30 Days In Office -  Update From Congressman TJ Cox

Dear Friends,

It's been 30 days since I took the oath of office to represent you in our United States Congress. I’m honored and humbled to be a part of the most diverse Freshman Class ever. The faces of my new colleagues are the faces of America, representing all the beauty and promise of our great nation. There is so much to accomplish and I'm confident that with your support we can achieve our legislative goals for the 21st Congressional District.
 

The challenges facing our communities are legion and have gone unaddressed for far too long.  As I promised, your priorities will always be my priorities. We all know that forcing workers – any workers - to work without pay is just flat wrong and we shouldn’t be shutting down our government over policy disputes. That's why the first bill we introduced would protect our federal workers during government shutdowns and ensure they receive the pay they’ve earned. In our first month, we’ve co-sponsored 16 bills, opened our first district office, and spoken up on behalf of our farmers to fight for greater market access - we're just getting started.

Here's what we've accomplished over our first 30 days: 

Legislation Introduced:
 

• Immediate Financial Relief for Federal Employees Act - During the longest government shutdown in history, 420,000 dedicated public servants were forced to work without pay and 380,000 workers were furloughed, not knowing when they'd return to work. The American people shouldn't be forced to pay the price of partisan politics, that is why I introduced the Immediate Financial Relief for Federal Employees Act, which would give federal employees a zero (0.0%) APR loan of up to $6,000 should they need it during a government shutdown that lasts more than 15 consecutive days. Loans would be issued by the Department of the Treasury (USDT) and a clause is included in the bill that would authorize USDT to issue these loans even if the agency is shutdown. To read the full bill text click here.

Cosponsored

• For the People Act of 2019 – Expands Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduces the influence of big money in politics, and strengthens ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.
• Washington, D.C. Admission Act – The D.C. Admission Act would provide for the admission of D.C. into the Union as the 51st State.
• Homeless Veteran Families Act - Ensures veterans with families have access to more affordable housing options so they aren’t forced to choose between staying with their families or being placed in VA housing without them.
• Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2019 – Requires a background check for every firearm sale. The purpose of this Act is to utilize the current background checks process in the United States to ensure individuals prohibited from gun possession are not able to obtain firearms.
• California Clean Coast Act of 2019 – Prohibits oil and gas leasing off the coast of the State of California and for other purposes.
• Keep Families Together Act – Prohibits an agent or officer of a designated agency from removing a child from his or her parent or legal guardian, at or near the port of entry or within 100 miles of a border of the United States, except in extraordinary circumstances.
• Agricultural Worker Program Act - Improves agricultural job opportunities, benefits, and provides security to immigrants who have worked in agriculture for at least 100 days during the previous two years by providing them with legal “blue” card status.
• Bill to Prohibit Saudi Arms Sales and Military Aid - Ends all U.S. arms sales, transfers and deliveries to Saudi Arabia. Should the president wish to pursue arms sale, he would need to seek a waiver from Congress, which would then require an affirmative vote.
• Automatic Voter Registration Act – Amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require each State to ensure that each individual who provides identifying information to the State motor vehicle authority is automatically registered to vote in elections for Federal office held in the State unless the individual does not meet the eligibility requirements for registering to vote in such elections or declines to be registered to vote in such elections, and for other purposes.
•  Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act - The federal law prohibiting the creation and distribution of “crush videos” does not cover the underlying acts of animal abuse, which can occur beyond the reach of state cruelty laws. The PACT Act closes that loophole by extending federal jurisdiction to these specific, particularly heinous crimes.
• Federal Worker Childcare Protection Act - Provides reimbursement to certain Federal employees for childcare expenses during the lapse in appropriations due to the government shutdown beginning on or about December 22, 2018.
• Solidarity in Salary Act - Prohibits the payment of a salary to Members of Congress, the President, and the Vice President during periods in which a government shutdown is in effect, and for other purposes.
• Paycheck Fairness Act - Helps close gender pay gaps by eliminating loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, helping to break harmful patterns of pay discrimination and strengthening workplace protections for women.
• Social Security 2100 Act - Helps protect our Social Security system and improve benefits for current and future generations. The bill does this by providing an across-the-board benefit increase for all current and future beneficiaries, a more accurate cost-of-living formula, new special minimum benefits to ensure no one will retire into poverty, and tax cuts for about 12 million beneficiaries.
• War Powers Resolution to End U.S. Involvement in Saudi-led War in Yemen – Directs the removal of US Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.
• Resolution on the Equal Rights Amendment – The U.S. Constitution to this day doesn’t contain explicit protections for women’s equality. The resolution repeals the expired deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Often referred to as the “3-state strategy,” it would support three more states’ efforts so that the ERA would finally be added to the Constitution. 

Policy Letters I Wrote and Cosigned 

I've joined my colleagues in sending 12 policy letters to different government agencies and Congressional Leadership.

• Letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Perdue regarding the government shutdown's impact on SNAP benefits. To read the full letter text click here.
• Letter to Senator McConnell urging him to support bills that would help end the government shutdown.
• Letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Perdue requesting an extension for producers to apply for retaliatory tariff relief under the Market Facilitation Program, because of the government shutdown FSA service centers were closed and producers were unable to apply.
• Letter to Department of State Secretary Mike Pompeo in support of a three-year pledge to the Global Fund -- a partnership to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
• Letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Perdue asking USDA to accelerate efforts to gain market access to China for California Hass Avocados.
• Letter to Secretary of Health & Human Services Alex Azar weighing in on Center for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS’) Medicare Part D proposal, which would negatively impact Medicare beneficiaries living with mental illness.
• Letter to Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma in support of the Medicare Advantage Program and it’s affordable patient-centered coverage options. 
• Bicameral Letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross requesting that the Department terminate its current agreement suspending the outstanding antidumping investigation on fresh tomatoes from Mexico.
• Letter to Speaker Pelosi requesting that Lunar New Year and the contributions of the API community be recognized in the Democratic response to the State of the Union, since it will be held on Lunar New Year.
• Letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Perdue expressing concern about actions taken by USDA revoking guidance welcoming lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth into the 4-H organization.
• Letter to Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee requesting a commemorative stamp to honor the Chinese Railroad Workers for the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad.
• Letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Perdue regarding the effects of the thirty-five-day government shutdown on wildfire prevention efforts in California and other western states.

Highlights

Committee Assignments

I’m proud to announce I have been assigned to two committees during the 116th Congress. I will serve on the House Committee on Agriculture – on the Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research, and Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittees. I will also serve on the House Committee on Natural Resources and was honored to be named Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. I will also serve as a member of the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife.  

I’m privileged to be named to these two critical committees, which will give me the ability to directly influence the priorities and polices that affect our communities. Now, we’ll get to work to ensure that every resident of the Valley has access to clean, fresh drinking water; that our agricultural industry has a reliable and plentiful water supply, that we continue to expand health care access and that we restore accountability in Washington.

House Floor Speech

In my first-floor speech, I talked about Raj Kaur, a single mother, breast cancer survivor, and correctional officer at the Mendota Federal Prison, who was impacted by the government shut down. In solidarity with Raj and all the federal workers in my district, I asked the Chief Administrative Officer to withhold my pay, until we re-opened the government and showed Americans that we value our workers and their labor. Click here to watch my full speech.

Op-ed

TJ Cox: We need real border security now, but the border wall is not it

Reasonable people on both sides of the political debate can disagree about the right way to stop the flow of illegal drugs into our country and regulate our immigration system. But the current crisis, manufactured by the president’s decision to shut down our government unless he gets a border wall, does nothing to address these concerns.

The fact is, national security experts, including the president’s own chief of staff, agree the border wall is an expensive and ineffective way to achieve our common goal of fewer illegal border crossings and stopping the flow of illegal drugs. As I’ve stated before, a wall is a 12th century solution to a 21st century problem. To read the full text click here.
 
Meetings & Events
Already, we've held over 20 meetings with constituents in every corner of the district - from Lamont Sanger, to Wasco, to Mendota. We're turning over a new leaf in this office and ensuring that every constituent has the opportunity to meet with me and my office: no more locked doors and appointments for lobbyists and special interests only. Here are some of the highlights:

It was wonderful meeting with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) in my Washington, D.C. office. We discussed the importance of comprehensive immigration reform during the 116th Congress. I was deeply inspired by the stories shared by some students who are DACA recipients. Their perseverance regardless of their trials and tribulations is something I will never forget and think of when I cast my votes on the House Floor.

 

While things get busy in D.C., I always ensure that I make it back home to be with my constituents when Congress is not in session. I was honored to join the Wasco Veterans of Foreign Wars for a Pancake Breakfast. I was humbled to be in their presence and hear their stories. Their service is something we shall always thank them for and never forget.


 

I also had the opportunity to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at the annual MLK Breakfast in Bakersfield and at the MLK Community Clean up in Lamont. It was great celebrating this special day with my constituents. Dr. King’s legacy is one we must continue to celebrate and build upon.

On January 19, I joined my SEIU brothers and sisters at the Women’s March in Bakersfield. I was proud to march in solidarity with the empowering women in my district.

 
TJ’s Recommended Reading

Frequently, I read articles or see videos that I think my constituents would benefit from.


California Healthline (1/3/19) – How the Government Shutdown Affects Health Programs   

This administration’s temper tantrum affects far more people and industries outside of the federal government and its workers. Lives are being put at risk. The California Healthline article highlights the constraints the shutdown has put a variety of health programs in.     


Washington Post (1/11/19) – How can the government expect people to work without pay indefinitely?

This is a great article that sheds some light on how the government can force people to work without pay. The truth is, the government can’t, and is in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Discrepancies in the FLSA should be corrected once and for all. This is an injustice to the American people.

 
Washington Post (1/22/19) - The Health 202: Health-care industry preps offense against Medicare-for-All

Getting to Medicare-for-all won’t be easy. There are powerful deep-moneyed interests who will spare no expense to ensure nothing gets passed that would affect their profits as is highlighted in the Washington Post article.  


Staying Informed

You can find more press releases, commentary and information on issues I’m working on at cox.house.gov. I also encourage you to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. 


If you’re ever in DC, please call ahead so we can arrange tours for you and update you on upcoming events you may be interested in attending. Be sure to visit us at our office, 1728 Longworth and take the “TJ Challenge” – you get a special prize if you can tell me how many steps there are from the basement up to the 7th floor (and you’ll have to walk them to know!)  
 

All the best,

Congressman TJ Cox
Member of Congress