Another productive week in Washington

Dear Neighbor,

Happy Friday, CA-49! Below is a quick update on my work for you this week in DC. I also want to remind everyone that with the COVID-19 Omicron variant detected in California, it's more important than ever to get vaccinated. For those that are already vaccinated, please get boosted! The holidays are here and we want to celebrate with friends and family safely.

I was glad to see the Department of Energy announce a move to restart the consent-based siting process for locations that could store the spent fuel currently distributed across the country at nuclear plants like San Onofre. My colleagues and I worked hard to secure the federal funding that made it possible to restart this program, and it’s an important step for everyone who has been fighting to find locations to move the waste out of our community.

More Opportunities for Veterans Education (MOVE) Act

This week, I introduced legislation to help thousands of veterans use all of the GI Bill benefits they have earned. Earlier this year, the VA restored GI Bill entitlements for veterans who previously used Veteran Readiness and Employment benefits. However, the VA did not extend the expiration date for these benefits, meaning some veterans received more months of GI Bill entitlements than they had time to use before the expiration date. My bill will fix that by providing eligible veterans with enough time to use their restored GI Bill benefits.

Build Back Better Update

I want to say again how excited I am that we have now passed the Build Back Better Act in the House. That historic legislation is going to make a huge impact for families in our district, lowering costs on everything from child care to health care and providing tax cuts for middle class families. Plus, it’s paid for without raising taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 – it simply asks massive corporations to finally pay their fair share. I’m hopeful the Senate will advance that legislation soon.

A Few More Updates:

• I voted for a continuing resolution to fund the government through February 18th. This will avoid a harmful government shutdown and give us more time to advance full government funding legislation with important priorities for our district.
• ICYMI: My November Constituent of the Month was Marine Corps Bronze Star veteran, Captain Derek Herrera, of San Clemente.