May 15, 2023

Dear Neighbor,

It was a busy week in Washington last week. I led a press conference where members from Democratic Leadership, Caucus Chairs, and CHC Members spoke out against a cruel and extreme immigration bill, talked about barriers to affordable housing, made headway in our fight against the climate crisis, and continued our work to ensure Medicare makes innovative Alzheimer's drugs accessible to patients.  

This week, the Republican's unveiled H.R. 2: a cruel, inhumane, and unworkable immigration bill that fear-mongers against migrants, makes it more difficult to asylum in the United States, impedes the ability of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Border Patrol to capture drug smugglers and human traffickers, defunds organizations that assist migrants seeking asylum, and restarts construction on the ineffective and expensive border wall. 

Last Thursday, I led the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Asian American Caucus, the Progressive Caucus, the New Democratic Coalition, and House Democratic Leaders in a press conference to speak out against this bill.  

Geothermal energy has the potential to help bring 24/7 clean power to California and across the country. In the Infrastructure Law, Democrats made investments to continue to develop technology and to help bring geothermal energy to more parts of the country. 

I asked Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm how these investments can help advance this clean energy resource. 

Low-income communities and communities of color are harmed by pollution and hit hardest by the climate crisis, but don't have the same resources to invest in solutions.

When Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act last year, we included $3 billion from my Climate Justice Grants Act to make sure sure federal funding would be prioritized for these communities.  In our Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee hearing, I asked Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan for an update on EPA's efforts to make sure frontline communities can access these dollars.

First-time homebuyers, especially Latinos, are facing more and more barriers when looking for and purchasing a home.  Last Monday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus joined the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in Las Vegas, where we held a roundtable with various housing organizations in Nevada to talk about the work we've done in Congress to provide access to affordable housing and increase minority homeownership. We also heard from stakeholders about how to best address the outstanding challenges in affordable housing. 

For the past year, we have asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide coverage for Alzheimer's disease drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  These drugs are safe and effective, and CMS must cover these drugs under Medicare so more patients can get access to these innovative treatments. 

I spoke to The Hill last Thursday about my experience with Alzheimer's and how my bill, the Access to Innovative Treatments Act, would help improve access to these drugs under Medicare. 

Sincerely,

Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán

Member of Congress

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