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Dear Friend,
I hope you and your loved ones continue to stay safe and well during these difficult times. California is still experiencing dangerously high temperatures, so please take care and stay cool.
Below is some of the work my staff and I have done this week to serve you and everyone in the 52nd Congressional district.
Fighting for San Diegans during COVID-19
On Wednesday, I led 114 of my colleagues in a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer urging for the House to take up a vote this Saturday on legislation to extend enhanced unemployment insurance tied to economic indicators.
San Diegans need help, and they need help now. It’s critical we reinstate economic support that continues to roll for the remainder of this crisis, unimpeded by the prolonged political debates happening between Capitol Hill and the White House.
To read our letter, click here.
New Data Bill to Improve National COVID Response
Today, I introduced the bipartisan Health STATISTICS Act with my colleagues Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-06), Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18), and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01). This bill would vastly improve COVID-19 research by fixing detrimental inconsistencies in data collection and essential reporting to effectively combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Key public health and data policy experts are describing this bill as “…the most important development in making vital statistics data electronically available and broadly actionable in the last 40 years” and “a game changer.” This legislation is also said to be “revolutionizing the way we use data by finally standardizing and modernizing our infrastructure while maintaining the critical balance of accessibility and confidentiality.”
For more information about this bill, click here.
Votes this Weekend
Tomorrow, the House will vote on the Delivering for America Act, a bill to save the United States Postal Service (USPS). The bill will provide additional funding to the USPS and prohibit any changes to operations or service levels that would impede prompt, reliable, and efficient service for the duration of the coronavirus crisis or through January 2021.
National Day of Action
#DontMessWithUSPS
On Tuesday, I led an event at the Midway Post Office with the San Diego congressional delegation: Reps. Susan Davis, Juan Vargas, and Mike Levin, as well as Assemblymember Todd Gloria, San Diego Country Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, and the president of the local chapter of National Association of Letter Carriers. Together, we sent a clear message: don't mess with the USPS. We are committed to safeguarding the USPS to ensure it can continue its work serving San Diegans and the American people.
My office has received an onslaught of calls from those of you who are struggling due to delays caused by organizational USPS changes. Seniors and veterans are worried about not receiving critical medicine and late fees from bills paid by mail. Others are concerned that Social Security benefits, stimulus checks, paychecks, and tax returns won't reach their doorsteps soon enough in the middle of this recession. The Postal Service is the only service that reaches every address in our country and one of the nation’s largest employers, with over 630,000 heroes in blue working around the clock to get us our mail on time, securely, and at an affordable rate. It's our duty to protect this institution, especially when we expect more votes by mail this year due to the pandemic.
To watch the event, click here.
Alia from Poway contacted the office in the beginning of August to request assistance with obtaining her passport. She was concerned that she would not have her passport in time to travel after being accepted into a master’s program in Switzerland. My district staff worked with Alia to gather the necessary documents for the passport application and those from her school to request expedited processing. Alia received her passport this week thanks to these efforts.
Although the COVID-19 crisis has undeniably changed the landscape of our daily lives, some families have found relief from provisions within the Families First Coronavirus Response Act passed by Congress in March. Under federal law, parents and guardians of school-aged children are guaranteed 3 months of leave with two-thirds pay if local schools are closed due to the pandemic. See if you qualify today by clicking here.
Stay tuned next week for a special edition of this newsletter with more information on this important topic.
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