Press Releases
July 12, 2024
Washington, D.C. – This week, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) introduced the SHIELD Act to ensure that immigrants receive high quality legal representation in immigration court. Under current law, there is no right to counsel in immigration court. Millions of people, including children, face complicated deportation proceedings without lawyers. The SHIELD Act will create a grant program to support the recruitment, training, retention, and development of staff and resources for immigrant legal defenders. This legislation aims to increase the quality of legal representation for individuals facing deportation and create a more just and humane immigration system for our country. Congresswoman Norma Torres (CA-35) and Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (IL-03) are original co-sponsors of the legislation. The bill text can be found here.
Issues:
Fighting for Immigrant Families
July 11, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) and Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02) introduced the Surveilling Effluent Water for Epidemic Response (SEWER) Act, which will fund the work of the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System. The bill authorizes the program at $150 million for each of the next five fiscal years. To read the full bill text, click here.
Congressman Robert Garcia Releases Second Annual Pride Playlist to Celebrate the Beginning of Summer
June 25, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) released his 2024 Pride Playlist to celebrate the end of Pride Month. The playlist includes songs from artists like Chappell Roan, Beyoncé, and Selena. This is the second annual Pride Playlist that the Congressman has released. You can listen on Spotify or Apple Music.
June 5, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42), joined by co-leads Congressman Nick LaLota (NY-01) and Congressman Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), introduced the Supporting Passengers with Efficient and Effective Detention (SPEED) through Screening Act, which will require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to develop strategies to reduce intrusive pat-downs without reducing transportation security, with particular consideration of passenger populations who receive pat-downs at disproportionately high rates. Security pat-downs during travel can be inconvenient, humiliating, and uncomfortable for travelers, and this legislation aims to make the travel process more respectful while maintaining the highest standards of security. To read the full bill text, click here.
May 17, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) and Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) sent a letter to Secretary Mayorkas of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the acting head of the Customs and Border Patrol requesting an update on actions the Department has taken to address the threat of racism and white nationalism within the Department.
May 15, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) released the following statement after the Peruvian Government’s Health Ministry ruled to classify transgender, non-binary, and intersex people in Peru as “mentally ill:”
May 14, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) announced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has allocated an additional $97 million to bring the total annual federal funding to $112,098,840 for the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors to fund expanded operations and maintenance work as part of the fiscal year 2024 Army Corps Work Plan. The Work Plan allocates the additional funds Congress appropriated above the President’s budget.
May 6, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced the BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which would authorize the U.S. Department of Transportation to distribute $500 billion over ten years to electrify and modernize public vehicles and rail and build new electric transportation infrastructure across the country. This funding would be available under President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act. The bill had previously been led in the House by former Rep. Andy Levin.
May 6, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) and Senator Jon Ossoff’s (D-GA) bipartisan bill to cut waste and improve government service has passed the U.S. House. The Eliminate Useless Reports Act is co-led by Senator James Lankford (R-OK) in the Senate and Representative Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06) in the House. The legislation will increase government efficiency by eliminating unnecessary federal agency reports to Congress, saving taxpayer dollars and allowing agencies to focus on their core missions.
May 3, 2024
Long Beach, CA – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia announced an important milestone towards a Superfund Designation, which would fund lead contamination cleanup, for neighborhoods in Southeast Los Angeles County that were polluted by the former Exide Technologies Inc. facility. Following a preliminary assessment, and as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalizes its site investigation, Region 9 of the EPA has written to the State of California seeking the State’s agreement in designating the site as a Superfund site. This moves the community closer to its goal of major federal funding for the cleanup of toxic lead pollution. In February 2023, Congressman Garcia joined California’s Senators seeking a Superfund National Priorities List designation for Exide.