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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. 

Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee pressed SpaceX on Wednesday over allegations that Russia is using the company’s Starlink terminals in its war against Ukraine, “potentially in violation of U.S. sanctions and export controls.” In a letter to SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell, Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said they are alarmed by the possibility that Russia could be using Starlink technology to “coordinate attacks against Ukrainian troops in illegally occupied regions.”

Congressman Garcia joined to discuss President Biden's 2024 State of the Union address.

An influx of $3 billion in grant funding through the federal Clean Ports Program drew praise from the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach this week as the application process gets under way this month.

House Democrats Robert Garcia, D-Calif. and Jamie Raskin, D-Md, sent a letter to SpaceX demanding transparency from the defense contractor following reports of potentially illegal purchases and use of Starlink satellite internet equipment by Russia in occupied territories of Ukraine. 

Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) sent a letter Wednesday night demanding that the company report complaints about potential illegal acquisitions of Starlink terminals, including in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. The lawmakers said they were alarmed by Ukrainian intelligence officials’ allegations that Russian forces deployed the company’s terminals in eastern Ukraine, potentially running afoul of U.S. sanctions.

In remarks on the House floor following a Congressional deposition of the president’s son Hunter Biden, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) reminded his listeners of what he deemed “the real White House crime family.” He was referencing the Trumps, singling out former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.