Encouraging words from Huffman

[Cassandra Lista]

 
Like millions of Americans, I look forward to gathering with family this Thanksgiving week and reflecting on the blessings of the past year. One thing I’ll definitely be thinking about is how grateful I am that you’ve placed your trust and confidence in me to serve in Congress during such a consequential time for our country and the world. And I’m grateful that despite a difficult political climate, we are making progress on so many big issues including –

• Climate change: Next month is the U.N. Climate Conference in Paris. I’ll be there as part of the congressional delegation. Momentum is building as countries large and small are stepping up with bold greenhouse gas reduction plans and the U.S. is once again playing a leadership role. President Obama’s Clean Power Plan is moving forward, and after three years of fighting the Keystone XL pipeline, I’m thrilled that the President recently rejected it. In Congress, I’m working on several fronts to stop development of large fossil fuel deposits – including my bipartisan bill to permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, my bill to permanently ban drilling along the entire west coast, and my Carbon Pollution Transparency Act which would require a carbon footprint estimate for every bill before Congress. We are poised for breakthroughs in Paris and beyond.
• Special education: I’m working with a growing bipartisan coalition in Congress that is dedicated to fulfilling the 40-year old promise of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): that students with disabilities will receive quality public education tailored to their unique needs so they can learn, grow and realize their full potential. A bill I introduced last week will help by expanding “high cost pools” to help school districts meet the financial challenge of educating children with the most severe disabilities.
• The budget and transportation: Proving that Congress can get things done when members work to solve problems rather than score partisan points, we did some big things last month. Congress passed a two-year budget compromise that raises the debt ceiling and avoids the economic calamity of a default, increases the budget for vital domestic programs that have been hurt by harsh sequester cuts, and provides a two-year period of fiscal stability which will help our fragile economic recovery. The House also passed a long-term transportation bill that authorizes highway and public transit funding for the next six years. I supported both of these bipartisan measures.
• Scrutinizing the Trans-Pacific Trade deal: I’ve been highlighting serious flaws with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, including provisions that could increase fracking and fossil fuel exports, the complete absence of any provisions on climate change, and a controversial dispute resolution mechanism that would allow multinational corporations to challenge our environmental, health, and consumer protection laws. A growing number of my congressional colleagues are expressing skepticism about the TPP, which means we have a chance to redirect the administration toward a better trade deal.

I’m deeply honored and thankful to be working on these issues and much more as your representative in Congress. I wish you and your family a wonderful, peaceful and healthy Thanksgiving!

Warm regards,

Jared

 

 

 
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