Press Releases
March 5, 2010
"Almost all economists agree that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other jobs bills approved by President Obama and Congressional Democrats prevented the complete collapse our economy last year. Nevertheless, no one should be content with an economy hovering near double digit unemployment."
March 5, 2010
"Once again, where local and state governments are unable to afford needed transportation improvements, we see the federal government stepping up in a big way," Congressman Garamendi said. "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act continues to put our country on a path to recovery through smart investments in transportation, education, health services, and other needed sectors, creating jobs for people throughout our communities. There is much more to do to fix our economy, but let there be no doubt, without ARRA, we would be in much worse shape and countless more Americans would currently be unemployed."
March 4, 2010
"California’s crumbling transportation infrastructure needs this landmark investment to ease congestion and leave a lasting legacy that will serve California well for decades to come," said Garamendi. "Without this and additional jobs bills, most economists agree that the economy could soon slip back into decline. This occurred with both our Great Depression and the Japanese recession of the 1990s. We must learn from history or we are doomed to repeat it."
March 3, 2010
"We are at the crossroads of history. We can either choose to expand health insurance coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans or let the insurance industry continue the status quo of pre-existing conditions, high premiums, and record corporate profits. There’s still time to pass a bill that does the right thing for the American people."
Issues:
Healthcare
March 2, 2010
"Since Senator Bunning insists on testing the financial wherewithal of millions of unemployed Americans, the least we can do is test his resolve. If he wants to filibuster emergency legislation that impacts millions of Americans, let him filibuster for real. Lock the doors; hand him a glass of water; and bring in the phonebooks. If he complains about being late for a basketball game like he did on Friday, I know a few thousand constituents with some more pressing complaints directed at the distinguished Senator from Kentucky."
Issues:
Economy and Jobs
March 2, 2010
“Today is a day for celebration. CSU has been a pillar of growth for California for fifty years, and I congratulate all the administrators, faculty, staff, and students that have made it a success. But today must also be a call to action. We must unite to say it’s time to increase investment in education and California’s future."
Issues:
Education
February 26, 2010
"Senator Jim Bunning and his Senate Republican colleagues have put millions of Americans in the cross hairs of their extreme ideology. By blocking the unemployment benefit extension, Republicans have ripped away federal unemployment benefits from over a million jobless workers who will become ineligible in March. How many homes will be lost because of this unbelievably callous act? How many children will go to bed hungry because Bunning was more interested in cheap theatre than governance?"
Issues:
Economy and Jobs
Housing
February 24, 2010
"With this bill, we force America’s health insurance industry into the same market that we want all American industry to be in: the free market competitive system. This is simple. Insurance companies should not be able to monopolize the health insurance marketplace," Congressman Garamendi said. "For 65 years, the insurance industry has used the anti-trust exemption to collude against consumers, fixing prices and raising rates well above inflation. Enough is enough."
Issues:
Economy and Jobs
Healthcare
February 22, 2010
"When almost every other industry colludes at the expense of consumers, we call it a crime. When the health insurance industry colludes, we call it business as usual," Congressman Garamendi said. "This legislation removes one of the most damaging weapons in the insurance industry’s arsenal: the ability to manipulate the market together behind closed doors. In my eight years regulating the insurance industry in California, what I learned above all else is that you can’t trust the insurance industry to regulate itself. Insurance company executives will scratch and claw their way to maximum profit, and they don’t care who gets hurt along the way."
Issues:
Healthcare
February 22, 2010
"Standing here on these beautiful rolling hills, it’s encouraging to remember that the exhilarating breezes produced by nature here are capable of providing clean power to 74,000 Californians – nature providing opportunities to protect nature," said Congressman Garamendi, a member of the House Science and Technology Committee. "The Shiloh II project is precisely the type of clean technology project that Congress should promote. Environmental protection and job creation aren’t just compatible; with the coming climate change calamity, they’re intimately linked. Like Shiloh II, we must prioritize clean energy projects that green our planet and our wallets."
Issues:
Economy and Jobs
Housing