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When I first decided to run for Congress, my mentor and former law professor Elizabeth Warren told me, “If you’re doing this right, you will learn something new every day.”
It’s true. Whether it’s something new about my community, or policy, or politics, I am always learning. It’s a critical part of the job that is often overlooked.
But I’ve always been someone who loved both reading and learning. In 2017, as a newbie candidate, I attended a small grassroots fundraiser hosted by some younger voters in the district. As we discussed what I was running on and how I would lead, they asked why I knew so much about so many topics. The answer is simple—I read a lot!
While Congress has offered me the opportunity to learn from some real experts in all sorts of fields, I’ve always relied on good journalism to teach me and push me to think about things differently. I start by reading the news on my phone before doing the social media scroll.
In my government office, I send around a weekly list of articles that I call “Katie Porter Wants You to Read.” It’s a list of news articles that I find meaningful for getting or keeping perspective on our work.
Today, I’m sharing a few standouts from last year’s long list of “Katie Porter Wants You to Read” articles. These are a few topics that may not have made the headlines or the push alerts on your phone, but they’re all pieces that offer a valuable perspective or insight into the lives and problems of Americans.
New York Times: Who Gets the Water in California? Whoever Gets There First [ [link removed] ]. By Raymond Zhong and Mira Rojanasakul.
NBC: Patients at private-equity-owned hospitals get more infections and fall more often, says a new study by Harvard researchers. [ [link removed] ] By Gretchen Morgenson.
SacBee: California forces migrant farmworker students to move every year. ‘We need to survive’ [ [link removed] ]. By Mathew Miranda and Lindsey Holden.
LA Times: If Democrats want support from California’s most Latino county, they’ll have to earn it [ [link removed] ]. [ [link removed] ] By Jean Guerrero.
New York Times: New Medicare Rule Aims to Take Back $4.7 Billion From Insurers [ [link removed] ]. By Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz.
NPR: MIT, Yale, and other elite colleges are finally reaching out to rural students [ [link removed] ]. By Elissa Nadworny and Jon Marcus.
LA Times: California workers who cut countertops are dying of an incurable disease [ [link removed] ]. [ [link removed] ] By Emily Alpert Reyes and Cindy Carcamo.
New York Times: Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S [ [link removed] ]. By Hannah Dreier.
Washington Post: A rural post office was told to prioritize Amazon packages. Chaos ensued. [ [link removed] ] By Caroline O'Donovan and Jacob Bogage.
LA Times collection of articles: Why does Los Angeles have so much homelessness? [ [link removed] ] By Noah Bierman.
SF Chronicle: Here are 16 new laws Californians must start following in 2024 [ [link removed] ]. By Sara Libby and Sophia Bollag.
I hope you find at least one of these worth the read. And if you’re thinking of 2024 goals—consider making it a point to support quality journalism, especially your local newspapers.
Thanks for learning with me!
Katie Porter
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