARES Act, $1,200 would be paid to individuals earning $75,000 or less, or $2,400 to joint-filers with incomes of $150,000 or below. Families could also receive $500 for children.\nA report from the Taxpayer Advocate Service earlier this year suggested that\"many individuals\"would have to wait until next year to receive their checks.\nNewsweekhas contacted the IRS for comment onRuiz'sletter and to ask for details on outstanding payments.\nSeveral lawmakers have pushed for a second round of stimulus checks to be sent out as part of any new COVID-19 relief package, although recent bipartisan proposals have not included this measure.\nPolling has shown that Americans doubt a relief package will be agreed soon.\nThe debate over stimulus comes as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. passes 16.7 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have beenmore than 300,000 deaths.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://calvert.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-calvert-completes-covid-quarantine-protocols-after-positive-test-returns-dc", "Rep. Calvert Completes COVID Quarantine Protocols After Positive Test, Returns to DC", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "CA", "Ken Calvert", "C000059", "calvert.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) issued the following statement:\nLate last month I tested positive for COVID-19. After receiving the results, I adhered to the recommendations of my physician and CDC quarantine guidelines. I did experience symptoms, but am now back to full strength. Having been cleared to travel, I returned to DC yesterday. I regret missing votes during my quarantine, especially on passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, and I have inserted my views on all missed votes into the Congressional Record.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://costa.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/duvall-costa-discuss-outlook-agriculture", "Duvall, Costa discuss outlook for agriculture", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Jim Costa", "C001059", "costa.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Reflecting on the disruptions of 2020 and the outlook for 2021, American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and U.S. Rep. Jim Costa offered their opinions on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during separate appearances as part of the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.\n\t\t\t\tDuvall and Costa spoke with California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson during \"coffee talk\" sessions within the virtual Annual Meeting format.\n\t\t\t\tSpeaking with Duvall via Zoom, Johansson noted how Farm Bureau, at both the state and national levels, made a point early in the pandemic to reassure people that food would be available.\n\t\t\t\tDuvall said Farm Bureau worked with the Trump administration and government leaders to secure relief for farmers, adding that the pandemic also brought people together.\n\t\t\t\t\"The pandemic crisis brought more unity and brought more food and agricultural groups together more than ever before,\" he said.\n\t\t\t\tAs President-elect Biden prepares to take office, Duvall and Johansson discussed advocating for farmers in the coming year.\n\t\t\t\tDuvall noted a congratulatory social media video he addressed to Biden was intended to \"start building a bridge to this new administration and so that we can have a seat like we had with the Trump administration.\" Duvall said he has spoken to Biden's transition team and to Tom Vilsack, who has been nominated as U.S. agriculture secretary, adding, \"We're working real hard to try to build those bridges and to get us prepared.\" (Seestory)\n\t\t\t\tDuring his coffee chat with Johansson, Costa, D-Fresno, said he expects the 117th Congress, which takes office Jan. 3, to look at food supply-chain issues with an eye toward a more resilient supply chain, using knowledge gained during the pandemic.\n\t\t\t\tFarmers and ranchers will have \"valuable input\" in the process, Costa noted.\n\t\t\t\t\"I think all of you, our producerswhether you're farmers, ranchers, dairymen or women, or in the cattle business, poultrythat you have ideas on how we can better deal with it,\" he said.\n\t\t\t\t\"As a result of this pandemic, people are beginning to realize that their food doesn't come from the grocery store or their favorite fast-food place or restaurant,\" he said. \"It comes from all of you.\"\n\t\t\t\tCosta also predicted Congress would debate a bipartisan infrastructure bill covering schools, transportation and access to broadband.\n\t\t\t\t\"You sure as heck can't do telemedicine, let alone virtual learning, which is hard enough, if you don't have access to broadband,\" he said.\n\t\t\t\tFarmers' resiliency will help them survive the disruptions of the pandemic, he said.\n\t\t\t\t\"I truly believe that we're going to get through this,\" Costa said. \"We'll be tested like our parents and grandparents were tested\" during the Great Depression and World War II.\n\t\t\t\t\"When we come together and put our differences aside,\" he said, \"there's no challenge we can't overcome.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-president-elect-biden-nomination-of-mayor-pete-buttigieg-for", "Pelosi Statement on President-Elect Biden Nomination of Mayor Pete Buttigieg for Transportation Secretary", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after President-elect Biden nominated Mayor Pete Buttigieg to serve as Secretary of the Department of Transportation:\n\nPresident-elect Biden, in nominating Mayor Pete Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary, has selected a leader with the vision and innovative spirit to Build Back Better.\n\nAs a Mayor, Buttigieg profoundly understands the transportation and infrastructure challenges that our communities face, and as Secretary, will be an effective force for building the modern, resilient and sustainable infrastructure that the greatest country in the world deserves. Democrats are committed to our mantra of build, build, build,' and with Secretary-designate Buttigieg's leadership, we will do so in a way that creates millions of good-paying American jobs, lays the foundation for robust economic growth, protects public health and combats the climate crisis with a focus on environmental justice.\n\nCongratulations to Mayor Buttigieg and to President-elect Biden for breaking ground with this historic appointment. House Democrats look forward to working with Secretary-designate Buttigieg in this mission.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://scottpeters.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-peters-introduces-bipartisan-bill-to-enhance-covid-19-vaccine", "Rep. Peters Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Enhance COVID-19 Vaccine Awareness", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Scott Peters", "P000608", "scottpeters.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.Yesterday, Rep. Scott Peters(CA-52) joined Rep. Brad Wenstrup, D.P.M (OH-02), as well as Reps. Ron Kind (WI-03), Roger Marshall (KS-01), John Joyce (PA-13), Andy Kim (NJ-03), Neal Dunn (FL-02) and Albio Sires (NJ-08), to introduce a bipartisan bill authorizing a public advocacy campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccine participation and provide science-backed information. The bill provides necessary funds for the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide grants to entities to launch public awareness campaigns no less than 30 days after a vaccine is authorized.\nYesterday's distribution of the first COVID-19 vaccines is a national triumph. It speaks to the skill of our public and private scientists, whose efforts to develop, certify and deploy a vaccine will soon help our country get closer to normal and save lives, said Rep. Peters. We must do everything we can to optimize and uplift their work. This legislation will educate and boost awareness and trust in communities disproportionately hurt by this deadly virus.\nOperation Warp Speed has produced a safe and effective vaccine in record time. A vaccine, however, will only lead us out of this pandemic and allow us to restore our way of life if enough Americans are willing to receive it, said Rep. Wenstrup. It is more important than ever that we provide science-based, factual information about COVID-19 vaccines to the American people. I believe providing accurate information about vaccines will help alleviate concerns and help Americans make sound medical decisions. \nToday is a turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic as millions of vaccines are shipped across the country and arrive to Wisconsin and we begin to inoculate our health care workers and most vulnerable to the virus. But for these vaccines to ultimately bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that Americans are willing to receive them, said Rep. Kind. I am proud to support this bipartisan bill to provide resources to trusted local leaders across the country to raise awareness and share factual, evidence-based information about COVID-19 vaccines with the communities they serve.\nA COVID-19 vaccine will only be effective in defeating this virus if people have confidence in its safety and efficacy, said Rep. Marshall, M.D. America is home to world-class scientists and a gold-standard regulatory agency that oversees the drug approval process. As a physician, I understand people's concerns over this unprecedented process, but from the start, pharmaceutical scientists have been in constant contact with officials at the Food and Drug Administration, ensuring multiple layers of safety and oversight. I am proud to co-lead legislation that provides funding for science-based information for our families and communities. I remain confident that we will defeat this virus and return to life as normal.\nAs our nation combats the COVID-19 pandemic, America's scientists, researchers, and health care heroes have achieved remarkable progress in developing a safe and effective vaccine  the key to restoring our communities, rebuilding our economy, and saving lives, said Rep. Joyce, M.D. Like many Americans, I am planning to take the vaccine as soon as I am eligible. It is imperative that the American people have confidence in the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine. To gain their trust, we must cut through misinformation and ensure that Americans have the facts about this vaccine and its lifesaving potential.\nEarning the public's trust is key to putting an end to this pandemic, which is why it's so important that we come together in a bipartisan way to make sure every American has the facts about the COVID-19 vaccines, said Rep. Kim. This bill would make sure that accurate information reaches the American people so that they can take the vaccine with confidence. I hope my colleagues from both sides of the aisle join in passing this critical effort.\nThe swift development of a COVID-19 vaccine is a serious progression on our route to curbing the virus and getting back to our normal routines. Now that the vaccine is being administered, it is crucial that we encourage as many Americans as possible to receive one, said Rep. Sires. We must ensure that Americans have science-based, factual information on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. This bipartisan legislation will go a long way in funding states public awareness campaigns so that Americans have the information they need to receive the vaccine with confidence.\nThe bill is a companion to legislation introduced in the Senate by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John Thune (R-SD) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ).\nYou can read the bill text here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://bass.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-bass-and-senator-tina-smith-push-officers-follow-law-prohibit", "Rep. Bass and Senator Tina Smith Push For Officers To Follow The Law, Prohibit Ketamine Use During Arrests", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Karen Bass", "B001270", "bass.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The letter was also signed by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Congressman David Cicelline (D-RI).\nThe Members wrote, in part:\nWe are concerned that ketamine and other sedatives are being used to help effectuate arrests without a full appreciation of the health risks and potential liability involved. For instance, in a 2018 report conducted by the City of Minneapolis, investigators described a situation in which an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provider was not aware that people with asthma can suffer fatal consequences from ketamine, but administered it to an asthmatic individual who then stopped breathing. In [Max] Johnson's case, EMS first treated him for low blood sugar to address diabetic shock, but then law enforcement treated Mr. Johnson as if he exhibited drug-induced behavior. The 500 milligrams of ketamine administered to Mr. Johnson during this event sent him into the Intensive Care Unit for two days.  Federal standards for EMS only mention sedatives as a potential cause of delirium, not as a treatment for it. However, an EMS trade publication identified ketamine as the primary treatment for excited delirium and recommended a low threshold for employing this treatment, in contrast to the warning from the American Academy of Anesthesiologists. The lack of a clear, consistent policy for this chemical restraint is very concerning\nIn July, Rep. Bass pressed Attorney General Barr when he testified before the committee for information regarding the administration of ketamine. The Members followed up by saying:\nIn a July hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, you did not provide any statistics or information regarding the administration of ketamine in the course of arrests. If the Justice Department does not possess any such information, we believe additional research is needed to help policymakers determine if the practice should be federally regulated or possibly prohibited. Furthermore, we need additional data about whether there are racial disparities in the use of ketamine or other sedatives during arrests. Given existing racial inequities in arrest rates, it seems likely that people of color are subjected to ketamine sedation at disproportionate rates.\nRead the entire letter here or below:\n\nDecember 14, 2020\nThe Honorable William Barr\nAttorney General\nU.S. Department of Justice\n950 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest\nWashington, D.C. 20530\nAttorney General Barr,\nWe write to request information from the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the use of ketamine and other sedatives or chemical restraints on individuals during their arrest or detention by law enforcement. Though data on this practice is scarce, several recent and highly publicized incidents make clear the potential dangers of administering sedatives during an arrest. We request the Department's assistance in gathering information about the use of ketamine and other chemical restraints during arrests or detentions by federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies, as well as any regulations or guidance the Department has issued regarding this practice.\nAs policymakers, we are deeply concerned about both the ability of law enforcement officers to make arrests safely and protecting the health, safety, and civil rights of individuals who may be subject to arrest. Recent reporting indicates that use of sedatives during arrest may be more common than is currently understood  in particular the death of Elijah McClain in Colorado and the medical emergency of Max Johnson in Minnesota. Given evidence that the administration of ketamine for law enforcement purposes carries significant risks of death or permanent harm, we are seeking information about this practice in order to aid our consideration of future oversight and regulatory efforts.\nLaw enforcement medics or paramedics typically administer ketamine to incapacitate individuals who are demonstrating excited delirium, a term not found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and without a widely accepted medical definition.[1] However, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, ketamine can cause side effects that can end in death when administered in a non-health care setting without appropriately trained medical personnel and necessary equipment.[2] The organization's president separately noted that ketamine should not be given for purely law enforcement purposes.[3] Administering ketamine without ascertaining an individual's medical history is especially dangerous, as ketamine may cause serious adverse interactions with certain medical conditions or medications; yet when an individual demonstrates symptoms associated with excited delirium, it is understandably difficult to ascertain that person's medical history or underlying conditions. Of the 902 people who were administered ketamine during their arrest or detention in Colorado since 2017, seventeen percent experienced a serious complication, including hypoxemia, or low oxygen levels in the blood, a potentially life-threatening complication. [4]\nWe are concerned that ketamine and other sedatives are being used to help effectuate arrests without a full appreciation of the health risks and potential liability involved. For instance, in a 2018 report conducted by the City of Minneapolis, investigators described a situation in which an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provider was not aware that people with asthma can suffer fatal consequences from ketamine, but administered it to an asthmatic individual who then stopped breathing.[5] In Mr. Johnson's case, EMS first treated him for low blood sugar to address diabetic shock, but then law enforcement treated Mr. Johnson as if he exhibited drug-induced behavior. The 500 milligrams of ketamine administered to Mr. Johnson during this event sent him into the Intensive Care Unit for two days.[6] Federal standards for EMS only mention sedatives as a potential cause of delirium, not as a treatment for it.[7] However, an EMS trade publication identified ketamine as the primary treatment for excited delirium and recommended a low threshold for employing this treatment, in contrast to the warning from the American Academy of Anesthesiologists.[8] The lack of a clear, consistent policy for this chemical restraint is very concerning.\nSituations in which law enforcement personnel and EMS interact pose complex jurisdictional questions, as they occur in the field under varying and perhaps competing federal, state, and local policies. Furthermore, departmental policies may address their own employee's behavior in the field, but they may not address collaboration or interaction with other emergency responders.[9] The 2018 Minneapolis report found that law enforcement officers encouraged EMS to administer ketamine, sometimes despite objections from patients and without a clear reason for doing so. [10] Though department policy now forbids attempts to influence EMS's treatment, at that time the Minneapolis Police Department lacked formal policy regarding the interactions between law enforcement officers and EMS.[11] These jurisdictional conflicts are no doubt complex, and this complexity creates confusion. The consequences of ketamine use are too dangerous to allow such confusion to continue.\nIn a July hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, you did not provide any statistics or information regarding the administration of ketamine in the course of arrests.[12] If the Justice Department does not possess any such information, we believe additional research is needed to help policymakers determine if the practice should be federally regulated or possibly prohibited. Furthermore, we need additional data about whether there are racial disparities in the use of ketamine or other sedatives during arrests. Given existing racial inequities in arrest rates, it seems likely that people of color are subjected to ketamine sedation at disproportionate rates.\nIn order to protect the health, safety, and civil rights of our constituents, policymakers need additional information about the scope of the practice of administering ketamine and other chemical restraints during arrest. We ask that you respond no later than January 4, 2021 to the following questions:\n Does the DOJ currently collect data on the use of ketamine and other sedatives during arrest or detention by law enforcement (even if administered by EMS, paramedics, or other medical personnel)? If so, please include this data in your response.\n\t\tIf yes, does the DOJ disaggregate that data by race, sex, age, or other demographic characteristics? If yes, please provide. If no, please explain why not.\n\t\t\n \n Has the DOJ ever developed or issued guidance regarding the use of ketamine, or other sedatives or chemical restraints, by law enforcement agencies during arrests? If so, please include.\n \n Has the DOJ ever developed or issued guidance to law enforcement agencies regarding coordinating with EMS, paramedics, and other medical personnel, about the use of ketamine or other sedatives in cases where an individual exhibits signs of excited delirium? If so, please include.\n\t\t\n\tHas the DOJ ever developed or issued guidance or advisory opinions regarding potential liability for civil rights violations resulting from the use of ketamine or other sedatives and chemical restraints during arrest or detention? If so, please include.\n \n Has the DOJ ever developed or issued guidance or advisory opinions regarding whether and when the use of ketamine or other sedatives or chemical restraints during an arrest or detention may be unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment? If so, please include.\n \n\t  \n\t\t[1] Solomon, Rae, and Michael de Yoanna. \"Medics in Colorado Dosed 902 People with Ketamine for \"excited Delirium\" in 2.5 Years, including Elijah McClain.\"The Colorado Sun, July 23, 2020. https://coloradosun.com/2020/07/23/ketamine-use-paramedics-elijah-mclain/..;\n\t\tVilke, Gary M., and J. Jason PayneJames. \"Excited Delirium Syndrome.\" Wiley Online Library. August 19, 2016. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118456026.ch6.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[2] \"Use of Ketamine for a Non-medical Purpose: Statement from the American Society of Anesthesiologists.\" Newswise. July 15, 2020. https://www.newswise.com/articles/use-of-ketamine-for-a-non-medical-purpose-statement-from-the-american-society-of-anesthesiologists.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[3] Sidner, Sara, and Julia Jones. \"Two Strangers, with the Same First Name, and a Terrifying Story about Ketamine in Policing.\"CNN, September 1, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/31/us/ketamine-use-in-police-stops/index.html.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[4] Mayo Clinic Staff. \"Hypoxemia (low Blood Oxygen).\" Mayo Clinic. December 01, 2018. https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/hypoxemia/basics/definition/sym-20050930.;\n\t\tSolomon and de Yoanna, Medics in Colorado.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[5]\"MPD Involvement in Pre-Hospital Sedation.\" City of Minneapolis. July 28, 2018. https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/File/1389/Office of Police Conduct Review (OPCR) Pre-Hosptial Sedation Study Final Report.pdf.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[6] Mannix, Andy. \"'It Was Hell:' Ketamine Shot Sends Minneapolis Man into Intensive Care, Renews Calls for Investigation.\" Star Tribune. August 04, 2020. https://www.startribune.com/ketamine-shot-sends-man-to-icu-renews-calls-for-probe/571997552/?refresh=true.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[7] \"National Emergency Medical Services Education Standards.\" EMS.gov. https://www.ems.gov/pdf/education/National-EMS-Education-Standards-and-Instructional-Guidelines/Paramedic_Instructional_Guidelines.pdf.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[8] Ordoobadi Sean M. Kivlehan, Alexander, and Sean Kivlehan. \"CE Article: Excited Delirium.\" EMS World. February 24, 2017. https://www.emsworld.com/216063/ce-article-excited-delirium.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[9] Sidner and Jones, Two Strangers.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[10] MPD Involvement in Pre-Hospital Sedation.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[11] Collins, Jon. Mpls. Police Change Policy after Report Says Cops Ordered EMS to Sedate Suspects.MPR News, MPR News, 15 June 2018, www.mprnews.org/story/2018/06/15/mpls-police-change-policy-after-report-says-cops-ordered-ems-sedate-suspects.\n\t\n\t\n\t\t[12] \"Attorney General William Barr Testifies on Justice Department Mission and Programs.\" CSPAN. July 28, 2020. Accessed November 30, 2020. https://www.c-span.org/video/?473384-1/attorney-general-barr-testifies-justice-department-mission-programs. At approximately 1:45:39.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://bass.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-bass-statement-abduction-nigerian-students", "Rep. Bass Statement on the Abduction of Nigerian Students", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Karen Bass", "B001270", "bass.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement regarding the abduction of over 300 students in northern Nigeria.\nI am deeply concerned about the recent abduction of more than 300 students in Katsina State in northern Nigeria. I urge the Government of Nigeria to investigate this matter, bring these attackers to justice, and for the attackers to release the boys and return them safely to their families.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://mikethompson.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/thompson-marks-eight-years-since-sandy-hook-elementary-shooting", "Thompson Marks Eight Years Since Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Mike Thompson", "T000460", "mikethompson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington  Today Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) released the following statement marking the eight-year anniversary since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.\nEight years ago, our nation watched as tragedy unfolded at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Twenty innocent children had their lives and futures cut short. Six incredible and dedicated educators were killed defending their students. Families were forever changed and an entire community faced unimaginable heartbreak that they still live with today. We have them all in our hearts today as we mark this tragic anniversary.\nIn their honor, today we also renew our fight to end gun violence and pass meaningful legislation to help prevent this from ever happening again. This should have been accomplished long ago, but we must continue our fight to pass my bipartisan background checks legislation to help keep communities safe from this kind of tragedy. When we say enough is enough, we must act to ensure it's truly the end of this violence.\n###\nCongressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means where he chairs the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures. Rep. Thompson is Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. He is also Co-Chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus and a member of the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Coalition.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-calling-on-va-secretary-wilkie-to-resign", "Pelosi Statement Calling on VA Secretary Wilkie to Resign", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement calling on Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie to resign after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General issued a report detailing the discrediting and cover-up by VA senior leadership of a case of sexual assault targeting a veteran and House staffer:\n\nThe VA Inspector General report makes clear that Secretary Wilkie engaged in an extremely disturbing cover-up campaign of sexual assault against a veteran. Secretary Wilkie has not only been derelict in his duty to combat sexual harassment, but has been complicit in the continuation of a VA culture that tolerates this epidemic. He has lost the trust and confidence to serve, and he must immediately resign.\n\nThis case and the misconduct that followed are part of a broader, well-documented crisis of violence against women who serve. It is a profound injustice that any patriot with the courage to defend our nation has had to experience having their voices silenced and their integrity questioned.\n\nLed by Chairman Mark Takano, House Democrats will continue to fight to end the scourge of sexual harassment and assault in all places. Proudly, this priority was reflected in the House passage of the Deborah Sampson Act last year, which mandates a VA-wide anti-harassment and anti-sexual assault policy. We will continue to build on this progress until every woman, every servicemember and every veteran can live free from the fear of assault or abuse.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-marking-eight-years-since-the-shooting-in-newtown", "Pelosi Statement Marking Eight Years Since the Shooting in Newtown", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement marking eight years since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut:\n\nEight years ago, the community of Newtown, Connecticut and our whole nation were confronted with unimaginable horror at the murder of 20 innocent children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Since that heartbreaking day, we continue to tell the stories of their beautiful lives and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to ending the epidemic of gun violence once and for all.\n\nToday, Republicans continue their years-long, shameful inaction and obstruction of commonsense gun violence prevention as our nation's young people live in fear. Inspired by the courage of young leaders and advocates and the voices of families and survivors across the country who have turned their grief into tireless action, House Democrats have taken bold steps to keep our children safe. Nearly two years ago, the Democratic House passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act, lifesaving bills to help end the scourge of gun violence in our schools and throughout our communities. While Senate Republicans refuse to lift a finger to end the bloodshed, House Democrats will work with the new Biden-Harris Administration to enact these and other critical bills and deliver the progress the American people demand.\n\nIn honor of those we lost at Sandy Hook and in cities and towns across the country, we will continue fighting until no family is ever forced to endure the pain and heartbreak of gun violence. Enough is enough.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-300000-american-coronavirus-deaths", "Pelosi Statement on 300,000 American Coronavirus Deaths", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement after the U.S. coronavirus death toll crossed 300,000:\n\nToday, our nation crossed an unthinkable milestone of grief: 300,000 Americans killed by the coronavirus, even more than were killed in combat in World War II. Our hearts are broken for all the families who have lost loved ones, and we are praying for them, all those who have been infected and those courageous essential workers putting themselves at risk of infection.\n\nWhile the authorization of a vaccine gives us hope, we must embrace the testing, tracing, treatment, mask wearing and social distancing to prevent more senseless death until the vaccine is available to all. Congress must come together and reach bipartisan agreement this week on coronavirus legislation to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people. We cannot go home without it.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-elector-to-electoral-college-meeting-in-sacramento", "Pelosi Statement on Elector to Electoral College Meeting in Sacramento", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on her appointment of Mattie Scott to cast her vote in the Electoral College in Sacramento for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris:\n\nIt is with great pride that I appointed Mattie Scott to cast our district's vote in the Electoral College for President-elect Joe Biden. Twenty-four years ago, Mattie Scott turned her grief at her son's murder into a decades-long fight to confront the tragedy of gun violence and to end all forms of violence in San Francisco and across the nation.\n\nAs the founder of Healing 4 Our Families and Our Nation and California President for Brady United Against Gun Violence, Mattie is a powerful force for progress, harnessing her courage and determined spirit to empower families and heal our communities. Thanks to her strong moral leadership, Mattie has helped move the conversation around gun violence into the forefront of our national dialogue, building coalitions of survivors, families and young people to raise their voices and ensure that elected officials are fighting against the devastating toll that the gun violence epidemic is inflicting on California communities and families throughout the country.\n\nEvery day, Mattie is working to protect our children and build a brighter, more just and equal future for all. Our city is fortunate to have her as a representative in the Electoral College.\n\n# # #\n\nBackground:\n\nAs the founder and Executive Director of Healing 4 Our Families & Our Nation (H4OF&ON), Mattie is a 23-year veteran in the fields of violence prevention, gun violence survivorship, and activism. She is also San Francisco Chapter Leader of Mothers-in-Charge and San Francisco Brady California State President.\n\nA mother who has dedicated her life to violence prevention, intervention, and educational awareness, Mattie is on a nationwide mission to address the root causes of senseless gun violence and violence period. Mattie's faith carried her through the tragic shooting death of her youngest son, George C. Scott, who was shot and killed on July 17, 1996 at the age of 24 while attending a graduation party in his San Francisco neighborhood. George's sons, Gabriel and Kyron, were ages 2 and 5 at the time of their father's demise. The day after George's shooting was Gabriel's sixth birthday. Mattie had to call her grandson who was waiting on his father's call to tell him the sad news and the scream she heard over the phone is what wakes her up every day to do the work to help others. Mattie also lost a nephew, Timothy Scott, 23, to gun violence in 2007 and a niece, Kiesha Walker, 24, to suicide stemming from bullying on social media.\n\nMattie's work includes outreach with the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, No More Tears San Quentin Prison, youth, families, California and faith-based communities. She also actively partners with local, state, and national elected officials as an agent for change. Mattie has served on a number of boards, including the San Francisco Chief of Police African American Police Advisory Board, the Westside Community Services Advisory Board, and is Board President of Freedom West Housing Corporation.\n\nUnder state law, California's 53 Democratic Congressional nominees and two U.S. Senators each appoint one Democrat to cast their vote for the Electoral College, while the Republicans have a different system. Whichever candidate wins a state determines which appointees (Democrats or Republicans) actually become members of the Electoral College. Because President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris won California in the presidential election, Mattie Scott and the other Democratic appointees will be members of the Electoral College, which meets on Monday, December 14, 2020, in state Capitols throughout the nation.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-the-fifth-anniversary-of-the-paris-climate-agreement", "Pelosi Statement on the Fifth Anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement marking the fifth anniversary of the historic Paris Climate Agreement:\n\nFive years ago, in a monumental moment in history, the nations of the world committed to working together to confront the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Shamefully, the Trump Administration spent four years systematically undermining this historic agreement, abandoning American leadership and refusing to acknowledge the science or lift a finger to combat this growing threat.\n\nDespite these challenges, House Democrats have stood with the American people in reaffirming our commitment to building a just, equitable and green future for all. Over the past two years, our Majority has taken decisive action by passing H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, to keep America in the Paris Agreement. We passed H.R. 2, our Moving Forward infrastructure bill, and H.R. 4447, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, strong down-payments in a clean energy future that helps solve the climate crisis. And our Select Committee on the Climate Crisis issued Solving the Climate Crisis, the most detailed, sweeping climate action plan in American history focused on immediate action, long-term results and promoting environmental justice for the most vulnerable communities.\n\nAs we mark this anniversary and look toward the future, House Democrats will work with the Biden-Harris Administration to deliver the urgently needed climate action that the American people demand. As the climate crisis continues to jeopardize our public health and our economic and national security, there is no time to waste. We will never back down from our moral responsibility to safeguard the beauty of God's creation for generations to come. \n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://panetta.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-panetta-releases-statement-katherine-tai-s-nomination-serve-us", "Congressman Panetta Releases Statement on Katherine Tais Nomination to Serve as U.S. Trade Representative", "2020-12-13", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Jimmy Panetta", "P000613", "panetta.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) released the following statement following Katherine Tai's nomination to serve as U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) under the Biden-Harris Administration:\nI congratulate Katherine Tai on her well-deserved nomination to serve as U.S. Trade Representative and commend the President-elect for his excellent choice.\nAs a member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, I have had the pleasure of seeing Katherine's incredible acumen for trade policy at work. During USMCA negotiations, I was continually impressed by her ability to work with members of Congress across the political landscape, labor and environmental stakeholders, agricultural producers, and the business community. Her skill and unmatched work ethic helped get this landmark agreement over the finish line and into effect. And as a former leader in the office of the USTR's China enforcement efforts, Katherine is well-suited to rise to the competitive challenge China presents.\nWith Katherine Tai and President-elect Biden's leadership, we will be able to deliver a smarter, more effective approach to trade. I look forward to my continued work with Katherine to advance the values of our agriculture communities and the people of the Central Coast.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://khanna.house.gov/media/in-the-news/ro-khanna-right-too-much-stake-democrats-go-home-christmas", "Ro Khanna is right. Too much is at stake for Democrats to go home for Christmas.", "2020-12-12", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Ro Khanna", "K000389", "khanna.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Government is supposed to help people in need, not abandon them to their fates. But that's not what's happening here in the increasingly Dickensian United States, where bothhungerand theshopliftingof basic necessities are on the rise, and the unemployed live inincreasing despair.\nIt's unconscionable what's taking place, says Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).\nI reached out to Khanna this week because this past October, he openly begged his party to accept a$1.8 billion stimulus dealnegotiated with the White House. Instead, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) deemed it insufficient, appearing convinced she would have a better hand to negotiate with after the election.\nFast forward to this week, when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)put the kiboshon a $908 billion-plus bipartisan proposal after the Democratic leadership would not give up on (desperately needed) aid to state and local governments. No doubt the bipartisan plan debuted Thursday bySens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)to give all Americans earning less than $75,000 another round of $1,200 stimulus payments will meet the same fate.\nThe situation will turn catastrophic if not soon addressed. Temporary actions such as eviction moratoriums and unemployment for gig workers were enacted last spring and are set to expire by the end of the year. At the same time, others are on the verge of running out of their 26 weeks of traditional jobless benefitsand13 weeks of pandemic aid.\nThere is nothing that symbolizes the failed state of U.S. politics better than the inability of Congress to get further financial help to increasingly desperate Americans. Even asweekly jobless claimsare on the rise and states are once again imposing business and movement restrictions to stop the spread of covid-19, Congress appears incapable of coming up with a plan everyone can sign off on.\nIf there is no deal, says Khanna, We do permanent damage to the economy and businesses going out of business. We do permanent damage to people's lives who may be evicted, who may not be able to put nutritious food on the table for their kids, people who are going to face great agony and hardship.\nMake no mistake. Americans want action. According to a poll released Thursday byVox and the progressive think tank Data for Progress, large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans want to see further economic aid, and they want to see it by the end of the year. At the same time, few Americans of either party have any interest in a corporate liability waiver for covid-19, something that's a top priority for McConnell. But here's the rub. A plurality blamesDemocratsfor the impasse. Thirty-eight percent say Democrats are responsible, while 31 percent say Republicans and 26 percent think both parties are at fault.\nThis is simply not true. Let me remind you: McConnelllaughedwhen, prior to the election, he was confronted by challenger Amy McGrath over his inaction on the stimulus. Let me repeat that:He laughed. But none of this seems well known. That clip, alas, wasn't widely viewed. Instead, Democrats, by squashing the $1.8 billion deal before McConnell would either need to stop it or allow it to move forward to a vote, got stuck with the blame. (A nasty and well-publicized exchange betweenPelosi and Wolf Blitzeron CNN over the issue probably didn't help matters.)\nThere isn't, as Khanna put it to me, a clear sense of political blame. This isn't fair, but it's the reality Democrats need to face. The Republican leadership appears hyper-focused on leaving as bad an economy as possible for the incoming Biden administration. It's an echo of their 2009 actions, when they refused to support adequate economic stimulus and reaped the electoral benefit when angry Americans turned on Democrats as the recovery from the Great Recession lingered in the slow lane.\nDemocrats can't let this repeat succeed. But at this point, the only way to prevent it will be to step up and show the American people how hard Democrats are working to get them help. They cannot just hope people assume it's happening.\nIt's our moral duty to get something done  if we don't, we should all probably be sleeping in our offices on Christmas Day and working on it. We shouldn't leave until we get something done, Khanna said.\nHe's right.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://ruiz.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/vista-mom-says-students-left-behind-without-internet-access", "Vista Mom Says Students Left Behind Without Internet Access", "2020-12-12", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Raul Ruiz", "R000599", "ruiz.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Students across California are learning from home as coronavirus cases rise again, butRep. Raul Ruizsaid there's one aspect about remote learning that he feels the federal government is overlooking: high-speed internet.\nStudents are getting marked absent across the nation if they miss parts of class due to their poor broadband or the lack of internet access.\nSusi Torrico, a Vista mother of two boys who are virtual learning, explained that she tries to help with school work and resolve internet issues as much as possible but can't always be around since she works at an elementary school as a community liaison. Torrico is the person families come to for help  anything from food insecurities to technology issues. She said their woes resonate with her.\n\"Lots of empathy for families and a little more understanding for what they feel because I'm going through the same thing,\" she said.\nTorrico, whose 14-year-old son has autism, added that virtual learning can lead to many frustrations. Sometimes their internet shuts off, or they may have bad reception, which sometimes leads to missing entire lessons.\n\"You know it's very difficult, very difficult with all of this,\" she said.\nTorrico said she feels as if schools expect all homes to have high-speed internet.\n\"The school that I work at, it's a low-income school, and families are in shared housing,\" Torrico said. \"And there are sometimes two or three families in an apartment, and so they're each in their own room with their whole family, and I just think about how they struggle. If I struggle at home, I can only imagine how other families are struggling.\"\nNow she's commending a Southern California representative for his effort to close the digital divide.Congressman Raul Ruiz, D-Coachella, is calling on the FCC to expand the E-rate program to provide broadband internet access to all students outside the classroom. The program currently helps schools and libraries obtain internet access.\n\"They're being asked to learn, study, compete from home when their internet breaks or is too slow, or they simply don't have it,\"Ruizsaid. \"So we're asking the FCC to change the criteria of eligibility of the E-rate funds to consider the at-home access as part of a classroom.\"\nTorrico explained that with an FCC E-rate program expansion, schools might be able to purchase portable Wi-Fi devices or hire more information technology, or IT, personnel to help students.Ruizjoined a handful of other lawmakers to write a letter to the FCC about expanding the E-rate program and has yet to hear back.\nThe FCC has a different plan called Lifeline, which allows low-income families to purchase telephones or broadband internet at a discounted rate. ButRuizsaid that plan wasn't created specifically for remote learning. He hopes that with the expansion of the E-rate program, the cost of any new equipment amid the pandemic will fall on the FCC and the schools to make those purchases for families  at least temporarily.\nThe latest HEROES Act included language to authorize the FCC to provide funding to school districts to assist with internet access. Currently, Congress and the White House are still going over negotiations for a new COVID-19 relief plan.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=34421E27-EF01-4E1F-AFA3-B566A7D62B4B", "Senate Passes Feinstein, Cornyn Resolution Marking National Impaired Driving Prevention Month", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonThe Senate last night passed a resolution introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) marking December as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month to help raise awareness about alcohol- and drug-impaired driving in the United States.\r\n This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 0.08% blood alcohol concentration law, which I helped enact said Senator Feinstein. While this law has helped reduce alcohol-impaired driving, nearly 30 Americans still die every day from drunk driving. Drug-impaired driving, which rose by 8 percent from 2018 to 2019, is also a growing danger on our roadways. We must do more to support research on drug-impaired driving and promote the development of new technologies, including testing systems, to prevent and detect it.\r\n The resolution is endorsed by the following groups: We Save Lives, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, National Association of Drug Court Professionals, Governors Highway Safety Association, Students Against Drunk Driving, Coalition for Ignition Interlock Manufacturers, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, National Safety Council, Intoxalock, Alcohol Detection Systems and National District Attorneys Association.\r\n The full text of the resolution follows:\r\nDesignating December 2020 as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month''.\r\nWhereas, in 2018, the most recent data available, the United States recorded 10,511 deaths from drunk driving, of whom 231 were children aged 14 and under;\r\nWhereas, in 2018, 29 percent of all fatal motor vehicle crashes involved alcohol-impaired driving;\r\nWhereas, between December 16, 2020, and January 1, 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and partnering State and local law enforcement agencies will engage in high visibility mobilization to prevent impaired driving;\r\nWhereas, in 2018, 42 percent of all impaired driving cases evaluated by drug recognition experts found multi-substance impairment, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police;\r\nWhereas, in 2019, nearly 20,000,000 people aged 16 and older in the United States drove under the influence of alcohol;\r\nWhereas, in 2019, nearly 13,700,000 people aged 16 and older in the United States drove under the influence of cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, methamphetamine, or marijuana, which is an 8 percent increase compared to 2018;\r\nWhereas the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that new technologies that prevent alcohol-impaired drivers from operating vehicles can save 9,000 lives per year and that driver assistance systems, which help prevent human errors on the road, can potentially reduce the number of crashes and their severity;\r\nWhereas, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the use of ignition interlock devices prevented more than 3,000,000 attempts of alcohol-impaired driving between 2006 and 2018; and\r\nWhereas the National Transportation Safety Board included ending alcohol and other drug-impaired driving on its Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements for 20192020: Now, therefore, be it\r\nResolved, That the Senate\r\n(1) commends the efforts of law enforcement agencies and officers to enforce impaired driving laws;\r\n(2) supports national and State high visibility enforcement campaigns, such as Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over;\r\n(3) recognizes the need for greater research on how drugs affect and, in some cases, impair an individual's ability to operate a motor vehicle;\r\n(4) recognizes that technological solutions have the potential to save thousands of lives each year;\r\n(5) supports programs to better collect data on impaired driving, including data on illicit drug use by drivers;\r\n(6) supports programs to train law enforcement officials on detecting and stopping impaired driving; and\r\n(7) designates December 2020 as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=9FFE8C9C-7550-4A1F-8792-40716BE534BA", "Feinstein, Merkley, Western Senators Push Senate Leadership To Provide Housing Assistance To Communities Impacted by 2020 Wildfires", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined Senators Jeff Merkley, (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) to push Senate leaders to deliver critical housing assistance to Americans struggling to find reliable shelter in the wake of catastrophic wildfire damage in western states. This year alone, fires in the west burned more than 5.8 million acres, claimed more than 30 lives and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.\r\nThe current wildfires will further exacerbate an already critical affordable housing shortage impacting western states. Oregon, California, and Washington are short over 1.2 million affordable rental housing units, and have an average of 75% of extremely low income renter households dealing with severe cost burden, the senators wrote to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (D-Ala.) and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).\r\nState resources and funding were already seriously strained by the COVID-19 pandemic, and are now completely depleted by weeks of fighting some of the most dangerous and widespread fires on record. With nowhere else to turn, western states are looking to the Senate to deliver critical housing relief, the lawmakers continued.\r\nThe senators' request includes $15 billion for Community Development Block Grants, $3 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund, $2 billion in Emergency Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Funding and $1 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development and Rural Housing Service. The letter also included specific program guidance to ensure the funds would put much-needed housing assistance funding in the hands of people significantly impacted by fire; help incentivize and prioritize affordable housing rebuilding; ramp up lending capacity in fire impacted states; and help repair and rebuild housing, community facilities, and infrastructure projects.\r\nThe letter is available here and below.\r\nDear Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer, Chairman Shelby, and Vice Chairman Leahy,\r\nWe write to request that the Senate immediately consider and pass urgent federal housing assistance for residents of Oregon, Washington, and California impacted by historically destructive and dangerous wildfires. While FEMA has delivered substantial emergency relief to our home states, the scale of natural disasters in western states demands additional resources that can only be delivered through disaster supplemental legislation.\r\nSince August dozens of large fires in Oregon, Washington, and California have burned over 5 million acres, displacing tens of thousands of people and resulting in dozens of fatalities. Air travel was temporarily suspended in several locations due to poor visibility, schools were forced to close, and many of our constituents have been forced to stay indoors due to extremely hazardous air quality conditions. Many of these homes and business are uninsured, leaving these victims even more vulnerable in the recovery process.\r\nThe current wildfires will further exacerbate an already critical affordable housing shortage impacting western states. Oregon, California, and Washington are short over 1.2 million affordable rental housing units, and have an average of 75% of extremely low income renter households dealing with severe cost burden.\r\nState resources and funding were already seriously strained by the COVID-19 pandemic, and are now completely depleted by weeks of fighting some of the most dangerous and widespread fires on record. With nowhere else to turn, western states are looking to the Senate to deliver critical housing relief. We strongly encourage you to consider including the following specific funding levels and programs as you work to negotiate an appropriate disaster supplemental response package in the near future.\r\n \r\n$15 billion for Community Development Block Grant  Disaster Recovery\r\nTo ensure that funds reach victims quickly, HUD should use the same process by which CDBG  COVID Relief (CDBG-CV) funds were recently allocated and disbursed.\r\nCDBG grantees should be allowed to immediately use CDBG-CV funds to assist people significantly impacted by fire.\r\nCurrent CDBG grantees should be allowed to pledge CDBG and CDBG-DR estimated allocations as collateral for funding through HUD's Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program, and borrow up to 10 times their estimated annual allocation.\r\nCDBG-DR funds should be able to pay of land acquisition loans executed as a direct result of fire recovery efforts.\r\n\r\n  \r\n$3 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund\r\n$3 billion for wildfire impacted states will help incentive and prioritize affordable housing rebuilding, including private owners of manufactured housing parks who might otherwise sell to an investor to build luxury housing.\r\n\r\n  \r\n$2 billion Emergency Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Funding\r\nCDFI funding can quickly ramp up lending capacity in fire impacted states through the preexisting CDFI lending network.\r\n\r\n  \r\n$1 billion for USDA Rural Development and Rural Housing Service\r\nFunds should be directed towards repairing and rebuilding housing, community facilities, and infrastructure projects.\r\nExpand USDA's Section 502 Manufactured Housing Loan Pilot program to any fire impacted state, and modify lending rules to cover new manufactured homes on land owned by nonprofits and housing authorities.\r\n\r\n \r\nWe thank you for your consideration, and look forward to working with you on this matter of importance to our states.\r\nSincerely,\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A53B03D2-4526-4A5F-99B2-C465944E6C5B", "Feinstein Statement on Trump Administrations Federal Executions", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on federal executions in the waning days of the Trump administration:\r\nThe rush by the Trump administration and the Barr Justice Department to execute as many federal inmates as possible before President-elect Biden takes office is sickening and immoral.\r\nThursday night saw the ninth federal execution this year and the first during a presidential transition in 130 years. More federal executions have been carried out in 2020 than the past 56 years combined.\r\nNo one should approve of this rush to end life. I supported the death penalty in the past, but I changed my position several years ago for a number of reasons.\r\nFirst, numerous studies point to the racial disparity in death sentences. The inequity is simply too high for a justice system that seeks impartiality.\r\nSecond, many studies show the death penalty is no deterrent to committing crimes, which is often used as a justification for the death penalty.\r\nThird, public support for the death penalty has plummeted. In the mid-90s, public support reached 80 percent; today it's just over 50 percent, the lowest in nearly 50 years.\r\nMore than 20 states ban the death penalty and more than 160 death row inmates have been exonerated over the last five decades. With so much uncertainty, the government should not be allowed to take a life. Period.\r\nI'm hopeful the Biden administration will reinstate the moratorium on executions that President Trump ended in July 2019. Unfortunately that will be too late for the four people scheduled to be executed before Joe Biden takes office.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.feinstein.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=E83E041A-86C2-449C-B26B-4967332CEC1C", "Feinstein Priorities Included in Annual Defense Authorization Bill", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Dianne Feinstein", "F000062", "www.feinstein.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WashingtonSenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on the inclusion of critical California priorities in the annual National Defense Authorization Act:\r\n     California's priorities are well-represented in this year's annual defense authorization bill. I'm pleased my bill to investigate whether military aviators and aviation support personnel are at higher risk of cancer than the general population was included in the final bill.\r\n      We were also able to include my bills to help prevent tragedies like the Conception boat fire and to facilitate the long overdue transfer of ownership for the Mare Island Naval Cemetery that will restore it in order to properly honor the veterans buried there.\r\n      Supporting our military is vital to national security and I'm pleased that this bill once again passed with a bipartisan, veto-proof majority. It's a testament to how we can still work across the aisle on issues important to California and to the nation.\r\nAviation cancer clusters\r\n Feinstein's Military Aviators Cancer Incidence Study Act was included in the National Defense Authorization Act. The provision directs the military to conduct a study comparing cancer prevalence among military aviators and aviation support personnel to that of the general population.\r\n     Our service members sacrifice enough without having to worry about an elevated risk of cancer for carrying out their duties. This bill's passage means cancer clusters in airmen and air support personnel will be investigated and any potential source for elevated cancer risk identified so we can get to the bottom of this issue.\r\n Feinstein introduced the Military Aviators Cancer Incidence Study Act earlier this year after reporting by McClatchy suggested that military aviators may be at higher risk of developing certain cancers.\r\nBoat safety following Conception fire\r\n The NDAA also includes Feinstein's Small Passenger Vessel Safety Act, a bill that establishes new safety measures for small passenger vessels in the aftermath of the Conception boat fire in waters off California's Santa Cruz Island earlier this year. Representatives Salud Carbajal and Julia Brownley (both D-Calif.) introduced the companion bill in the House.\r\n I'd like to thank Representatives Carbajal and Brownley for their help getting this bill passed and sent to the president's desk. The Conception boat tragedy was a wake-up call to modernize marine safety regulations. It's my hope that our bill will help prevent deadly boat fires in the future.\r\nKey reforms in the bill:\r\n \r\nRequires boats like the Conception to have no less than two means of escape to different parts of the vessel.\r\n \r\n \r\nMandates safety standards for the handling and storage of phones, cameras and other electronic devices with lithium ion batteries.\r\n \r\n \r\nEstablishes stricter standards for interconnected fire alarm systems.\r\n \r\nMare Island Naval Cemetery\r\n Feinstein-authored legislation was included in the NDAA to restore the historic Mare Island Naval Cemetery, the oldest military cemetery on the West Coast. The legislation would transfer control of the cemetery, which has fallen into disrepair, from the City of Vallejo to the Department of Veterans Affairs to faciliate much-needed repairs and provide ongoing maintaince. Representative Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) introduced the House companion.\r\nAdditional Provisions:\r\n \r\nBig Bear land exchange: The bill includes an amendment introduced by Feinstein in the Senate that authorizes an equitable exchange of 73 acres of federal land in the San Bernardino National Forest for 71 acres owned by San Bernardino County to build a timber and resource recycling facility. Representatives Paul Cook (R-Calif.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) introduced the amendment in the House.\r\n \r\n \r\nModoc land transfer: The bill requires the Air Force to transfer unused land in the Modoc National Forest to Modoc County for clean energy development, which would create jobs in the area. The Air Force and Forest Service support the transfer. Feinstein originally introduced an amendment in the Senate to require the transfer and Representative Doug LaMalfa (D-Calif.) introduced the amendment in the House.\r\n \r\n \r\nDefense Media Activity: The bill requires the Defense Department to submit a report on consolidation within the Defense Media Activity program as it transitions from satellite technology to internet streaming. This transition could jeopardize 300 jobs at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif. The amendment was introduced in the House by Representative Mark Takano (D-Calif.).\r\n \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barragan.house.gov/dept-of-public-health-vaccine-job-positions/", "Dept of Public Health Vaccine Job Positions", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nanette Barrag\u00e1n", "B001300", "barragan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "JOB OPENINGS IN THE AREA\n\nUPDATED 12/11/2020\n\nThe Department of Public Health is contracting to fill some new temporary positions working on the COVID Vaccine. There is a wide variety of positions available including training positions, call center positions, admin aid, etc.\n\nEl Departamento de Salud P\u00fablica est\u00e1 contratando a personas para llenar nuevos puestos trabajando con la vacuna de COVID-19, y una gran variedad de puestos est\u00e1n disponibles.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://desaulnier.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-desaulnier-announces-house-passage-private-bill-isabel-bueso", "Congressman DeSaulnier Announces House Passage of Private Bill for Isabel Bueso", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Mark DeSaulnier", "D000623", "desaulnier.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  Today, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill he authored to allow Isabel Bueso and her family to remain in the United States so Isabel can continue to receive treatment for her rare, life-threatening disease (H.R. 4225). The bill must be considered by the U.S. Senate by the end of the year to be signed into law.\nI have been honored to lead Isabel's fight in Congress and am delighted the House has passed this much-needed bill. For over a decade, Isabel and her family lived free of the fear of being deported, which rightfully gave them the space to focus on Isabel's health and the family's wellbeing. After having that security taken away from them by the Administration, my bill would give Isabel and her family permanent peace of mind and allow Isabel to stay in the United States to continue to receive life-saving treatment as long as she needs, said Congressman DeSaulnier.\nI am grateful the House passed our bill that will allow me and my family to stay in this country permanently and continue with my medical care. I look forward to the Senate vote, said Isabel Bueso.\nI urge the Senate to act swiftly to alleviate the Bueso family's uncertainty by the end of the year. If they do not, we will renew our fight in the new Congress and will not stop until they have the permanent solution they deserve, continued Congressman DeSaulnier.\nIsabel rose to national prominence when the Trump Administration cancelled medical deferred action, which led to people like her with rare, life-threatening diseases facing deportation. Isabel came to the United States legally from Guatemala in 2003 to receive life-saving treatment as part of a medical trial for Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome, also known as Mucopolysaccharidosis Type VI. Since then, she and her family have resided lawfully in the East Bay and her participation in those trials has helped identify an effective, life-saving treatment, which the drug manufacturer says Isabel cannot receive in Guatemala.\nIsabel is a summa cum laude graduate from Cal State East Bay and an advocate for patients with rare diseases. Before her treatment was discovered, Isabel was only expected to live to 7 years old. She is now 25.\n#", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://kevinmccarthy.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccarthy-california-oil-and-gas-lease-sale-is-encouraging", "McCarthy: California Oil and Gas Lease Sale is Encouraging", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "CA", "Kevin McCarthy", "M001165", "kevinmccarthy.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Congressman Kevin McCarthy released the following statement commending the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Bakersfield Field Office on successfully conducting an oil and natural gaslease saleyesterday in Kern County for the first time in eight years. This lease sale comes after the BLM addressed multiple protests over the years and is consistent with a court-approved settlement agreement between the BLM and various environmental groups.In addition, any development projects on leased lands will still have to pass a rigorous environmental review, under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.\nMcCarthy released the following statement:\nAfter years of addressing protests, I want to commend President Trump and the BLM Bakersfield Field Office on successfully conducting an oil and natural gas lease sale.This sale is expected to create new jobs in Kern County, stimulate our local economy, generate new royalty-based revenue for the federal government andtheState of California, and help us to ensure that all Americans have access to reliable and affordabledomestically-produced energy.As environmental groups and Sacramento Democrats continue to wage a war on the oil and natural gas industry in Californiaone of the top oil-producing regions in the nationit is encouraging to know that economic growth is still possible thanks to the Trump Administration's all-of-the-above energy policies.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-bipartisan-bicameral-surprise-billing-agreement", "Pelosi Statement on Bipartisan, Bicameral Surprise Billing Agreement", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "pelosi.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Speaker's Press Office,\n202-226-7616\n\nWashington, D.C.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement on the bipartisan, bicameral agreement on legislation to end surprise billing:\n\nThe bipartisan, bicameral agreement announced tonight will finally protect patients from surprise bills in both emergency and scheduled care. And with the patient taken out of the middle, the legislation creates a fair process for health care providers and health plans to sort out the out-of-network costs between themselves.\n\nThe surprise billing of patients for unexpected out-of-network care is deeply unfair and financially devastating to families. It must be stopped.\n\nI especially congratulate Chairman Frank Pallone of the Energy & Commerce Committee, Chairman Bobby Scott of the Education & Labor Committee, and Chairman Richie Neal of the Ways & Means Committee as well as Senator Alexander, Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, for their leadership and dedication in reaching this bipartisan agreement. The House will push for this critical legislation to end surprise billing to be passed as part of the end-of-year package.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "truncated": false, "filtered_table_rows_count": 686, "expanded_columns": [], "expandable_columns": [], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "units": {}, "query": {"sql": "select url, title, date, year, month, party, chamber, state, member_name, bioguide_id, domain, scraper, source, date_source, text, has_text, collected_at, updated_at from releases where \"chamber\" = :p0 and \"state\" = :p1 and \"year\" = :p2 order by date desc limit 101", "params": {"p0": "Senate", "p1": "CA", "p2": "2020"}}, "facet_results": {"party": {"name": "party", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?chamber=Senate&state=CA&year=2020", "results": [{"value": "Democrat", "label": "Democrat", "count": 614, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?chamber=Senate&state=CA&year=2020&party=Democrat", "selected": false}, {"value": "Republican", "label": "Republican", "count": 72, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?chamber=Senate&state=CA&year=2020&party=Republican", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "chamber": {"name": "chamber", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?chamber=Senate&state=CA&year=2020", "results": [{"value": "Senate", "label": "Senate", "count": 686, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=CA&year=2020", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "state": {"name": "state", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?chamber=Senate&state=CA&year=2020", "results": [{"value": "CA", "label": "CA", "count": 686, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?chamber=Senate&year=2020", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "year": {"name": "year", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?chamber=Senate&state=CA&year=2020", "results": [{"value": "2020", "label": "2020", "count": 686, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?chamber=Senate&state=CA", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}}, "suggested_facets": [], "next": "2020-12-11,https~3A~2F~2Fpelosi~2Ehouse~2Egov~2Fnews~2Fpress-releases~2Fpelosi-statement-on-bipartisan-bicameral-surprise-billing-agreement", "next_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?chamber=Senate&state=CA&year=2020&_next=2020-12-11%2Chttps~3A~2F~2Fpelosi~2Ehouse~2Egov~2Fnews~2Fpress-releases~2Fpelosi-statement-on-bipartisan-bicameral-surprise-billing-agreement&_sort_desc=date", "private": false, "allow_execute_sql": true, "query_ms": 789.2473763786256, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}