Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, there are many issues that we could be talking about today, like lowering the cost of living, protecting Medicaid and Social Security, or protecting immigrant communities. Instead, House Republicans are prioritizing Trump's vanity project, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, like that is going to help Americans with their cost of living.

Millions of Americans are struggling because of Trump's policies that are tanking our economy and raising the cost of living. The Republicans in this Chamber have yet to put forth anything that addresses their issues.

I am disappointed that House Republicans blocked my amendment to this bill that would actually help working families across the country. My amendment would require the official name change to not take effect until the Department of the Interior can prove that this bill would lower food prices, including the price of eggs, spur economic growth, create jobs, and lower

the unemployment rate, but the Republicans voted it down in committee and blocked it from getting to the floor today. That shows where their priorities are.

It was not just the House Republicans who opposed helping working families. The Trump White House also hated this amendment and sent out a statement of opposition. They went to FOX News to complain that we are doing our job to serve the people. Call me crazy, but I believe that the work we do in Congress should improve the lives of the American people.

As the Congresswoman proudly representing the San Fernando Valley in California, I believe that the true test of how we are as a country is how we treat our most vulnerable, and this bill fails that test.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this ridiculous bill.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to speak against H.J. Res. 87, which will illegally stop California's efforts to work toward a greener and cleaner future through zero-emission trucks.

Strong vehicle standards protect Americans from expensive and volatile fossil fuels and accelerate the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies to help us compete globally.

According to the American Lung Association, the L.A. metro area has the most polluted ozone in the country. This is due to the high concentration of freeways and heavy trucking industry and communities such as those in the San Fernando Valley like Pacoima and Sun Valley. Stopping these efforts will worsen our air quality and the public health of our communities that are already plagued with the effects of air pollution and vehicles.

Mr. Speaker, I am against this resolution and its goal of stripping California's ability to regulate air pollution

and improve public health. Not only are Republicans taking away healthcare from over 370,000 of my constituents who rely on Medicaid, they are actively worsening the health problems many of them face. This is insult to injury. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Takano for recognizing me and for hosting this important discussion in front of the American people.

Our country was founded on the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but who are we as a country if we backtrack on those founding values? We would not be the country that inspired our parents, our neighbors, and our grandparents to make a dangerous and brave journey in the hopes that their children will have a better life than they did.

Everyone has a story that they can relate. Mine is about my mother, who emigrated from Mexico in the 1960s. She raised me and my sister on her own, taking multiple jobs to make ends meet. It was not until the late 1980s when she finally got her green card. She was so happy, and I remember feeling relieved because she was safe and could live in this country without fear.

Today, that fear has returned. Donald Trump is blatantly pushing aside the Constitution and the rule of law to deport anybody at will. I am here because I am fighting for my mother and many like her who came to this country in search of a better life. I am fighting so our immigrant communities can, once and for all, live without fear that their livelihoods would be taken away at a moment's notice.

I am fighting with my Congressional Progressive Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus colleagues against this administration's attempts to strip away a person's right to due process.

Donald Trump is criminalizing people like Abrego Garcia and denying him his due process. Yet, it is not just Abrego Garcia. This administration is also deporting children.

Last week, this administration deported a 2-year-old child and a 4- year-old child who are battling stage IV cancer, both of whom are U.S. citizens. What is happening to Garcia and these children is a travesty, and they need to come home.

Sending them without due process to countries like El Salvador and Honduras is a shameful assault on our human rights and a betrayal of the ideals that our country was founded on.

His policies are also unpopular across the country, and the polling proves it. After 100 days, Donald Trump has the lowest approval rating of any President in at least the past 80 years. The American people see through his cruelty, and they are with us.

We need to confront the cruelty from this administration head on and seek justice for all of those who have been unfairly targeted.

I stand united with my colleagues in stopping this administration and holding this President accountable for his actions.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to share the story of a Federal scientist from California who, in their words, was fired by President Trump and Elon Musk.

They wrote:

I was a Pathways student intern at the EPA. I was assisting

and training under the ecotoxicology group studying the

effects and bioaccumulation of PFAS. I am completely

devastated and heartbroken.

The EPA Pathways Program creates a pathway to a career in the Federal Government for students and recent graduates. In this case, this is a student working on complex scientific issues involving PFAS, toxic chemicals that are all around us.

As the only Latino Member with a STEM background in Congress, I know how important it is to encourage our students and young professionals to pursue careers in STEM.

Firing our future STEM workforce just as they are getting started in their careers is shortsighted and irresponsible. These firings will decimate the future Federal STEM workforce that will keep American innovation competitive.

Mr. Speaker, this week, my office was flooded with calls from constituents who are angry and frustrated about Elon Musk and his takeover of our government.

I am just as outraged as they are. This billionaire was neither elected by the American people nor Senate confirmed. Yet, he is sitting in our Nation's highest office, openly seizing power, making consequential decisions about Americans' personal data, and gutting the services and programs that working families in the San Fernando Valley rely on.

Why does Elon Musk have access to your personal information without any oversight or accountability? House Democrats and I are taking action. We are legislating. We are supporting litigation, and we are mobilizing.

I also ask why our Republican colleagues are sitting in silence while Elon Musk takes control our government and harms Americans' lives. I urge my Republican colleagues to join us in the fight against Elon's takeover.

Mr. Speaker, just 5 days into my tenure as a Member of the House of Representatives, several large wildfires broke out across Los Angeles County: the Palisades fire, the Eaton fire, and the Hurst fire, which broke out in Sylmar on the northern end of my district.

I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to represent it in Congress. The valley is a special place to so many people, including my own family, which makes the heartbreak of seeing images of it in danger sting deeper.

I flew home last week as soon as I saw the images of footage coming out of Los Angeles County to be home with my community and be helpful in any way that I could.

I have immense gratitude for the Los Angeles Fire Department, the first responders, and the firefighters who arrived from across the country and from

Mexico who have been working nonstop to put out these fires. I met with community leaders, including the brave men and women of Fire Station 87 in Granada Hills. Due to their bravery, courage, and action in responding to the Hurst fire, they were able to minimize danger and keep our neighbors safe. Our community thanks them.

I also visited one of the evacuation centers at the Ritchie Valens Recreation Center to learn more about how staff and volunteers have been working around the clock to help those who were forced to evacuate.

I visited the burn sites of the Hurst and Eaton fires, where I was able to assess the damage firsthand and tried to get a better understanding of what Federal resources would be needed to help communities rebuild.

Throughout the week, I was in contact with the Federal Government, including the White House and FEMA, where I was able to advocate for the Federal support necessary to keep constituents safe during the emergency.

My congressional colleagues and I are focused on making sure our constituents and our communities have what they need to get through and recover from this emergency without any conditions.

This isn't about party or politics, and I am proud to have joined both of our Senators and 46 other bipartisan Members of California's congressional delegation in urging President Biden to sign a major disaster declaration so that the Federal Government can provide public assistance, individual assistance, and direct Federal assistance to our communities.

We are grateful that President Biden quickly signed the declaration, and my hope is that President-elect Trump will continue to provide resources so our constituents can immediately access the funds and resources that they need to rebuild their lives.

These fires are the costliest in California's history, and they are impacting everyone, regardless of income or party. Lives and livelihoods have been lost, and many more continue to be in danger. We want our constituents to know that disaster assistance is available and will be available to them. This assistance may include rental payments for temporary housing for those who lost their homes, grants for home repairs, unemployment payments for workers who have lost their job because of the fires, and crisis counseling for those who have been traumatized by this disaster.

Additionally, FEMA disaster assistance may be able to help those who have lost a home regardless if they were uninsured, had insurance, or underinsured. Visit disasterassistance.gov to get started.

My office is also ready to help those who have been impacted by the fires. If my constituents need assistance, I encourage them to reach out to my office, and we will be able to start advocating on their behalf to get the Federal resources that they need.

The San Fernando Valley is home, and I am honored to represent my home in Congress. That is why I am committed to working with our local, State, and Federal officials to make sure our community has the resources that it needs to rebuild stronger. Our community is strong and resilient, and we will help each other come back from this disaster.