Social Justice

"It's been a great forum. I found a lot of interesting things here for seniors," said Ken Kinsman, a senior who attended the event.

"We must clarify existing law to guarantee the due process rights of every American. It is a foundational principle of our great nation that we are all innocent until proven guilty and that we all deserve a fair trial."

"Every American deserves their day in court, and this legislation changes existing law to protect our due process rights. We cannot allow our basic rights to be lost, and there is no legitimate national security reason to deny any citizen in America a trial. We can both keep America safe and maintain our liberties."

"The abuses and fraud need to be fully investigated, and I commend Attorney General Harris for taking appropriate leadership in helping homeowners," Garamendi said. "I hope the President uses the power of his Administration to aid Harris. We need to make sure that these rip off artists are exposed for their crimes, and to whatever degree we can help working families keep their homes, we should."

"Every incident of violence - no matter who the perpetrator - is a distraction from the legitimate issues that the 99% movement has raised. Our public universities have seen drastic cuts, harming our ability to stay competitive in a tough economy, and thousands of students have been priced out of an education or burdened with debts that they cannot repay. I hope the entire university community understands that we're all in this together."

"I come before this committee today in support of H.R. 890, the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2011, with the experience of having served as Insurance Commissioner for the State of California, where I spent much time working on this issue."

Garamendi continued, "Public policy is about choices -- and this is an easy one to make. Instead of lavishing billions more on billion-dollar oil companies, 'the Supercommittee' should focus on creating jobs and strengthening the middle class."

"After reviewing footage from last night’s Occupy Oakland protests, I urge both the police and protesters to stay calm and show restraint as protests continue. Some protestors were throwing rocks at police officers, and there are reports of isolated civilian on civilian assaults at Frank Ogawa Plaza. This is unacceptable. There is also disturbing video of a tear gas canister being launched into a small crowd of protestors trying to escort an injured veteran with a skull fracture away from the protests – a dangerous action."