Hi, everyone. I’m back with my February column, and it’s been quite a month.
In Washington, I introduced my first bill, which would provide tax relief for those impacted by the Chiquita Canyon Landfill. I delivered my first speech on the House floor, defending law enforcement and raising concerns about improper access to Americans’ personal data. I also attended my first Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing on our talent pipeline and educational opportunities, and received classified briefings on our military capabilities as part of my role on the Armed Services Committee.
Here in California, I’m focused on staffing up my district offices to better assist you. I’ve also met with local leaders across the greater Santa Clarita Valley, to discuss our ongoing partnerships.
I sat down with Kevin Klockenga, the president and CEO of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, and Marlee Lauffer, the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Foundation president, to talk about how best to support the important care they provide.
I met with Capt. Justin Diez and Lt. Brandon Barclay from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, to thank them for their service during the recent wildfires and talk about how to ensure all our first responders have the tools and funding they need to keep our communities safe.
I toured College of the Canyons, and discussed with interim Superintendent-President David Andrus and his team how we can support their crucial educational efforts.
Last weekend, I attended the Soup for the Soul charity event for Bridge to Home. The event raised thousands of dollars from auction items — like three donated lunches with me — to address housing instability in Santa Clarita.
Finally, I hosted my first virtual town hall, with over 500 of you joining and submitting questions. For those who missed it, I’d like to share some of the information and concerns raised on the call, as well as the insights from the experts who participated.
First, I think we can all agree that government efficiency is an important goal. Part of the reason I ran for Congress was to make government work better for everyone across California’s 27th District. And when I helped lead NASA, I constantly searched for ways to make the taxpayer dollar go further.
But I’m concerned that the way this effort is currently being pursued at the federal level will hurt many people in Santa Clarita.
For example, I attended a veterans breakfast in Santa Clarita the morning of my town hall, where a 90-year-old veteran shared that he had to wait six months for an appointment with a specialist after his MRI. That’s unacceptable, and the firing last week of over 1,000 Veterans Administration employees won’t help. The VA personnel cuts will only delay veterans’ claims and make it harder for them to access the care they deserve.
I’ve also heard from fire chiefs who time their hiring and training to prepare for peak fire season. With the new freeze on hiring federal employees, our fire departments are missing a key window to staff up and train up, leaving us more vulnerable to wildfires later this year. And remarkably, the Angeles National Forest fire department was just forced to terminate employees who were crucial to the Hughes and Hurst fires.
During my town hall, we heard from a school district superintendent about how federal resources are crucial for local programs supporting students with learning differences or disabilities. If the Department of Education is eliminated or dramatically cut, schools across our region will struggle to help some of our most vulnerable children.
Vilma Champion, the director of Managed Care for the Northeast Valley Health Corp., spoke to the importance of Medicaid, and how cutting billions from that funding, as was recently proposed by the new administration, would render many low-income and middle-class families unable to receive the care they need. And crucially, families who depend on Medicaid to help take care of family members at home may be forced to make very tough decisions about whether they need to stop working to help out at home.
Jim Zenner, who runs the Department of Government and Military Affairs for L.A. County, said his biggest concern was the loss of staffing, and the active effort to privatize benefits for veterans. Many of them served in combat, and the thought that they could be charged for benefits they’ve earned is completely unacceptable.
These are just a few of the many ways our community could be impacted by recent federal actions taken over the past month. Our health care centers, public education institutions, and housing support services could all suffer harm that could hurt our people.
I believe we all need to refocus on what’s important: lowering the cost of living, addressing the affordable housing crisis, and bringing more good-paying jobs to the district.
I’ll keep working hard in Washington to ensure that government efficiency is pursued the right way, and that our community continues receiving the resources it needs. I’ve introduced a bill that’s just three votes shy of passing the House to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, and I’ll continue pushing to fight government overreach and corruption.
I know this is a difficult time for many, but I’m here to help in any way I can.
To stay updated or get in touch, please visit my website (whitesides.house.gov) or follow me on social media.
Rep. George Whitesides, D-Agua Dulce, represents the 27th Congressional District, which includes the Santa Clarita Valley. “Democratic Voices” appears Tuesdays and rotates among several local Democrats.
