{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://bera.house.gov//media-center/amis-updates/email-update-end-of-year-report", "Email Update: End of year report", "2014-12-23", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Ami Bera", "B001287", "bera.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "I sent an email update on Tuesday with an end-of-year report on my first term serving you. Join my updates now so you don't miss any in the future!\n  \u00a0 With 2014 coming to a close soon, this is a natural time for reflection.\u00a0 For me, this new year will mark the end of my first two-year term serving you in Congress, and the start of a new term. I\u2019m so grateful for the privilege of continuing to represent you. Over the past two\u00a0years, we\u2019ve all unfortunately seen far too much partisan gridlock and finger pointing in Washington. While it's been difficult, we\u2019ve also made progress. My office has fought to create jobs, to lower our debt, to honor the promises we've made to our seniors, and to help local families fix problems they\u2019re having with the federal government. So as we come together to enjoy the holidays, here's an end-of-year report on some of the major ways I\u2019ve been fighting for you. Please scroll down below to learn more. Please also feel free to forward this report to anyone you know, so they can learn about how I\u2019m serving them too. Happy holidays! Fighting for you in Washington  \n\t\u00a0\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\nEven with the dysfunction in Washington, we've made progress in important areas like holding Congress accountable, caring for our veterans, keeping families safe from domestic violence and sexual assault, and more. Here are some examples:\n\u2022 Passing No Budget, No Pay:\u00a0If Members of Congress don\u2019t do their jobs and pass a responsible budget, then they shouldn't get paid. That\u2019s why I became a lead sponsor of the No Budget, No Pay Act shortly after becoming your representative, and helped lead the effort to make it law for 2013.\u00a0I\u2019m now fighting to pass a stronger and more permanent version. \u2022 Passing the first bipartisan budget in years:\u00a0I was also proud to vote for the first bipartisan budget to pass Congress in several years.\u00a0This budget will help reduce our deficit by $23 billion.\n\t\t\u2022 Passing the Violence Against Women Act:\u00a0One of my first acts was to vote for the bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which is now law. This law provides medical professionals and police tools to prevent violence and keep families safe from domestic violence and sexual assault. \u2022 Passing the 21st Century Health Care for Heroes Act:\u00a0I was honored to co-author this bipartisan bill, which is now the law of the land and will help streamline electronic health records for veterans and service members. This will save money, make the transition to civilian life easier for vets, and help address the VA backlog. \u2022 Leading and growing the bipartisan Problem Solvers caucus:\u00a0The Problem Solvers is the only large-scale organized forum in Washington where both Republicans and Democrats work together to move our country forward. As a leader of the Problem Solvers,\u00a0I\u2019ve helped grow our new coalition from 40 to more than 90 Members of Congress in both parties.\n\t\t\u2022 Helped Reverse Medicare Advantage Cuts:\u00a0Earlier this year, the Administration proposed cuts to the Medicare Advantage program, and I worked in a bipartisan coalition to stop these cuts to protect seniors.\u00a0I\u2019m happy to report that our effort was successful.\n\t\t\u2022 Established the bipartisan California Public Higher Education Caucus:\u00a0Earlier this year,\u00a0Congressman Jeff Denham and I founded the bipartisan California Public Higher Education Caucus. Together, we\u2019re advocating for the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) schools and their students in Congress to ensure the quality, affordability, and accessibility of California\u2019s universities. \u2022 Introduced Women's Preventive Health Awareness Campaign Act:\u00a0One of the first bills\u00a0I introduced was the Women\u2019s Preventive Health Campaign Awareness Act. My bill would launch a national public outreach campaign to ensure women have clear information about the preventive services they need to remain healthy. This will help save lives and lower health costs by finding and treating health problems early.\n\t\t\u2022 Introduced Doctors Helping Heroes Act:\u00a0I introduced the bipartisan Doctors Helping Heroes Act\u00a0to address a serious shortage of doctors at VA hospitals across the country. This will help address one of the primary reasons why some veterans have waited far too long for their health care. \u2022 Introduced Small Business and Family Relief Act:\u00a0I introduced this bipartisan bill to make health care more affordable for working families, small businesses, and seniors.\u00a0It helps roll back a new health insurance tax that is part of the Affordable Care Act, which is expected to cost the typical family an additional $660 this year and in 2015 alone.\u00a0 Delivering for Sacramento County\u00a0\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\nDespite the dysfunction in Washington, I've managed to get some important work done for our local economy. More than 20,000 jobs have been created in Sacramento County since 2012, but our work is far from over. That\u2019s why I won\u2019t take a congressional pay raise until our County\u2019s unemployment rate is below 5 percent.\n\u2022 Secured funding to upgrade the Folsom Dam:\u00a0I voted for a bill to fund improvements at the Folsom Dam, which is now law. These upgrades, which are now underway, will help Folsom Lake store more water to help with our drought and provide better flood protection in wetter years. The first of several new large gates was installed earlier this year, and I was proud to help celebrate this critical milestone in the project\u2019s construction.\n\t\t\u2022 Advocated for a major Federal contract for Siemens: The Rail Systems Division of Siemens, which is located in Florin, recently won a major contract with the Department of Transportation to build dozens of new high-performance locomotives.\u00a0I was proud to help advocate for this project with the Transportation Department, which is a huge win for Sacramento County.\n\t\t\u2022 Helped Jobless Residents and Small Businesses:\u00a0Earlier this year,\u00a0my office hosted two job fairs\u00a0in conjunction with Assemblyman Ken Cooley that assisted several hundred local residents who were looking for work.\u00a0We\u2019ve also held several workshops for local small businesses\u00a0to connect them with resources they can use to grow and hire.\n\u2022 Secured Small Business Aid Funding:\u00a0I advocated for new federal funds that will help Sacramento County small businesses pursue federal government contracts. The federal government procures numerous contracts with private businesses every year for a wide range of goods and services \u2013 everything from food, to printer ink, to jet engines. This is a great example of how we can work together to make government work for small businesses.\n\t\t\u2022 Brought the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to Sacramento County:\u00a0Earlier this year,\u00a0I was pleased to welcome Maria Contreras-Sweet, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to Sacramento County. It was a good opportunity to make sure that local small businesses in our area get the resources and services they need.\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\u2022 Voted to Keep Taxes low: Earlier this month,\u00a0I voted for the bipartisan Tax Increase Prevention Act\u00a0so families & businesses can rely on tax relief next year. This bill is now law, and will help grow our economy by supporting research and development, clean energy, homeowners, and more. \u2022 Strengthened the U.S. \u2013 India Trade Relationship:\u00a0The U.S. \u2013 India trade relationship is critical for growing the American economy here at home. That\u2019s why I've worked to strengthen our relationship and\u00a0helped facilitate an agreement\u00a0between the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the U.C. Davis Postharvest Technology Center to collaborate on post-harvest technology to reduce food losses due to spoilage. Making Government Work for You\u00a0\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\n  \n\tOne of my most important jobs is making government work for you, and I've worked hard to do that these past two years. My local office helps Sacramento County families cut through red tape and fix problems they\u2019re having with the federal government - including backlogged veteran\u2019s benefits, Social Security and Medicare issues, stalled passports, and more. If you think you may need help, please call my office at (916) 635 0505 or visit\u00a0bera.house.gov/gethelp. \u2022 Helped Sacramento County families:\u00a0I\u2019m proud to report that since January 2013, my office has helped local families\u00a0recover $ 1,440,163\u00a0owed to them by the federal government.\u00a0We've also helped 2,917 individuals. \u2022 Help for Veterans:\u00a0We hired a Wounded Warrior Iraq War vet to assist local veterans, and together we\u2019ve helped area vets\u00a0recover more than $1 million\u00a0in backlogged benefits and services. For instance, we helped Corey a veteran who served our country in the army for 22 years. But because of a paperwork error, he wasn't receiving the benefits he had earned.\u00a0Click to play the below video to see how we helped him.  \n\t\u00a0\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\n  \u2022 Help for Seniors:\u00a0My office helps local seniors with problems that they may be having with the federal government \u2013 including resolving issues with Social Security, Medicare, and other federal services and benefits they may be owed. Since 2013 my office has helped local residents\u00a0recover nearly $150,000\u00a0in Social Security and Medicare benefits. For instance, we helped Shelly from Elk Grove, who needed assistance getting her mom the Social Security benefits she was owed.\u00a0Play the video to see how my office was able to help.  \n\t\u00a0\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\n  \u2022 Making Government Work for Sacramento County:\u00a0Since 2013,\u00a0my staff and I have hosted or attended 1,066 events in Sacramento County. These events include dozens of workshops and dedicated office hours we've held with seniors, veterans, business owners, local officials, non-profit organizations, and others to connect our area with resources and assistance.\u00a0 \u2022 Listening to you:\u00a0Since 2013,\u00a0my office has answered 79,890 of your letters, phone calls, and emails. I regularly use social media platforms such as\u00a0Facebook\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter\u00a0to provide daily updates on my work, as well as my email updates. In addition, my staff and I have held more than a dozen town halls and hundreds of constituent meetings so I can hear from you directly.\u00a0 As always, it is an incredible honor to serve you in Congress.\u00a0Please never hesitate to call or write at any time. My door is always open. Be well,  \n\t\u00a0  \n\tAmi Bera, M.D.\u00a0  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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"], "primary_key_values": ["http://bera.house.gov//media-center/amis-updates/email-update-end-of-year-report"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1523679606616497, "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"}