Meanwhile, the GOP leadership asks us to consider absurd bills like H.R. 1505, which this week passed the House Committee on Natural Resources, where I sit as a Member. This legislation will hand over control of all public lands within 100 miles of the borders - like our national parks, forests, and beaches - to U.S. Customs and Border Protections. Ironically, it's named the National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act. Under H.R. 1505, without any public notice, U.S. Customs and Border Protection could build roads and gates and install surveillance equipment in places that Americans treasure - from Glacier National Park in Montana to Cleveland National Forest in California and Olympic National Park in Washington. This legislation would, in effect, hand over the keys to many of the most beautiful places in America - places you and I own as the birthright of being an American, places that with proper stewardship our great grandchildren will one day own too.
As many of you already know, a recent Field Poll survey was released showing Senator Dianne Feinstein slipping in her approval rating. 43% of California voters surveyed approve of Sen. Feinstein, while 39% disapprove-- the highest disapproval rating she's had since first being elected to office in 1992. While these numbers don't necessarily spell trouble for California's senior senator, they do indicate that people are starting to think of a changing of the guards in the Golden State. It most certainly has crossed her mind as well.
There are always politicians and prominent Californians waiting in the wings for political jockeying. With Feinstein reaching 80 years of age soon, more and more elected officials are prepping their resumes and spending extra time coddling donors in preparation for the inevitable.
So it begs the speculative question, who would be ready and able to run a statewide campaign for the United States Senate in the event of Senator Dianne Feinstein's retirement? Who would make a great Senator? Who should make for a great race? Who would be an abysmal choice? In this "fantasy draft" diary, I've narrowed it down to the 13 most probable potential candidates who are at least thinking about a potential run from the Democratic side. All the apparent pros and cons will be listed, and your suggestions/comments are always welcome. And by all means, if you know of any Republicans that would seem likely, include those as well!
Democratic Members of Congress, through the Democratic Caucus New Media Working Group, will be participating in a Congressional Twitter Town Hall, Thursday (tomorrow), from noon-1 PM EST, and I wanted to personally invite you to join us. We're taking questions with the #AskDems hashtag. You'll be able to follow Democratic responses here.
We're focusing on budget issues and spending priorities. Since we anticipate far more questions than we can possibly answer, we're encouraging Twitter users to retweet the questions they're most interested in seeing answered. Remember, if you don't use the #AskDems hashtag, we won't see it during the town hall.
The Twitter Town Hall is being 'hosted' by Rep. John Larson, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Rep. Mike Honda, chair of the New Media Working Group, and me, Rep. John Garamendi. I'll post a list of Members of Congress confirmed to participate on my Twitter feed soon. It would be great to see this community participate in the conversation.
Pro-democratic movements in the Middle East are in the midst of their rendezvous with destiny, but America's destiny can no longer be linked with the fates of dictators, military juntas, and theocratic regimes. We must develop energy independence; we must Make It In America.
America must develop a national energy plan that prioritizes the need to (1) Make It In America, (2) transition away from dirty fossil fuels, and (3) secure energy independence. The events unfolding in the Middle East - and subsequent spikes in fuel prices - demonstrate America's need to transition away from unclean energy from an unstable part of the world.
We spend 16 percent of our defense budget - more than $100 billion - securing oil shipments in the Straits of Hormuz and elsewhere, and there is little doubt that American foreign policy has been perversely shaped over the years by the raw calculus of oil politics (see: U.S. policy in Iraq over decades). It's long past time that we wean ourselves off of foreign dirty fossil fuels. Energy security is national security.
With his State of the Union address, President Obama delivered an important message that Congress and the American people need to hear: our nation's leaders must pass legislation that creates American jobs now.
America, our shining city on a hill, has been blessed with great fortune in our proud past, but as the President noted, every generation faces new challenges and new opportunities. We must be bold and forward looking, never forgetting that America's prosperity has always relied on hard work, solid education, and well-maintained infrastructure. We're a nation that has always thrived when we've built things - the light bulb, the automobile, the Internet, and the GPS. We need to build things again. We need to Make It In America
When I attended Netroots Nation last week, I didn't need to drive the streets of Las Vegas to see the abandoned worksites, boarded up buildings, and closed factories. I can see that in my own district. Too many of us are not making it in America.
Congressional Democrats responded with a two-step approach. In the first half, we sought to stabilize the economy, rein in Wall Street, provide lifelines to families in freefall, and immediately put Americans back to work. We're now nearing the second half, where our job creation strategies must be complemented by a long term commitment to bring back American manufacturing.
In California, Nevada, and across the nation, people out of work through no fault of their own outnumber new jobs available. Five people are out of work for every one job available. The Great Recession led to widespread job loss, and without a new approach to economic development, good manufacturing jobs will continue to be shipped overseas. If we don't make it in America, we won't make it America.
by John Lewallen, Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company, May 27, 2010
The tragic catastrophe spewing oil in the Gulf of Mexico offers a rare opportunity to achieve long-term protection from this nightmare for the rich upwelling ecosystem off the Pacific Coast of Washington, Oregon and California.
Companion bills to "permanently" ban new offshore oil and gas drilling off the Pacific Coast of the three states have been introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
The "West Coast Ocean Protection Act of 2010" is a one-page bill with only one effective provision: "...the Secretary of Interior shall not issue a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas in any area of the outer Contintntal Shelf off the coast of the State of California, Oregon, or Washington."
My wife Barbara and I are asking organizations of ocean food providers to formally endorse this simple and powerful bill, and work to get it signed into law this year.
Congressman John Garamendi is spearheading the bill in the House, with Representatives Mike Thompson and Lynn Woolsey of Northern California among 35 initial co-sponsors. Group endorsements can be emailed to Marcus Woodson in Congressman Garamendi's office ; or by phone at (202)225-1880.
For ocean food providers, the stark simplicity of this drilling ban is its beauty. In one simple statement, it removes the great threat we all face to the purity of the Pacific Coast Upwelling Ecosystem and its renewing abundance of food.
Bills with similar wording have been introduced, with heroic pronouncements, in the last several annual sessions of Congress, only to languish in committee without any legislative action.
We're asking the fishing community to help make this year different by contacting your federal representatives, and friends throughout the country, in support of the West Coast Ocean Protection Act of 2010.
--Barbara and John Stephens-Lewallen, Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company
Exactly six months ago, I entered Congress promising to protect this great nation from threats foreign and domestic. Today I'm fulfilling that promise. A bill I introduced today would create a permanent ban on new offshore oil and natural gas drilling from platforms on the West Coast. We can't change the past, but at least we can stop future exploration in federal waters near California, Oregon, and Washington.
Why now? For years, supporters of new offshore oil drilling have told us that platform drilling is clean and safe. The tragedy unfolding on the Gulf Coast proves them wrong. The potential devastation is immense to treasured wetlands, hundreds of miles of coastline, wildlife, and ocean-based industries like tourism and fishing. Many are already calling the Gulf Coast oil spill the worst natural resources disaster in U.S. history. While we can be saddened, we shouldn't be surprised. The inevitable consequence of 'drill, baby, drill' is 'spill, baby, spill'. Unless we block new offshore oil drilling, we will only expose our coastlines to even more disasters.
A new report out on job creation in March showed that 162,000 jobs were created last month, more than any other month in the past three years.
Yet recovery is incomplete until everyone who wants a job has a job. Throughout California, most communities are still facing double digit unemployment rates, and the district I represent - the 10th Congressional District - is no exception. We've survived the worst of the Bush recession, but we have a long tough road ahead.
That's why this Saturday, I am hosting a jobs resources fair at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill (321 Golf Club Road at the DVC Cafeteria). More than 40 organizations and employers will be on hand to help unemployed residents develop the skills necessary to find a job.
More information, including how to RSVP, is over the flip...
NOTE: Congressman Garamendi, California's first elected Insurance Commissioner, will be leading an hour long discussion on the merits of health care reform sometime this evening on the House floor. It will be broadcast on C-SPAN. This post will be updated when he appears, and staff will live-Tweet it on the Congressman's Twitter page.
It's a beautiful Saturday spring day in Washington. I'm walking west on East Capitol Street. Before me the Capitol is glowing white in the bright morning sun. My thoughts are on the health care debate, and the one hour opportunity that I will have to argue the issue on the floor of the House today. As I enter the East plaza I pause and look at the Capitol dome and realize how special this moment is.
It's special for the 32 million Americans about to receive health care. It's special for our economy about to see the largest deficit reduction in 20 years. And it's special for me to be able to represent the people of Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano and Sacramento Counties.
My thoughts are crystallized at this moment by an elderly couple who walk past me towards the Supreme Court building. They were holding a hand painted sign, "WE THE PEOPLE," one of the ever present signs around the Capitol.
Students at public universities in California are planning a series of demonstrations across the state protesting tuition hikes today. While a few isolated incidents in recent weeks have provided fodder for some in the media to dismiss their concerns, the students' cause is incredibly important. If we continue to yearly raise tuition in California far beyond inflation, we threaten to derail all that has enabled my home state to prosper in decades past.
It is no accident that the Golden State's Golden Age of economic innovation coincided with the establishment of and continued investment in the best public university system in the world. Fifty years ago, forward-thinking policymakers declared that California would be a state where higher education was the birthright of every qualified resident. Since then, we've become the world's great innovator in computers, biotechnology, space exploration, and clean technology.
Unfortunately, the vision that made California one of the largest and most diverse economies on the planet has fallen to the wayside in recent years, as Governor Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers have decided that it's politically easier to balance state budgets on the backs of students.
The result? Student fees have more than doubled at the University of California and California State University systems over the past decade, and enrollment was reduced by more than 45,000 in the past two years. When you price students out of a college education, you don't just harm the individual. You deny the state the future teachers, nurses, and engineers necessary to propel our economy forward.
Last night, President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address - my first as a U.S. Congressman. You've heard a lot of instant reactions from the Beltway and beyond about the President's message, but it's my hope we can take a step back from the minutia and develop a better sense of recent history.
Let's remember where we were when the President delivered his inaugural address last year. When the President took office, America had just endured the worst year for job loss since 1945. In the last three months of 2008, our country was hemorrhaging an average of 673,000 jobs per month. By the last three months of 2009, that number was reduced to 69,333, a 90% improvement. To be sure, the state of our union needs to be much stronger, but because of the efforts of President Obama and Democrats in Congress, we've endured the worst of the Bush recession and we're creating an economy that once again creates jobs for the middle and working classes.
Last Saturday, I hosted three town halls in Fairfield, Antioch, and Walnut Creek, and as you can imagine, the questions ran the gamut. But time and again, I heard from so many of my constituents about their troubles in this difficult economy. Whether it was recently laid off workers, students unsure if they can afford a 32% hike in their fees after five consecutive years of tuition hikes, laid off workers unable to collect unemployment insurance, employers who can't acquire the capital they need to expand, or homeowners trying to save their properties from foreclosure, our people are hurting, and it's our job in Washington to fix it.
We're all now painfully aware that our financial sector was permitted to run amuck under the previous administration and our government failed to stop it. To address this problem, today I proudly cast my vote for H.R. 4173, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. While I think more expansive reforms of the financial sector are necessary, this legislation is an important first-step that will go far in helping to protect consumers, investors, homeowners, and tenants.
According to the CBO, in the third quarter of this year alone, 600 thousand to 1.6 million jobs were directly created or saved by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, reducing our country's unemployment rate by 0.3 to 0.9 percent. This is an especially important finding for my home state of California, which at 12.3 percent, suffers from the third worst unemployment rate in the nation.
Indeed, it's worth noting that the CBO report does not measure indirect job creation. Jobs created through most sub-contractors and vendors are not included in the report nor are the jobs created at local businesses when 1.6 million Americans have sufficient wages to put their money back into the economy.
They say all politics is local, and that may or may not be true, but it's certainly the case that all jobs are local. When I talk to constituents, I hear from understandably frustrated people who think the stimulus has been ineffective. I understand that 1.6 million jobs created is just a statistic when you are still unemployed, when your family is still struggling, when your phone is ringing off the hook from relentless creditors, when you're falling behind in your rent or mortgage payments.
In the months following the end of George W. Bush's disastrous term as President, my Congressional colleagues and President Barack Obama worked tirelessly to create an economic recovery plan that could begin the difficult process of creating jobs and rebuilding our economy. Had I been in Congress at the time, I would have gladly voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and as a recent New York Times article by Jackie Calmes and Michael Cooper reveals, "the accumulation of hard data and real-life experience has allowed more dispassionate analysts to reach a consensus that the stimulus package, messy as it is, is working."
They continue: "The legislation, a variety of economists say, is helping an economy in free fall a year ago to grow again and shed fewer jobs than it otherwise would. Mr. Obama's promise to "save or create" about 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010 is roughly on track, though far more jobs are being saved than created, especially among states and cities using their money to avoid cutting teachers, police officers and other workers."
"It was worth doing - it's made a difference," Nigel Gault, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, a financial forecasting and analysis group, explained in the article. "I don't think it's right to look at it by saying, 'Well, the economy is still doing extremely badly, therefore the stimulus didn't work.' I'm afraid the answer is, yes, we did badly but we would have done even worse without the stimulus."
So despite the consternation of some pundits, it turns out the President was right. Stimulus relief worked, and Democrats in Congress keep working. Since I joined Congress earlier this month, my House colleagues and I have backed a number of bills that will strengthen small businesses and create more jobs.
After an exciting week in Washington, I returned to the 10th Congressional District this week to host my first town hall as a Congressman. More than 100 constituents were in attendance for the event, where we emphasized economic development and job creation opportunities in Livermore. "It's about jobs, and that's what I really want to focus on here," I told the assembled crowd.
California has a 12.2 percent unemployment rate (up from 7.8 percent this time last year), and there are many opportunities to create new jobs at the national labs and through the federal stimulus package and local transportation and clean technology investments. But while I would estimate that two-thirds of the crowd was interested in the job creation discussion and supportive of my actions as a Congressman to date, a minority of the crowd was more interested in using the opportunity to criticize my vote on the House health care bill.
Lisa Vorderbrueggen of the Contra Costa Times and Randy Shandobil of KTVU 2 have good coverage of the event, including partial video. While there was a brief moment where the crowd got a little rowdy, once I respectfully asked everyone to stop shouting and clapping, we were able to continue with a constructive back-and-forth dialogue.
More of the town hall's health care discussion over the flip...
I have had one of those weeks that you remember for the rest of your life. On Tuesday, I won a congressional election. On Thursday, I was sworn in by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and got to cast the first vote of my congressional career: a resolution honoring female veterans and military personnel. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to cast the most important vote of my 34 years in public service.
The health care reform bill that cleared the House yesterday, if approved by the Senate, will transform this country's health care delivery system. Denial of treatment for pre-existing conditions will be a thing of the past. None of us will have to worry that if we fail to report the chicken pox, we'll be denied treatment from our insurers for cancer. Out-of-pocket expenses will be capped and subsidies and tax breaks will be made available to consumers and small businesses. This combined with the reduction in administrative overhead costs, the savings associated with an emphasis on preventative medicine, and other measures will provide us as individual consumers and as a nation with substantial long term cost savings. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the health care reform bill will cut the deficit by over $30 billion over the next decade and will continue to create a surplus over the next 20 years.
Yesterday's plan also includes a public option that, while not as expansive I would have liked, is still very worthy of support. And as most of you are well aware, we had an unfortunate setback for women's health in yesterday's voting. But on the whole, this is change we can believe in.
When I was California's Insurance Commissioner, my staff fielded thousands of calls from California residents who fell victim to the insurance industry shenanigans. When large fires hit San Diego, Oakland, and elsewhere, hundreds of consumers were victimized a second time by their insurance companies. My capable staff was successful at coming to a consumer-friendly resolution for almost all cases, but at times, I had to personally ring up high ranking industry executives to use all forms of persuasion available to my office to make sure my constituents were treated fairly.
When one's business model depends on collecting monthly payments from people in the hope that you'll never have to provide them with the services they are paying you for, it's disappointing but not shocking that the insurance industry looks for loopholes to maximize its profits.
(I meant to promote this yesterday, but still, go get 'em Congressman! - promoted by Brian Leubitz)
On Tuesday, communities across America voted in hundreds of local and state elections. In Northern California's 10th Congressional District, voters saw fit to send me to Congress. To all my supporters who voted, volunteered, donated, and spread the good word about our campaign, you have my sincere gratitude.
Today I was sworn in by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to represent the people of the 10th Congressional District (video here, about 1:35:00 in). It is an honor to serve my constituents and my country at such an important moment in U.S. history.
When we started our campaign for Congress this spring, we knew we would run a forward-thinking campaign with unwavering support for comprehensive health care reform that includes the public option. With a team of hundreds of volunteers and the support of more than 66,000 voters, we won our special election with a double digit lead. I look forward to voting for a House health care bill worthy of support as early as this Saturday - a bill that includes a robust public option, ends the denial of coverage for so-called pre-existing conditions, creates cost-savings, and protects Medicare for our seniors.
The Lt. Guv doesn't really have a ton of power, but where it does, it is in the Board of Regents of the CSU and UC, and the State Lands Commission, etc. And according to the SacBee, and precedent, those powers will stay with Garamendi's Chief of Staff, Mona Pasquil.
Garamendi's chief of staff, Mona Pasquil, would serve in an acting capacity as lieutenant governor until a Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointee is confirmed, according to Garamendi spokeswoman Beth Willon.
Pasquil would serve an administrative function, carrying out the lieutenant governor's functions at the State Lands Commission, University of California Board of Regents and other panels. But Willon said that if the governor vacates his office or leaves the state, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg would become the state's acting governor based on the state's line of succession.
In past instances when constitutional officers have vacated their positions, chief deputies have taken over until a replacement was appointed. Willon and Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said that while a chief deputy in this case would fulfill administrative duties, their offices believe the line of succession does not allow her to serve as acting governor.
So, even if Democrats choose to block any Arnold appointee, somebody who had the trust of John Garamendi will have the control of those votes on the boards. Good news, there.
As John Garamendi nears his coronation hard-fought election in CA-10, the Capitol is all abuzz over who will replace him as the political powerhouse known as Lite Guv.
If Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi wins a special congressional election Tuesday in the Democrat-leaning 10th Congressional District, Schwarzenegger has the power to appoint Garamendi's replacement.
The Republican governor has not tipped his hand. He has the option of choosing a caretaker who will serve out Garamendi's last year. Or he could use the appointment to reward a Republican legislator for working on his behalf in recent years. (SacBee)
Sure, Arnold could nominate Sen. Maldonado, but guess who hates that? Jeff Denham and Sam Aanestad, who have been banking on opposing Arnold at every turn in order to get the LG nod. Now, the nominee only needs majorities in each house, so Democratic support alone could be enough, and a vacant Senate seat in Maldo's coastal district could be enough to satisfy Democrats. After all, would the Dems rather have an extra seat in the Senate or the LG position? Furthermore, it's not even clear that an incumbent Maldonado wins the primary in 2010.
Of course, Arnold sees this problem too. Hee might try to float some right-wing name to toss some red meat to the base, and might even nominate some winger. However, Arnold knows there's no way a right-wing republican gets through to replace Garamendi, so the pick will ultimately be somebody like former LA Mayor Richard Riordan, or a similar type who doesn't plan on seeking reelection.
But hey, Arnold, I double dog dare you to put Maldo up. C'mon...do it.
