In The News
California Members of Congress Call for Year-Round Wildland Fire Workforce
Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla and Representatives Zoe Lofgren, Scott Peters and Jimmy Panetta (all D-Calif.) led a group of their California colleagues on a letter urging the Biden administration to transition to a year-round federal firefighting workforce. “As California and the West continue to contend with historic and destructive wildfire seasons, it has become clear that we are entering a ‘new normal’ in which increasingly intense wildfires wreak havoc during a nearly … Continue Reading
March 27, 2021
Migrant girls seeking asylum arrive at San Diego's Convention Center for temporary shelter
Mayor Todd Gloria said 500 migrant teen girls are arriving at the Convention Center in Downtown San Diego Saturday night. They arrived around 9:40 p.m. The girls are ages 13-17 and arrived by plane from Texas. "Even without the commitment of this facility plenty of folks were coming. There were parents making impossible decisions, ones you and I couldn't even imagine," Mayor Todd Gloria said in a press conference in front of the Convention Center. "Can you imagine the trauma some of these … Continue Reading
March 27, 2021
Hundreds of unaccompanied children arrive at the San Diego Convention Center Saturday night
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says 500 migrant girls, aged 13 to 17 years old, will be staying in downtown San Diego as their asylum cases are processed inside the convention center. Some of those unaccompanied children arrived Saturday night when a single bus pulled up just after 9:30 p.m. near the loading dock area at the convention center. The bus was escorted by Homeland Security officers. Saturday morning before the arrival of the children, San Diego leaders and … Continue Reading
March 25, 2021
House Dems Call on Biden to Make COVID Vaccine Mandatory in Military as a Third of Troops Deny Shot
House Democrats called on President Joe Biden to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for military service members after one-third of all soldiers had refused the shots. California Congressman Jimmy Panetta led a group of seven Democrats that requested a waiver of informed consent, meaning permission from soldiers to be vaccinated, be issued in a letter sent to Biden on Wednesday. The group cited Pentagon figures that showed one-third of service members offered a vaccine had already refused to … Continue Reading
March 24, 2021
County shows solidarity with AAPI community with resolution denouncing hate
Government leaders are taking a stand against violence and hatred of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on both a county and congressional level. The County Board of Supervisors hopes to pass a resolution on April 6 to denounce racism. San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher, Vice Chair Nora Vargas and members of the San Diego Asian Pacific Islander Coalition held a media conference Wednesday to denounce hate against the Asian American Pacific Islander … Continue Reading
March 24, 2021
Congressman asks Biden to make coronavirus vaccine mandatory for military troops
President Joe Biden should make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for American troops, a House lawmaker wrote in a letter sent Wednesday to the White House. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., urged Biden to issue a waiver to allow the Pentagon to make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for troops, about one-third of whom are declining the inoculations, according to Pentagon estimates. The Defense Department cannot mandate service members receive any of the three coronavirus vaccines being … Continue Reading
March 24, 2021
Lawmakers ask Biden to issue waiver to make Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for members of military
A group of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting that he issue a "waiver of informed consent" to make getting vaccinated against Covid-19 mandatory for all US military service members. CNN obtained a copy of the letter, which was sent on Wednesday from a congressional aide. Currently the Department of Defense cannot make vaccinations mandatory because they have only been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use. A waiver from the … Continue Reading
March 23, 2021
Jewish community responds to Boulder, Atlanta shootings
The Jewish Community Center in Boulder, Colorado, is actively participating in the healing of that city in the wake of a gunman opening fire on Monday, March 22, at the Table Mesa King Soopers supermarket and killing 10 people ranging in age from 20 to 65, including Police Officer Eric Talley, 51, who tried to quell the disturbance. The others slain were Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Teri Leiker, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; … Continue Reading
March 19, 2021
House OKs Protections for ‘Dreamers’ and Farmworkers; Issa Is Sole San Diego Delegation ‘No’
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed bills providing a pathway to citizenship for the “Dreamers,” undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, as well as for a large number of immigrant farmworkers. Nearly 200,000 people covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program live in California. Many speak only English, have no connection to the countries of their birth, and have built successful lives in the United States. Tens of thousands of … Continue Reading
March 18, 2021
House OKs Dems’ immigration bills for Dreamers, farm workers
The House voted Thursday to unlatch a gateway to citizenship for young Dreamers, migrant farm workers and immigrants who’ve fled war or natural disasters, giving Democrats wins in the year’s first votes on an issue that once again faces an uphill climb to make progress in the Senate. On a near party-line 228-197 vote, lawmakers approved one bill offering legal status to around 2 million Dreamers, brought to the U.S. illegally as children, and hundreds of thousands of migrants admitted for … Continue Reading
March 12, 2021
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs explains how COVID-19 relief bill will impact San Diegans
President Joe Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion relief package Thursday he says will help the U.S. defeat the coronavirus and nurse the economy back to health. Congresswoman Sara Jacobs applauded the passage of American Rescue Plan and released the following statement: “The American Rescue Plan will save lives, jobs, and businesses, and I was proud to vote for it. I am particularly excited that this bill makes significant investments in America’s kids, cutting childhood poverty in half … Continue Reading
March 11, 2021
Jacobs, Peters Tell Why They Voted for Background Checks
Two San Diego members of Congress - Democrats Sara Jacobs and Scott Peters -had personal reasons for joining with the majority in the House of Representatives that passed companion gun safety measures on Thursday. Jacobs told her colleagues that “as a millennial, I am a member of what is known as the Columbine generation, a generation that grew up in the shadow of gun violence and school shootings. When violence came to our Capitol on January 6, congressional staffers barricaded themselves … Continue Reading
March 10, 2021
$1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Bill Passes With Only Rep. Issa Among San Diego Delegation Opposing
The House of Representatives gave final approval on Wednesday to one of the largest economic stimulus measures in U.S. history, a sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that gives President Joe Biden his first major victory in office. Rep. Darrell Issa was the only member of the San Diego congressional delegation to oppose the bill, saying “the bill contains no coherent commitment to fully opening our economy, getting Americans back to work and our kids back in school.” The measure … Continue Reading
March 08, 2021
Bill Introduced to Address Water Pollution at U.S.-Mexico Border
A coalition of San Diego County elected representatives introduced a bill Monday to address water pollution along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act would designate the Environmental Protection Agency as the lead coordinating federal, state, and local agencies’ efforts to build and maintain infrastructure projects aimed at reducing pollution along the border. The bill was introduced by Reps. Juan Vargas, Scott Peters, Mike Levin, Sara Jacobs, and … Continue Reading
March 05, 2021
San Diego’s Democrats in Congress Urge Support of $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Bill
The four Democrats who represent the San Diego region in Congress urged support of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on Friday, promising that “help is on the way” to end economic devastation wrought by the pandemic “This is not about going back to the way things were. This is about reimagining,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs, who organized a press briefing at Veterans Village of San Diego. Joining her were Reps. Mike Levin, Scott Peters and Juan Vargas. The fifth member of the local … Continue Reading
March 05, 2021
4 S.D. Congressmembers extol $1.9T American Rescue Plan
SAN DIEGO - Just how much is $1.9 trillion, and what can be done with that much money? Well, on Friday, just to cover the basics of the American Rescue Plan that they all voted for, it took speeches by four Democratic members of Congress who represent San Diego County. Another eight speakers amplified on various aspects of the landmark legislation. Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who organized the press briefing at the Veterans Village of San Diego at 4141 Pacific Highway, detailed portions of … Continue Reading
March 05, 2021
San Diego lawmakers spell out spending in national COVID-19 relief bill
San Diego — Federal COVID-19 relief funding could jump-start struggling businesses and restaurants and fuel a wartime production effort to manufacture vaccines, local congressional delegates said at a press conference in San Diego on Friday. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-San Diego) organized the event at Veterans Village with several other lawmakers, nonprofit executives and business owners, to discuss the American Rescue Plan legislation. Congress passed the $1.9 trillion aid package Saturday, … Continue Reading
February 25, 2021
House votes to pass Equality Act, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
The House voted Thursday to pass the Equality Act, a far-reaching measure that has been decades in the making and would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The legislation was passed by the House in 2019 but blocked in the Republican-led Senate. This time, Democrats control the White House, House and Senate. President Biden has signaled his support for the measure, but it still faces an uphill fight in the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to break … Continue Reading
February 16, 2021
Welcome To Washington: Nine New Feminist Women Join the U.S. House of Representatives
In 2018, then-Georgia state Sen. Nikema Williams was arrested inside the Capitol in Atlanta for participating in a peaceful protest demanding a fair count of absentee and provisional ballots in the contested gubernatorial race between Stacey Abrams and Brian P. Kemp. Despite a Georgia law prohibiting the arrest of legislators during a General Assembly session except in cases of treason, felonies or breach of the peace, Williams was taken with her wrists in zip ties to Fulton County Jail, … Continue Reading
February 14, 2021
Rep. Sara Jacobs on extremism and 'conflict entrepreneurs'
CNN's Reliable Sources Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA) studied violent extremism while working for the State Department, then saw it first-hand when rioters stormed the Capitol. She says Trump's acquittal shows "there's something very broken in our democracy" but defends the value of the trial. She warns against "conflict entrepreneurs" who "take existing fault lines in our society" and "mobilize around them using the enabling environment of our media … Continue Reading