• California Sen. Kamala Harris came out against the nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for U.S. attorney general on Jan. 14. Speaking before a crowd at an annual breakfast in Los Angeles commemmorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harris cited Sessions’ “troubling pattern” of disregard of laws that protect those in the immigrant and LGBT communities from discrimination, and his failed support of the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act. “The office of the United States attorney general is not just a cabinet position, it is symbol of our country’s values and commitment to our constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law,” Harris said.
• During the Jan. 12 U.S. Senate confirmation hearing of Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) on Capitol Hill, Sen. Kamala Harris asked the three-term congressman—who’s Trump’s pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)—whether he believes in climate change and if it’s a national security threat. “My commentary most of all has been directed to ensuring that the policies America put in place actually achieve the objective of ensuring that we didn’t have catastrophic harm that resulted from change in climate,” Pompeo replied. “Frankly, as the director of the CIA, I would prefer today to not get into the details of climate debate and science. My role is going to be so different and unique from that. It is going to be to work alongside warriors keeping Americans safe.” Harris asked also asked, “Do you believe NASA’s findings are debateable?” Pompeo replied, “I can’t give you any judgment about that today.” Harris then asked Pompeo if he’d have a follow-up conversation on the topic. “I’d be happy to continue to talk about it,” he said.
• Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), who represents California’s 24th District, took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 12 to give his first congressional speech opposing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” which Republicans hope to make the first order of business with President Donald Trump. With only one minute to give the speech, Carbajal stated that at least 45,000 of his constituents would be left without “access to reliable, affordable health care coverage,” including seniors, working families, and children. “What concerns me most is the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act without putting forth any sort of replacement,” Carbajal said. “It’s simply reckless governance. This is not a game.” The next day, Carbajal received an appointment to the House Committee on Budget, which is responsible for oversight of the federal budget process. Carbajal then proposed an amendment to a budget resolution that would allow people to opt-out of any replacement plan in states where the uninsured rate were to drop as a result of Obamacare’s repeal, but it was blocked by House Republicans without consideration.
• On Jan. 12. U.S. Senate Republicans took the first steps to repeal Obamacare by passing a Sen. Concurrent Resolution 3. Introduced by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) and passed at 1:05 a.m. with a simple majority, the resolution essentially begins the repeal by gutting all of the budgetary components of the health care law as soon as Trump was sworn into office. The resolution requires the House and Senate committes that oversee health care to institute extreme cost-cutting measures. The resolution was passed along partisan lines, with 51 Republicans voting for and 46 Democrats and two Independents—including newly elected California Sen. Kamala Harris—voting against it. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D) didn’t vote on the resolution.
This article appears in Jan 26 – Feb 2, 2017.