Hi Neighbor,

I hope the initial weeks of the new year have been filled with joy and positivity for you. It's been very busy both in CA-28 and our nation's capital! I’d like to share a few updates about matters concerning California, Congress, and the nation at large.

Sunday, January 21, 2024, marked one year since a gunman entered Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, and opened fire, murdering 11 of our neighbors and seriously wounding 9 others. To mark the one-year anniversary, I participated in a roundtable organized by the City of Monterey Park and a beautiful public vigil. Hearing the stories of survivors, the families of victims, and local and state elected officials all discussing resilience and strength in the face of such a profound tragedy filled me with hope.

Every community deserves to live free from the fear and tragedy that Monterey Park has faced this past year. It's for this reason that I have been a steadfast advocate for banning high-capacity magazines, enforcing universal background checks, and reinstating the ban on assault weapons. Building upon the President Biden's efforts to enhance 'red flag' laws and other gun violence prevention measures, I introduced H.R. 4780, the Language Access to Gun Violence Prevention Strategies Act, and H.R. 4854, the Fair Legal Access Grants (FLAG) Act. Together, these bills would ensure that resources for preventing gun violence are accessible to all, and in the languages spoken by immigrant and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and are distributed in ways that are culturally sensitive.

Click HERE or below to learn more:

For my neighbors in the San Gabriel Valley, the past year has been one of profound grieving and healing. Let us keep our community’s unyielding support for one another alive. And may the Year of the Dragon bring you & your family prosperity and happiness!

Click HERE or below to watch my full speech at the Monterey Park Lunar New Year Festival!

I'm extremely disappointed by the devastating JPL layoffs that were recently announced as a result of NASA-directed budget cuts to the Mars Sample Return Mission. My thoughts are with the workers who will be impacted and their families. These cuts will devastate workers and Southern California in the short-term, and they hurt the long-term viability of not just our Mars Exploration Program but also many years of scientific discovery to come.I have been working tirelessly with my California colleagues in Congress to reverse NASA's premature and misguided budget cuts that resulted in this devastating loss of jobs and talent from JPL. I am hopeful in the coming weeks we can work to broker a deal with the Administration and the Senate to restore funding to the levels necessary to rehire workers and promote the kinds of scientific discovery JPL has been on the frontlines of for decades.

To learn more, click HERE

To receive more regular updates from my office about federal grant opportunities and grants benefiting our community, please feel free to sign up for my grants newsletter subscribers list, click HERE or below:

One of my most important duties in Congress is developing new legislation. Here are a few bills I recently helped to lead:

Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act: To improve coordination between caregivers and Medicare beneficiaries and make it easier for caregivers to access pertinent health information. Click HERE for more info.
End Tax Breaks for Dark Money Act: To close a loophole in the tax code that allows billionaires to avoid capital gains taxes on appreciated assets donated to dark money organizations, a tactic that has been increasingly used to funnel dark money into the American political system. Click HERE for more info.
ACCESS Act: To establish a federal grant program to increase capacity to provide abortion services and other reproductive health care services for millions of Americans nationwide. Click HERE for more info.
Increasing Access to Foster Care Through 21 Act: To provide an incentive for all states to extend child welfare support and services for foster youth through age 21. Click HERE for more info.
Nutrition Counseling Aiding Recovery for Eating Disorders (Nutrition CARE) Act of 2024: To expand access to care for Medicare beneficiaries with eating disorders by including coverage of outpatient medical nutrition therapy through Medicare Part B. Click HERE for more info.

When completing your taxes, I highly recommend checking out the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs.

VITA offers free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals including:

Those who generally make $64,000 or less
Persons with disabilities
Limited English-speaking taxpayers

The TCE program provides complimentary tax assistance, catering specifically to individuals aged 60 and above. It specializes in addressing questions related to pensions and retirement issues.

Click HERE for more info!

And thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS is preparing to launch its Direct File pilot program in the coming weeks. California taxpayers will have access to this tool to file federal returns for this filing season, and it is completely free to use and features live online support from IRS staff. The Direct File tool is best for taxpayers with simple returns.

Click HERE to see if Direct File is right for you!

Do you know an extraordinary woman in the San Gabriel Valley who has made remarkable contributions over the past year? I'm seeking nominations for outstanding women to be honored at my Annual Congressional Women of the Year Awards Ceremony.

For more information please visit: https://chu.house.gov/WomenoftheYearAwards

Deadline to apply is: Friday, March 1st

Click HERE to learn more about our 2023 Congressional App Challenge

Click HERE for more information on the VALife insurance program

It was so fun to join community members and gather for the ribbon-cutting event which featured lots of cute 4-legged friends!

Thank you for reading,

Rep. Judy Chu

Member of Congress

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