Congressional Update Congressman Mark DeSaulnier Serving the 11 th - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Congressional Update Congressman Mark DeSaulnier Serving the 11 th District of California 1 April 12, 2017

Map of the Congressional District (CA-11) 2

Rep. DeSaulnier’s Background Public Service: • Concord Planning Commission, 1988 – 1991 • Concord City Council, 1991 – 1994 • Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, 1994 – 2006 • California State Assembly, 2006 – 2008 • California State Senate, 2008 – 2014 • U.S. House of Representatives, 2015 – Present Leadership Positions: • Board member, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) • Board member, Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) • Board member, Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) • Board member, California Air Resources Board (CARB) • Chair, Senate Transportation Committee • Chair, Senate Labor and Industrial Relationships Committee 3 • Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee (First Freshman) • Chair and Founder, EPIC Caucus

Constituent Services Since taking office January 3, 2015, our office has: • Assisted more than 3,400 constituents in navigating problems with a federal agency; • Responded to over 172,500 constituent inquiries; • Worked with over 2,130 constituents to secure tours of the Washington D.C. area and flags flown over the U.S. Capitol; • Met with over 3,500 constituents at 39 Town Halls and Mobile District Office Hours. 4 Updated: Apr. 11, 2017

TOWN HALLS & MOBILE DISTRICT OFFICE HOURS 2015 Town Halls 2016 Town Halls Mobile District Office Hours Concord Richmond Martinez Antioch El Cerrito Pittsburg Danville Pleasant Hill Walnut Creek Danville Bay Point Walnut Creek Walnut Creek El Cerrito Richmond Walnut Creek Richmond Lafayette Orinda Clayton Orinda Pittsburg Moraga Martinez San Pablo Pittsburg Concord El Cerrito Bay Point El Cerrito 5 2017 Town Halls Pacheco San Pablo Kensington Martinez Concord Pleasant Hill Bay Point Antioch Richmond

National Economic Outlook • 11.3 million private sector jobs were created under President Obama. • American households have recovered more than $30 trillion in net worth since 2009. • U.S. consumer confidence rose to 98.5 in January 2017 – the highest reading since January 2004. • The U.S. is leading the world in both oil and natural gas production, contributing to a roughly 40% drop in oil prices over the second half of 2014. At the same time, solar energy is up tenfold since 2008, while wind energy has increased threefold. 6 Sources: CNN, University of Michigan

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California is the 6 th Largest Economy in World • California is the 6 th largest economy in the world. • California’s economy produces over $1 trillion more than the next most productive state, New York. • California’s production is greater than Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri combined . 8 Source: Orange County Register

114th Congress Accomplishments • Improvements to the Every Student Succeeds Act (H.R. 5) • Head Start Streamlining Amendment – ENACTED! (Public Law 114-95) • Family Engagement Centers Amendment – ENACTED! (Public Law 114-95) • Concussion Protections Amendment – ENACTED! (Public Law 114-95) • 21 st Century Community Learning Centers – ENACTED! (Public Law 114-95) • The John Muir National Historic Site Expansion Act (H.R. 1289) : Authorizes the National Park Service to acquire approximately 44 acres of land in Martinez, California – PASSED HOUSE! • Improvements to the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act (H.R. 22) • Guardrail Amendment – ENACTED! (Public Law 114-94) • Improvements to the North American Energy Security and 9 Infrastructure Act (H.R. 8) • Crude by Rail Amendment – PASSED HOUSE!

U.S. House of Representatives: 115 th Congress 193 – Democrats 238 – Republicans 0 – Independents 4 – Vacancies 10 1. Pompeo (R), KS resigned 01/23/2017 to be CIA director 2. Becerra (D), CA resigned 01/24/2017 to be California attorney general 3. Price (R), GA resigned 02/10/2017 to be Health and Human Services secretary 4. Mulvaney (R), SC resigned 02/16/2017 to be OMB director

President Trump’s Cabinet Draining the Swamp? • Pres. George W. Bush’s cabinet combined net worth of $250 million • President’s named cabinet combined net worth of $14 billion! • Commerce pick: Wilbur Ross – Owner, Sago Mine: A West Virginia coal mine where a dozen miners lost their lives in a 2006 explosion • Treasury Secretary: Steve Mnuchin – Goldman Sachs Executive and Co-founder, OneWest Bank Group that was accused of abusive foreclosure methods • Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson – CEO/Chair, ExxonMobil, received Order of Friendship from Russian President Putin. President Trump’s Cabinet Picks (* indicates picks that have been confirmed) : Justice: Sen. Jeff Sessions* Commerce: Wilbur Ross Defense: Gen. James Mattis* Education: Betsy DeVos* Energy: Gov. Rick Perry Health & Human Services: Rep. Tom Price* Homeland Security: Gen. John Kelly* HUD: Ben Carson Labor: Alexander Acosta State: Rex Tillerson* 11 Transportation: Elaine Chao* Treasury: Steven Mnuchin* Agriculture: Gov. Sonny Perdue Interior: Rep. Ryan Zinke Veterans Affairs: David Shulkin*

The President’s Budget: Winners and Losers Skewed Priorities! Despite identifying $125 billion in waste at DOD, the budget prioritizes increasing funding for DOD and cuts other vital programs. 12

The President’s Budget: Zeroed Out Programs • Among the dozens of programs proposed to be entirely eliminated by the Trump Budget are: • Chemical Safety Board • Corporation for National and Community Service • Corporation for Public Broadcasting • Institute of Museum and Library Services • Legal Services Corporation • National Endowment for the Arts • National Endowment for the Humanities • United States Institute of Peace • United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 13 • U.S. Trade and Development Agency

Supporting Education • Education Listening Tour • Expand access and improve affordability • Oversight of Department of Education • Sec. Betsy DeVos (former-Chair, American Federation of Children) • President- elect’s First 100 Days: Reallocate $20 billion towards school choice initiatives • Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act • Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization • Implementation of Every Student Succeeds Act 14 (ESSA)

Future of Work, Wages, and Labor • Co-led by Congressmen Mark Pocan (D-WI), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and Don Norcross (D-NJ) • Series of regional meetings with experts • Researchers discussing their findings on the future of jobs, wages, and the labor union movement • Workers who are directly impacted by local, state, and federal policies • Events: • East Bay: January 17 th • Wisconsin: April 20 th 15

Oversight & Accountability • Enhancing transparency and accountability • Examining actual and perceived conflicts of interest by Executive Branch officers • Rigorous oversight over federal agencies with focus on state/regional implications • Investigating ExxonMobil shareholder transparency re: climate change • Investigating Wells Fargo business practices • Examining Department of Defense reported waste of $125 billion • Preventing another Volkswagen emissions defeat device 16 scandal

Transportation & Infrastructure • Newly appointed to the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee • Interested in building on the work done at the local and state level to base project decision on performance and merit • Introduced Metropolitan Planning Enhancement Act • Launched Urban Regional Studies Caucus • Co-chair, Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR) • Focus on studying benefits of regional cooperation 17 for housing, transportation, workers, the environment, etc.

Campaign Finance • The 2016 election cycle was the most expensive election on record, with over $6.9 billion spent on the Presidential and Congressional elections combined, a 120% increase over the 2000 elections • The cost of Congressional elections has spiked even further, with over $4.2 billion spent in 2016, a 155% increase from the 2000 elections • The Government by the People Act would encourage public financing of political campaigns to: • Provide citizens with a campaign contribution credit to let their voice be heard and • Gives candidates an incentive to seek out small donors 18

Campaign Finance Citizens United Decision 19

Navigating this Administration • Uphold constitutional checks and balances on new administration • Conflicts of Interest – President’s complex business empire • Conflicts of Interest (Part 2) – Cabinet and Cabinet nominee’s business ties and anti-regulatory perspectives • How best to protect California’s environmental leadership • What the President will actually do while in office • How to maintain U.S. global leadership under an isolationist administration • Can the free market survive? 20