Pete Aguilar, Daily Bulletin (Op-Ed)

People are sick of Washington. They’re sick of partisan bickering. They’re sick of scandal and corruption. They’re sick of watching nothing get done.

These are the sentiments I heard throughout the past few years from Inland Empire families who had watched a Republican-held Congress grind the government to a halt under a Democratic president. That same Congress went on to use their two years of unified Republican government to attack people’s health care, allow corruption to grow unchecked within the federal government, and give massive tax cuts to wealthy corporations while leaving the middle class behind. So, when Democrats regained a majority in the House after the historic 2018 election, we promised we’d do things differently. We promised that we’d return to the principles that made our nation great in the first place — a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

April 12th marked the 100th day of the Democratic Majority in the House of Representatives, and 100 days of keeping that promise. On day one of the 116th Congress, House Democrats introduced H.R. 1, the For the People Act. This sweeping legislation ends years of undemocratic policies and addresses a range of issues, from voter suppression to gerrymandering. It strengthens our campaign finance system to take dark money out of politics and returns control of our government to the American people. This landmark legislation, which I was proud to help pass, set the standard for how Democrats will use our time in the majority. Our priority is to empower ordinary Americans.

In the first 100 days of the Democratic House Majority, we’ve passed the Paycheck Fairness Act to close the gender pay gap. We’ve passed the most consequential gun-safety legislation in a generation with H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. We stood up for Americans with pre-existing conditions and made it clear that we will fight back against the Trump Administration’s attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. We reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, passed supplemental disaster relief for California wildfire victims and expanded veterans’ access to childcare. With a focus on preserving our environment for generations to come, we passed the bipartisan Conservation, Management and Recreation Act, legislation that preserves millions of acres of wild land throughout the country and includes my bill to expand conservation and public access in the Upper Santa Ana Wash and support new jobs in San Bernardino County. Under the leadership of House Democrats, this Congress will be the first one in our nation’s history to take meaningful action to address the devastating effects of climate change. We did all of this after working across the aisle to end the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history.

In a matter of months, we’ve passed a bold, progressive agenda that focuses on leveling the playing field for working Americans. And in the months ahead, we’ll work to pass legislation that empowers Americans who have been left behind for too long. The Equality Act will extend legal protections afforded by the Civil Rights Act to the LGBTQ community, because no one should be discriminated against because of who they are or who they love.
The Dream and Promise Act will create a long-awaited path to citizenship for Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, many of whom are members of our community and have known no country other than the U.S. as their home. And Democrats in the House are committed to finding a bipartisan path forward to invest in an infrastructure package that will create jobs throughout the country and revitalize communities like the Inland Empire.

I’m proud of the work we’ve done so far, but we have a lot of work to do in the months ahead as we deliver on our most fundamental promise to the American people: to put them first.

Rep. Pete Aguilar represents the 31st congressional district of California in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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You can read the full op-ed by Pete Aguilar here.