Friends, you know the expression, “New year, new me”? Well, I wouldn’t go that far exactly, but I will say: New year, new email program! That’s right - we’re changing things up around here.

You know the political emails you get flooding your inbox pretending like the sky is falling, or like someone’s dog wrote the email?

We’re going to be doing the opposite. No pretending, no pretenses, just me.

Here it goes: We’re nearly three weeks into things, and while we got off to a slow start when it took the GOP five days and 15 votes to elect a Speaker of the House, I’m so excited to represent my hometown and my generation in the 118th Congress! As we kick off this new year and get down to work in Washington, here’s what I’m going to be focused on:

1. Investing in children and families. Millions of kids experience poverty in the U.S., and the fact is that childhood poverty is a policy choice. We know how to address this issue and we have data to back it up - the American Rescue Plan and the expansion of the Child Tax Credit started to lift millions of kids out of poverty. But those solutions were only temporary, and everyone with the ability to impact policy - whether that’s me in the halls of Congress or you reaching out to your elected officials up and down the ballot to advocate on their behalf - should be pushing to find and enact long-term solutions to support our kids. We need to rethink our social safety net and address the child poverty and child care crises in this country - and that will continue to be a big focus of mine in 2023.
    
2. Foreign policy for the future. We are at an inflection point for the world, and to make sure the United States continues to lead, we need to rethink how we engage with the rest of the world. We need to work to prevent conflict and not just wait for a crisis to respond, we need to lead with our values, and we need to invest in what will help us solve the challenges of the future, not continue fighting the wars of the past.
    
3. Innovation and emerging technologies. As our world evolves, I also want to make sure our government is evolving too - both in how it operates and in the challenges it addresses. Last year, I introduced the My Body My Data Act to create a new national standard to protect personal reproductive health data. We know our privacy laws are way behind the times, and as a digital native who uses apps for my reproductive health, I’m grateful to be able to lead in this space. We also need to make sure that new technologies are helping create the society we want to live in, not exacerbate existing inequalities.

There’s plenty more of course, but hopefully that gives you an idea of some of the things I spend my time thinking about. In addition to these policy areas, I hope to use 2023 - and beyond - to focus on restoring faith and trust in government. I ran for office because I believe - very strongly - that our government has the power to improve people’s lives in ways both big and small. But the reality is that far too many people have lost trust in our institutions. Until we figure out how to rebuild that trust, we won’t be able to be as effective as we need to be - to hear from our communities and to deliver on our promises. I’m committed to doing everything I can on this front, and I hope you’ll join me.

With that being said, here’s a bit more about what you can expect from my emails this year:

I’m only going to email you when I have something to say. Sounds simple, but I know we all get plenty of emails that say basically nothing at all - so I’m going to avoid that here!

Second, I’m telling you upfront that I will be asking for your support this year. Building up grassroots power in the form of petition signatures, survey responses, and yes, donations, is a critical part of being a successful public servant, and I will be relying on you as the cycle continues and as we get closer to re-election in 2024.

Finally, I really hope that these missives add some value to your inbox. Whether it’s filling you in on what’s happening on the House floor or updating you on events or initiatives at home in San Diego, I want you to actually enjoy reading these! If all this doesn’t sound like it’s your speed, I totally get it and I welcome you to unsubscribe if you prefer. You can do so by clicking this link, and we’ll take you right off the list.

This was a pretty long email, so if you’ve made it this far, I offer this pic of my family dog Winston as a reward. Winston is currently being spoiled by my mom at home in San Diego, and I love seeing him whenever I’m there.