In the News

DOWNEY – Rep. Robert Garcia (CA-42) secured $850,000 for the new Downey YMCA as part of the new federal government funding package signed into law by President Joe Biden. Garcia secured over $15 million in total for local projects, including $9.8 million for the Long Beach area.

“Any ban on TikTok is not just banning the freedom of expression — you’re literally causing huge harm to our national economy,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), who voted against the measure, told a rally of opponents Tuesday. “Small-business owners across the country use TikTok to move our economy forward. Some of these creators and these business owners solely depend on TikTok for their revenue and their job. To rush a process forward that could ban their form of work, particularly young people in this country, is misguided.”

Congressman Robert Garcia joins Chris Jansing Reports to discuss his in opposition to the House TikTok bill.

The bill that could lead to TikTok getting blocked from app stores is meeting some resistance from Hill progressives, many of whom have embraced the social media platform to reach younger constituents. “I didn't support it before the classified briefing, and there was nothing that changed my mind,” said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), who predicted opposition to the bill was “actually growing.”

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) was among those speaking out this week about the investigative push from House Republicans that culminated Tuesday in a Judiciary Committee hearing with Robert Hur, who as Special Counsel led an investigation into the discovery of classified documents at locations associated with President Joe Biden. Hur declined to pursue any charges, though he produced a final report that many characterized as politically slanted.

A California Democrat is marking Women’s History Month with a tribute on the House floor to “one of the most influential Latin artists of all time,” singer Selena. “Few artists have shaped American and Latin music like Selena Quintanilla-Pérez,” Rep. Robert Garcia said Tuesday on the floor of the House. “The queen of Tejano music — who I grew up listening to — has won the Grammy lifetime achievement award and dozens of top awards and honors.”

Washington D.C. —  California cities and counties might be on the hook for more than $300 million they spent placing thousands of homeless residents in hotels in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. [...] A Monday letter by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), signed by 34 other Democratic members and one Republican — Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), asks FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to reconsider and reimburse cities that are already strapped for cash. “We’re talking about the single largest loss of life event that we’ve had to go through in over a generation,” Garcia said. “This idea that we’re not going to, in this massive emergency, fully reimburse cities and counties for housing folks ... is crazy. FEMA has a responsibility to fix this problem.”

On Thursday, Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Robert Garcia of California sent a letter to the chief operating officer of SpaceX, which owns Starlink, expressing concern over accusations from Ukrainian officials that its intelligence service had discovered Russians using the technology in the occupied region of Donetsk. One reason this could be a problem is because President Joe Biden signed an executive order in 2022 that prohibits Americans from making new business investments in Donetsk while its under Russian control.