Dear neighbor, 

Firstly, L'Shanah Tovah to all in our district observing Rosh Hashanah! Wishing you a happy, healthy and sweet New Year. 

After a productive district work period, I arrived back in Washington this week in hopes of continuing our work to lower costs, create jobs, and make our communities safer. Unfortunately, I was greeted once again by chaos, crisis, and confusion from my colleagues across the aisle. Extremist Republicans are threatening to shut down the government, hurt American families, and endanger our national security. Rather than focusing on improving the lives of the American people and securing funding for communities impacted by natural disasters, Republicans are preparing to force harsh cuts to programs that families count on including health care, child care, food assistance, and more. An extreme MAGA Republican government shutdown is just the latest in a series of reckless, irresponsible actions taken by this majority. 

While my House Democrat colleagues and I are prepared to do the work of the American people, Speaker McCarthy is wasting precious time to follow the lead of the most extreme wing of his conference. This week, with zero evidence, he announced that the extreme MAGA Republican Conference is opening an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Don’t just take it from me—even many Republican lawmakers have acknowledged that they have no evidence to launch an impeachment. Instead of funding the government to ensure American families can access vital assistance and services upon which they rely, Speaker McCarthy and extreme MAGA Republicans are punching their tickets for impeachment theater. 

I joined my colleague Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar at our weekly leadership press conference earlier in the week to discuss the absurd priorities of the extreme MAGA majority. Check it out below. 

VOTING NO ON POLLUTED AIR: Last Congress, Democrats delivered historic investments to support our transition to clean energy, including for electric vehicles. Both the Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act have lowered costs for families, created new clean energy manufacturing jobs, and lowered air pollution in cities through their electric vehicle provisions. Despite this, extreme MAGA Republicans this week attempted to legislate away these incentives and years of innovation in clean transportation. 

Their bill would roll back California’s authority to set more protective vehicle emission standards and in turn lead to more polluted air in our cities. Seventeen other states have adopted all or parts of these standards and would also be impacted by this misguided proposal. As we confront the climate crisis, Congress should be making it easier for American families to purchase electric vehicles. Instead, extreme MAGA Republicans are putting polluters over people and attacking California’s right to fight air pollution and encourage the transition to clean energy vehicles. I voted NO on this regressive and dangerous legislation.  

Here’s what else I worked on this week in Washington:

• Commemorated the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 attacks.  
  
• Spoke with experts at Brookings about how to prepare for the future of artificial intelligence and emerging technology. 
  
• Joined my colleagues on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee to hear from Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm about the Department of Energy’s science and technology priorities. 

Congressman Lieu speaks with Secretary Granholm after the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing on the Department of Energy’s priorities on Thursday.

COVID BOOSTERS APPROVED: This week the CDC approved an updated COVID-19 booster vaccination for everyone over the age of six months. The new booster will target the most common COVID variants currently circulating and will protect against serious illness. Vaccination remains the best protection against COVID-19-related hospitalization and death. To learn more about the importance of vaccines and get up to date on the latest booster, click here.  

PLANNING A GETAWAY? If you’re planning to travel abroad, don’t forget to check your passport’s expiration date! Passports that will expire within a year should be renewed. Please reach out to my Los Angeles office if you or your family need assistance with passport renewal. The State Department HIGHLY RECOMMENDS that you check your passport and ensure that it is current, or renew it before you plan an international trip. 

Due to a higher volume of requests across the country, the State Department’s standard passport processing times are now 10 to 13 weeks, while expedited processing time is seven to nine weeks. If you need to apply for a new passport in person, please click here. If you have a passport that will expire within six months and need to renew it via mail, or if you need to correct or change your current passport, please click here. If you’ve already applied for a new or renewed passport and would like to check the status of your request, please click here.   

For more information on my work in Congress, please visit my website at lieu.house.gov and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have any questions or concerns, please call my D.C. office at (202) 225-3976 or my Los Angeles district office at (323) 651-1040.    

I look forward to updating you again soon.  

Sincerely,   

Ted W. Lieu

Member of Congress