U.S. House of RepresentativesCandidate for District 12

Environmental justice and reducing greenhouse gas are issues I have dedicated my life work in Congress. In 2021, I introduced two bills, the Women and Climate Change Act of 2021 and the Resolution Supporting the Teaching of Climate Change in Schools, aimed at mitigating the impact of climate change on women and girls around the world and encouraging the federal government, states, schools, and community organizations to teach climate change in appropriate programs and activities. 

Introduced a resolution aimed at monitoring and reducing the carbon footprint of the U.S. military – the single largest institutional source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet.    

The resolution called for the Department of Defense to set clear annual emission reduction targets in line with global goals in the 2015 Paris Agreement and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022.

Opposed taxpayer-funded giveaways to Big Oil and other major polluters. Instead, she has advocated for increased investments in clean, renewable energy technologies. 

Co-sponsored emergency funding for natural disasters, including California wildfire relief, mostly caused by climate change.

Our Country must provide a path to citizenship. We must particularly provide a path to Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status for Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients. Many Dreamers came to the United States in their youth and know the United States as their home. Similarly, many immigrants who are eligible for or have received TPS – a program protecting individuals in the United States whose countries of origin are in crisis due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary conditions – have lived in the United for decades.

Our country is enriched and strengthened by the contributions of immigrants. Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients are students, entrepreneurs, teachers, and neighbors. The recent pandemic showed us that many of them are essential workers and first responders and nurses risking their lives to protect our communities on the frontlines of this pandemic.  

The January 6th insurrection at the Capitol last year was a flawed attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power to the Biden administration. It showed that we must take action to protect and reclaim our democracy. 

We must do more to protect our most fundamental rights. I worked in the House to pass the For the People Act, the most significant voting rights and democracy reform in more than half a century; the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the full power of the original Voting Rights Act of 1965; and now, the Freedom to Vote Act, a new and comprehensive package of voting, redistricting and campaign finance reforms. We have proven our commitment to protecting our most basic freedoms.

After Texas passed its abortion ban, I worked with House members to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to ensure that everyone—regardless of where they live or how much money they make—has access to the care that they need. Everyone deserves the right to make their own decisions about their health, their bodies, and their futures, and abortion access is essential.

The drought and current water shortages are definitely a result of climate change. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I supported fiscal year 2021 Energy and Water Development Funding Bill.

This bill provides critical emergency funding to help our nation recover from the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis by making necessary investments to help prevent the climate catastrophe and provides almost $50 billion in energy and water development programs by providing funding to strengthen infrastructure for delivery of water, irrigation and energy that we need to rebuild our economy.

I support legislation that would bring much needed drought emergency assistance and long-term water policy solutions for California and other arid western states. Any legislation that passes must be comprehensive, address climate change and water use efficiency, and protect our vital environment and local ecosystems. That is why I support H.R. 2983, the Drought Recovery and Resilience Act of 2015, a bill which would provide drought assistance and improve water supply reliability to the state of California and other western states. More importantly, this bill would generate more water on a reliable basis without undermining environmental protections, preempting state laws, or redirecting impacts from one drought-stricken area to another.