Rep. TJ Cox: 200 days of extraordinary productivity for people of Central Valley
I’m often asked, “What’s been your proudest moment so far?” For me, the answer is easy. It was voting to pass H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act that would provide a pathway to citizenship for so many of our young men and women, Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, who contribute so much to our society. My staff was kind enough to frame my vote for this bill. If you come to our D.C. office, you’ll see it on our wall.
In our first 200 days, we’ve also passed bold legislation to strengthen protections for people with pre-existing conditions, lower prescription drug costs, and bring down health care premiums. We passed the Paycheck Fairness Act to close the gender pay gap, and we were able to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act to defend the freedom of survivors.
Most recently we voted to increase the minimum wage to ensure hard-working Americans in our country earn enough to put food on their table and make ends meet. The passage of this legislation is expected to allow up to 33 million Americans join and remain part of the middle class.
I was especially proud to see that my bipartisan legislation, the Family Farmer Relief Act, passed the House this past week. Due to this administration’s devastating trade war, Central Valley farmers, have faced unprecedented challenges that have put the livelihoods of thousands of families at risk. My legislation will give our farmers the tools that they need to survive the downturn and allow the backbone of our Central Valley economy to thrive once again.
While it’s been 200 days with many successes, my work for you and your family is only beginning. I’m here to support and serve you in the United States Congress. I assure you; I will keep working to expand economic opportunities, protect the human rights of migrant families and Dreamers, bring affordable healthcare access to all, and fight to ensure the farmers and ranchers of the Central Valley have a voice in the Congress.
Capitol Hill Highlights
Voted YES on H.R. 3877, the Budget Act of 2019
The House voted and passed the bipartisan Budget Act, the agreement on government spending to protect national security and invest in the financial security, health, and well-being of the American people. The legislation provides equal spending increases for non-defense and defense programs and ensures that our country will not default on its financial obligations. My colleagues and I voted for the passage of this legislation because it has the following critical provisions:
- Increases the National Institutes of Health budget to accelerate life-saving cancer and health research;
- Provides an additional $2.5 billion for a timely, accurate, and fair 2020 Census;
- Protects funding for veterans, the Child Care Development Block Grant, and new resources to combat the opioid epidemic; and
- Prevents devastating funding cuts of 14 percent to defense spending and 13 percent to non-defense spending.
Voted YES on H.R. 946, Stopping Bad Robocalls Act
My colleagues and I voted to pass the bipartisan Stopping Bad Robocalls Act by a vote of 429-3 (can you believe that 3 members actually voted “no”?). Over the last year, Americans across the country received close to 48 billion robocalls. These calls are dangerous and an estimated 43 million people were scammed out of $10.5 billion in 2018 alone. The bill does the following:
- Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to add an additional penalty of up to $10,000 for intentional robocall violations;
- Ensures the FCC has authority and the tools to take quick action when it tracks down robocallers, including by extending the statute of limitations from one year to as many as four years for callers violating robocall prohibitions;
- Requires the FCC to enact safeguards so companies can’t abuse robocall exemptions;
- Directs the FCC to issue rules protecting consumers from calls they didn’t agree to receive and to ensure consumers can withdraw consent; and
- Requires phone carriers to implement authentication technology so consumers can trust their caller ID again.
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