In the News
KPBS: San Diego Congressional Leaders Discuss Climate Crisis
After years of virtually ignoring the issue, some leaders in Washington, at least among Democrats, are directly addressing the climate crisis. KPBS Midday Edition reached four of San Diego’s congressional representatives and asked the same questions about climate change. Below are some of the responses from Reps. Mike Levin, D-Oceanside who represents the 49th District, Scott Peters, D-San Diego, who represents the 52nd District, Susan Davis, D-San Diego who represents the 53rd District … Continue Reading
September 11, 2019
NBC San Diego: Rep Levin Pays Tribute to Encinitas Bluff Collapse Victims on House Floor
Three family members killed when an Encinitas cliff collapsed on top of them during a beach day last month were remembered Wednesday on the House floor. Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) paid tribute to the three women -- Annie Clave, 35, Julie Davis, 65, and Elizabeth Cox -- who were crushed on Aug. 2 while celebrating the tough battle Cox had fought against breast cancer at the North County beach. "There is a lot that I would like to say about the government’s responsibility to help prevent … Continue Reading
September 05, 2019
Times of San Diego: Reps. Levin, Peters Call for National Ban on Offshore Oil Drilling
The two congressmen representing most of coastal San Diego County called for a vote on national legislation to permanently ban new oil drilling off America’s coasts. At a press conference on the oceanfront in Encinitas, Democratic Reps. Mike Levin and Scott Peters called for the House of Representatives to pass the Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act, and for Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow a vote on similar legislation in the Senate. The House bill would prohibit … Continue Reading
August 30, 2019
KPBS: Rep. Mike Levin Tours San Diego Border Facilities
On Wednesday two San Diego-area Democratic members of Congress got a first-hand look at the conditions inside some of San Diego's immigration detention facilities. Congressmen Mike Levin and Juan Vargas toured the Chula Vista Border Patrol Station, the Otay Mesa Detention Center and a migrant shelter with Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine. “I was grateful for the opportunity to tour local border facilities, sit down with asylum seekers, and meet with immigration officials and agents,” Levin … Continue Reading
August 26, 2019
Times of San Diego: Rep. Levin Seeks Federal Funds to Prevent Bluff Collapses in North County
Rep. Mike Levin called on the federal government to approve funding for the the long-anticipated Encinitas-Solana Beach Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project to prevent deadly bluff collapses. Levin’s request, which came in a letter Wednesday to the acting director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, follows the collapse in Encinitas on Aug. 2 that took the lives of three residents. “Solana Beach and Encinitas have been ready to take action to ensure that this type of … Continue Reading
August 22, 2019
San Diego Union Tribune: Homeless veterans take center stage at bipartisan congressional hearing in San Diego
Veterans’ advocates and housing experts described challenges and possible solutions for sheltering homeless veterans during a bipartisan congressional hearing in Oceanside Thursday. Members of a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans Affairs — including Democratic Riverside Rep. Mark Takano, chairman of the committee; San Diego County Democratic Rep. Mike Levin, who chairs the subcommittee, San Diego County Democratic Rep. Scott Peters and Florida Republican … Continue Reading
August 22, 2019
The Coast News: Levin talks solutions to tax deduction cap
OCEANSIDE - U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano) met with realtors and taxpayer representatives from San Diego and Orange counties on Aug. 20 at the Chamber of Commerce to discuss how the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap has harmed his constituents and possible solutions. The SALT deduction is what allows taxpayers in high-tax states to deduct local taxpayers on their federal tax returns. Taxpayers who don't take the standard deduction can deduct what they have paid in state … Continue Reading
August 21, 2019
San Diego Union-Tribune: Levin, Harris, Feinstein call for federal funds to stabilize beach bluffs
Following the deaths of three people from a bluff collapse on an Encinitas Beach earlier this month, California’s two senators and Rep. Mike Levin on Wednesday asked for federal funds for a long-sought project that could prevent such tragedies in the future. “In light of these events, we urge you to approve the request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide funding for the Encinitas-Solana Beach Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project, also known as the San Diego County Shore … Continue Reading
July 26, 2019
The Coast News: O’Harra named Rep. Levin’s Constituent of the Month
OCEANSIDE - Colleen O'Harra, a former City Council member and co-founder of an organization servicing domestic violence victims, has been named Rep. Mike Levin's "Constituent of the Month" for July. Every month, Levin honors a constituent in the 49th District who has "gone above and beyond" to support and strengthen the community. He then tells the rest of Congress on the United States House of Representatives floor all about those constituents. "After 45 years of providing critical support … Continue Reading
July 24, 2019
Stars and Stripes: Bill to improve VA adaptive housing grants passes House
A bill to increase the amount of funding available to disabled veterans to adapt their homes to meet their needs is one step closer to becoming law. The Ryan Kules Specially Adaptive Housing Improvement Act of 2019 passed the House on Tuesday night by a voice vote. The bill, introduced by Reps. Mike Levin, D-Calif., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., updates the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Specially Adapted Housing grant program, which now provides a maximum of $85,000 to veterans with … Continue Reading
July 23, 2019
The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego representatives want $2 billion to help stop cross-border sewage flows
Four San Diego congressional representatives want to allocate as much as $2 billion for infrastructure projects aimed at stopping the region’s decades-old cross-border sewage problem. Reps. Juan Vargas, Susan Davis, Scott Peters and Mike Levin — all of them Democrats — unveiled the Tijuana Valley Pollution Solution bill package during a press conference in the South Bay Monday morning. Apart from potentially allocating billions of dollars for infrastructure projects on both sides of the … Continue Reading
July 12, 2019
Roll Call: Levin bill would put electric car chargers at national parks and forests
A bill filed Wednesday by Rep. Mike Levin would provide millions of dollars for the federal agencies governing U.S. national parks and forests to facilitate the installation of electric car charging stations to promote the use of zero-emissions vehicles on public lands. Under the bill, which Levin has dubbed the “Green Spaces, Green Vehicles Act,” The National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service would also be required to obtain zero-emissions vehicles and shuttle buses to replace the … Continue Reading
July 03, 2019
The Capistrano Dispatch: House passes Appropriations Bill with $25 million for interim Nuclear Waste Program
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $982.8 billion spending package last month that includes millions in funding to establish a program to temporarily store nuclear waste from the nation’s power plants, including the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station (SONGS). The four-bill appropriations package, which passed in a 226-203 vote on June 19, provides several federal agencies funding for Fiscal 2020, beginning Oct. 1. The Department of Energy will have a budget of $37.1 billion, with … Continue Reading
June 13, 2019
Surfer Magazine: Meet the Congressman with a Plan to Move San O’s Nuclear Waste
Congressman Mike Levin represents California’s 49th district, arguably one of the finest in the country, with the 49th stretching from San Juan Capistrano down to La Jolla and encompassing miles of beautiful coastline, dozens of quality waves and…3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste. That last part has long been a concern for residents of the 49th, which is probably one of the main reasons they voted for Levin in the 2018 election. Levin, a Democrat from San Juan who previously worked as an … Continue Reading
June 10, 2019
Courthouse News Service: Congressmen Call for Federal Rules on Nuclear Waste Cleanup
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (CN) - At a U.S. House subcommittee hearing in Southern California on Friday, three congressmen said Congress must press for federal nuclear waste policy and pass legislation defining how and where waste can be stored. Under federal law, dangerous nuclear fuel waste must be stored and sealed in underground geologic formations to protect public health. But there are currently no federal sites for permanent or interim storage of nuclear waste, leaving operators of … Continue Reading
June 07, 2019
The Coast News Group: Congressman Levin talks climate strategies with local scientists, city leaders
REGION — In late May, Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano) sought advice during a roundtable discussion at Scripps Institution of Oceanography from UC San Diego scientists, a regional clean energy expert and Oceanside city staff for developing policy proposals to address climate change at the federal level. Also leading the roundtable discussion was Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat who represents the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Both Levin and Castor represent coastal areas that are … Continue Reading
May 29, 2019
NBC News: San Diego Rep. Mike Levin Strikes Bipartisanship on 3 Veteran Support Bills
U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-California, was in his North County district on Tuesday touting a trio of bills to benefit veterans that have been passed in the House. The Democratic congressman touts all of these bills as bipartisan; each was introduced alongside one of his Republican colleagues. "You know, Mitch McConnell has said he's the Grim Reaper and has called the Senate where Democratic bills go to die," Levin said. "These aren't Democratic bills. These are truly bipartisan bills and … Continue Reading
May 26, 2019
The Coast News: House includes $185 million in funding for Camp Pendleton projects
CAMP PENDLETON — More than $185 million in federal funding has been included in the new Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations bill for two military construction projects at Camp Pendleton. On May 26, Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano) announced the funding was included in the new fiscal year 2020 House Appropriations bill for the projects on base. Previously in March, Levin wrote a letter asking the House Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies to … Continue Reading
May 23, 2019
OC Register: Nuclear waste from San Onofre would get first dibs for relocation under new bill
A congressional bill that would prioritize the removal of nuclear waste from places with high population and high seismic activity — that is, San Onofre — was introduced Thursday, May 23, by U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano. Some 9 million people live within 50 miles of the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station. About 20 million live within 50 miles of New York’s Indian Point reactors, which are about to be decommissioned. But San Onofre’s perch in Southern … Continue Reading
May 22, 2019
The Hill: Rep. Mike Levin Op-Ed: Congress must press Interior secretary to act on climate change
In my home state of California, the indicators of our rapidly changing climate are unmistakable. Our summers are hotter, our droughts are more severe, and our land is drier, creating fuel for year-round wildfires that can wipe out entire communities. There is no question that these conditions are a direct effect of our climate crisis. The scientific consensus is clear that human action is driving climate change, and it is already having a devastating impact on our planet. Climate change … Continue Reading