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News from Congressman Mike Levin |
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October 2, 2024
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An Update on My Work for You
Dear Neighbor,
With all the news coming out of Washington lately, I wanted to take a minute to share some of what I’ve been working on for our district.
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| New Bill to Strengthen Nuclear Waste Management |
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This month, I introduced a new bipartisan bill to address the nuclear waste sitting at San Onofre and other decommissioned nuclear power plants across the country.
My bill acts on expert recommendations to establish a new, independent Nuclear Waste Administration, focused solely on safely managing and disposing of our country’s nuclear waste through a consent-based process. It would consult and collaborate with communities and stakeholders to identify long term storage and disposal solutions.
This is the latest in many actions I’ve taken to address spent nuclear fuel challenges, including securing $140 million for a new consent-based siting initiative.
Learn more here
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| Visit to the Southern Border to View the Impact of the President’s Executive Action on Asylum Seekers |
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I have regularly visited our Southern border during my service in Congress. Earlier this month was my third visit since May to meet with San Diego Border Patrol leadership. When the President issued his executive action on asylum seekers in June, I committed to visit at the one-month mark and three-month mark to see its impact. What I saw most recently was quite encouraging.
Border Patrol agents told me that the Administration’s actions are making a positive difference.
Since the implementation of the executive action, migrant encounters in the San Diego Sector have dropped by more than half from their peak earlier this year. This decline has allowed Border Patrol to focus on their mission: staffing border checkpoints and seizing illegal drugs. Recently, they seized 105 pounds of fentanyl in our district.
That said, there are important changes that Congress must make to support the great work that they are doing, such as increasing the number of personnel and boosting their salaries.
We absolutely need bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform and border security legislation. Executive actions can be overturned, and it is only through Congressional legislation that we can make the necessary changes to border security, immigration, and asylum processing.
Learn more here.
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| Addressing Pollution in the Tijuana River Valley |
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Over the past several years, millions of gallons of sewage, trash, and industrial waste from Tijuana have flowed into our region. In 2020, I helped to secure $300 million in federal funding as part of our trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. I have been deeply frustrated that these resources have not been put to better use in the years since. I remain committed to working with my colleagues to address this crisis.
My San Diego delegation colleagues and I requested a federal emergency declaration two years ago, and with this recent development, it has become even clearer that we need a state of emergency to address this hazard now.
I have, once again, called for a state of emergency as this crisis is costly both financially and to our quality of life. It must not continue.
Learn more here.
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| Short-Term Resolution on Government Funding |
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After weeks of back-and-forth, Congress finally passed a bipartisan short-term funding bill that keeps the government open through December 20, 2024.
I voted in favor of the bill because a government shutdown would have been harmful to our service members, families, and workers. The bill also did not include extremist provisions included in previous funding bills that would have threatened our voting rights and national security.
That said, I am disappointed that the funding bill did nothing to address the VA’s $12 billion shortfall, which will jeopardize veterans’ medical care and the health services they have rightfully earned.
I will continue working in good faith with my colleagues during upcoming budget negotiations to fund the VA and other agencies that give the American people the benefits they need and deserve.
Read my full statement here.
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If you have questions about my work or need help with a federal agency, please don’t hesitate to contact my office. You can send me an email through my website, call my Oceanside office at (760) 599-5000, or call my Dana Point office at (949) 281-2449. For updates on my work on behalf of our communities, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Threads at @RepMikeLevin.
Sincerely,
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Mike Levin
Member of Congress
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