Agriculture

California is home to the largest food and agriculture industry in the nation. Senator Feinstein is working to ensure California remains a worldwide agricultural leader and the state’s farmers continue to feed the nation and world.

Championing a robust agriculture workforce

Senator Feinstein strongly supports providing California’s agriculture sector with the workers it needs to thrive.

The University of California-Davis estimates that up to 60 percent of California’s 421,000 farmworkers—approximately 253,000 people—are undocumented. This is why Senator Feinstein negotiated the agricultural worker program provisions that were in cluded in the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, Immigration and Modernization Act, a bill that passed the Senate in 2013.

After the comprehensive immigration bill failed to pass the Republican-controlled House, Senator Feinstein introduced the negotiated language as a standalone bill to protect undocumented farmworkers who have worked in agriculture for at least 100 days over the previous two years. This legislation, which was introduced in January 2019, would allow farmworkers to obtain legal “blue card” status and eventually obtain “green card” status.

Senator Feinstein has also requested that the Department of Homeland Security exercise prosecutorial discretion with agricultural workers and instead focus on dangerous individuals.

Supporting specialty crops

California’s 81,000 farms produce half of the nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts, what are known as specialty crops. 

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Feinstein works to secure a fair share of funding for California’s specialty crop farmers. She helped secure funding in the latest Farm Bill for organic research and labeling, conservation programs and increases in funding for producers to meet California’s ambient air quality standards.

Senator Feinstein also played a role in the passage of the Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act, a bill that has improved access to foreign markets for U.S. specialty crops and created a safer and more secure domestic food supply.

Senator Feinstein also continues to speak out against the harmful effects of trade disputes with countries like Canada, Mexico and China that are particularly harmful to California’s farmers.

Promoting and safeguarding California agriculture

California growers produce over 80 percent of domestically-grown flowers. Senator Feinstein has promoted California’s cut flower industry and encouraged the use of domestically-grown flowers at White House events.

She also worked closely with the Department of Homeland Security to improve its agricultural inspections at U.S. ports of entry. Prior to her involvement, DHS inspections of agricultural products were ineffective and may have allowed a number of invasive pests to enter the country.

Ensuring a safe food supply

Senator Feinstein works to ensure the safety of our food supply and prevent outbreaks of food borne illness. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, she has been a consisten advocate for fully funding food safety programs.

Senator Feinstein supported the Food Safety Modernization Act to overhaul the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety system. She also urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to draft standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry products.

Senator Feinstein pushed for a requirement that all producers include a “verification” step in their mandated food safety plans to allow the FDA to ensure the safety of food production.

She also led congressional efforts to end the use of the dangerous pesticide Methyl Iodide, which has been linked to miscarriage, thyroid disease and fetal deformity. It was pulled from the U.S. market in 2012.

Read more about food safety in this booklet: Food Safety: Safeguarding the Food We Eat From Farm to Table

Fighting the threat of antibiotic resistance

Preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics is one of Senator Feinstein’s top priorities.

The overuse of antibiotics in agriculture could contribute to the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, which is why she introduced the Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act.

Senator Feinstein also pushed the FDA to begin a process to eliminate the use of antibiotics for non-therapeutic purposes in food animals. The FDA banned the use of antibiotics for growth-promotion purposes in 2017, a move that Senator Feinstein has long supported.

Climate Change

Senator Feinstein has a proven record of fighting to protect our climate and eliminate harmful greenhouse gases. California knows all too well the dangers that climate changes poses. From worsening wildfires to longer droughts, we’re already experiencing the negative effects of climate change. Senator Feinstein supports reducing our carbon footprint through efficient technologies, reducing vehicle emissions to zero and investing in renewable energy sources.

Through her role as chair of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Feinstein works to increase funding for clean energy programs. California is the largest producer of geothermal and solar energy in the country, demonstrating that it is possible to successfully address climate change while improving infrastructure and maintaining economic growth.

Vehicle emissions
Vehicle emissions are one of the largest driving factors of climate change. The Ten-In-Ten Fuel Economy Act, authored by Senators Feinstein, Snowe, Inouye and Stevens, was signed into law in 2007. The law required average fuel economy standards for America’s fleet of vehicles to increase by at least 10 mpg over 10 years, and then to continue to increase to be as strong as technologically feasible. This led to the largest increase in fuel efficiency in more than two decades. In 2019, after the Trump administration attempted to roll back federal fuel economy standards, Senator Feinstein successfully led an effort committing all major automakers to sign an agreement with California to voluntarily commit to stronger fuel economy standards than the federal level. Senator Feinstein strongly supports Governor Newsom’s 2020 executive order requiring all new vehicles sold in California to be zero-emission by 2035.

Electric vehicles
California is at the forefront of the transition to cleaner modes of transportation. Senator Feinstein is strong supporter of the growing fleet of electric cars and is a cosponsor of the Electric Cars Act, which would extend the electric vehicle tax credit for an additional 10 years. This bill would also allow buyers to use the tax credit over a 5-year period, or apply the credit at the point of sale, making the credit more applicable to those without large tax liability. In 2021, Senator Feinstein introduced the Affordable EVs for Working Families Act, which would provide buyers of preowned electric cars with tax rebates up to $2,500.

Fossil fuel drilling
Fossil fuels are the main driver of climate change and we must do all we can to end our dependence on them. Not only do fossil fuels pollute when they are burned, but they also damage the environment when being mined or drilled for. Senator Feinstein is the author of the West Coast Ocean Protection Act, which would permanently ban offshore oil and gas drilling off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington. She voted against the Keystone XL pipeline in 2014 and opposes opening the Arctic National Wildlife for drilling. In 2012, the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act was signed into law to address safety concerns about the 2.5 million miles of oil, natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines in the United States. This bill reflected many of the safety, inspection and enforcement provisions in an earlier bill introduced by Senators Feinstein and Boxer in the wake of the 2010 San Bruno gas explosion.

• Addressing the financial burdens of climate change: Senator Feinstein authored the Addressing Climate Financial Risk Act to help prepare the United States for potential threats climate change poses to the financial system. Following its introduction, the Biden administration issued an executive order directing the Treasury to study climate-related financial risk. This executive order included several provisions from the Addressing Climate Financial Risk Act.
• Mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions: Senator Feinstein authored legislation that was signed into law in 2007, mandating all major sources of greenhouse gases to report their emissions annually to inform the Environmental Protection Agency’s inventory of greenhouse gas emissions. Those reports are available here.
• Fighting wildfires: In response to the increasing frequency of climate-change induced wildfires, Senator Feinstein secured the transfer of seven C-130 aircraft from the federal government to the state of California. Under the provision, the Air Force will modify the cargo aircraft to fight wildfires, free of charge to the State of California. These planes will provide Cal Fire with a unique capability unmatched by any firefighting agency in the world.
• Promoting climate change education: Senator Feinstein is an original cosponsor of the Climate Change Education Act, which would support professional development for teachers; science, technology, health and engineering education; the development of climate literacy curricula; and improve the quality of and access to training and certification for green-collar jobs. The Climate Change Education Act would also establish a climate education program at the National Oceanic and Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Battery storage: Senator Feinstein is an original cosponsor of the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act to create tax incentives for the deployment of energy storage devices like batteries that can help store renewable energy when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing for later use.
• Putting a price on carbon: In 2019, Senator Feinstein introduced the Climate Action Rebate Act, which would have instituted a carbon fee and returned revenue raised by the bill back to American families in the form of a monthly dividend. This bill would have placed an increasing price on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions to drive down pollution and encourage market-driven innovation in clean energy technologies.

Drug Caucus

The Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control was established in 1985 and is a standing committee of the Senate. The caucus’ seven bipartisan members work to combat international narcotics trafficking and reduce domestic drug abuse.

Senator Feinstein is particularly interested in efforts to reduce drug trafficking and drug-related violence in Mexico and Afghanistan, as well as to more effectively address the opioid and drug overdose crisis that has gripped our nation. 

The caucus has held hearings on strategies to dismantle Mexican drug trafficking organizations, money laundering, the proliferation of border tunnels along the Southwest border, the Taliban’s drug trafficking operations in Afghanistan and the trafficking of clandestinely produced fentanyl that is destined for the United States.

The caucus has also held a number of hearings focused on domestic policy including how to best stop methamphetamine production and abuse and the dangers of new and emerging drug trends that threaten public health and safety, including opioids, fentanyl, and synthetic drugs such as K2, Spice and bath salts.

Legislation

As a result of her work on the Caucus, Senator Feinstein has been responsible the passage of a number of important pieces of legislation including the following:

• The Transnational Drug Trafficking Act (P.L. 114-154). This bill allows for the prosecution of drug traffickers if there is a “reasonable cause to believe” that the drugs they are shipping will be trafficked into the United States. It also imposes penalties on individuals who manufacture or distribute precursor chemicals knowing that the chemicals will be used to make illicit drugs destined for the United States.
• Two Border Prevention Tunneling Acts, which criminalize the financing and construction of cross-border tunnels. For more information on these bills, which were enacted in 2006 (P.L. 109-295) and 2012 (P.L. 109-295) click here.
• Using Data to Prevent Opioid Diversion Act (P.L. 115-271). - This bill holds drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for failure to report suspicious orders of opioids, and was included in the comprehensive opioid package that was signed into law in 2018.
• The SUPPORT Act (P.L. 115-271). In addition to the Using Data to Prevent Opioid Diversion Act, Senator Feinstein co-authored a number of other key provisions in the opioid package, known as the SUPPORT Act, including provisions to reauthorize the Office of National Drug Control Policy and other critical substance abuse prevention, treatment, and enforcement programs that directly benefit California, such as the Drug Free Communities, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas and drug court programs.
• Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act (P.L. 116-114). This bill extends by 15 months the DEA’s temporary order to make all fentanyl-related substances Schedule I and requires the GAO to assess the criminal justice and public health impacts of the classwide scheduling action. Senator Feinstein was the lead Democratic sponsor and co-author of this bill.

Reports

Senator Feinstein has authored a number of reports with her colleagues on how best to reduce the trafficking of illegal drugs and drug-related violence. Below is a list of recent reports the caucus has released:

• Future U.S. Counternarcotics Efforts in Afghanistan

• Eight Steps to Counter the Drug Trade in West Africa

• The Buck Stops Here: U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Practices

• Preventing a Security Crisis in the Caribbean

• Reducing the U.S. Demand for Illegal Drugs

• Responding to Violence in Central America

• Halting U.S. Firearms Trafficking to Mexico

The complete list of reports issued by the caucus, as well as a calendar of future and past caucus hearings, are available on the Drug Caucus website. 

Economy

The economy has improved significantly from the depths of the Great Recession, but Senator Feinstein agrees that too many workers are struggling to find good-paying jobs and too many families are having trouble making ends meet. She supports investments to help create more jobs and comprehensive tax reform to incentivize growth and reduce the deficit.

Jobs

Senator Feinstein believes Congress must do more to help create jobs that pay livable wages. She supports making critical investments to help create jobs and prepare workers for the 21st century economy, including offering incentives to businesses to hire new workers, providing funding for job-training programs, investing in infrastructure and making higher education more affordable. She is also a cosponsor of the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, following California’s lead.

Fiscal Issues

Senator Feinstein believes more must be done to balance the federal budget – one reason she voted against the 2017 Republican tax law, which added nearly $1.5 trillion to the national debt over 10 years. She supports a balanced approach to reducing the deficit that combines revenue-raising measures, such as closing tax loopholes, with spending reforms, including efforts to further slow the growth of health care costs by negotiating drug prices.

Taxes

Senator Feinstein believes that Congress had an opportunity in 2017 to enact comprehensive tax reform that would help create jobs, encourage entrepreneurship and reduce the deficit. Unfortunately, the tax law passed by Republicans provided a windfall for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, while eliminating important deductions for middle-class families and increasing the deficit by nearly $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

Senator Feinstein voted against the 2017 tax law and supports revisiting changes to the tax code that harm hard-working Californians, including the new cap on state and local tax deductions. She is a cosponsor of the Stop the Attack on Local Taxpayers Act, which would repeal the cap to ensure that California families are not taxed twice on the same income. 

Education

Education remains the primary tool to get a good-paying job and support a family. Senator Feinstein believes Washington must do more to improve the quality of K-12 education and increase the affordability of higher education.

College affordability

The cost of higher education dissuades too many young people from enrolling in college, and the burden of student loan debt prevents too many borrowers from buying a home, opening a business or starting a family.

Senator Feinstein supports proposals to allow student loan borrowers to refinance both their federal and private student loans at lower interest rates, in the same way homeowners can refinance the mortgages. These changes would save borrowers hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

Senator Feinstein has consistently used her role on the Senate Appropriations Committee to fight for robust funding of many federal financial aid assistance programs, including the Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, and the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) programs, that support millions of undergraduate students pursuing a degree. 

In addition, Senator Feinstein has been a supporter of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which forgives federal student loans for borrowers who have worked for ten years in the public sector as long as they have made 120 qualifying monthly payments.  She has consistently supported efforts to protect and strengthen the program.  Senator Feinstein also backed the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has developed new tools to help students learn about options for paying for college and repaying student loans.

Expansion of early-learning programs

Research has clearly demonstrated the effect of early learning programs on a child’s long-term educational attainment. Children who attend preschool are more likely to graduate from high school and college than children who don’t attend preschool.

Senator Feinstein supports universal access to early learning programs and has long supported funding for the expansion of early childhood education.  That is why she fights for the funding of programs such as Head Start and Early Head Start, which provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children, and promotes cognitive development for young students. 

Energy

The United States needs a comprehensive, long-term plan to transition to a clean energy economy. Just as California leads the nation in pursuing clean energy, the United States should lead the world.

Shifting to a clean energy economy will save consumers money, avoid the worst effects of climate change and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. As ranking member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Feinstein is making sure the United States invests in the research and development necessary to make this transition.

Energy Efficiency

One of the easiest and most effective ways to save consumers money and reduce carbon emissions is to improve energy efficiency.

Senator Feinstein led a bipartisan effort to enact legislation increasing fuel economy standards.

The law mandates that fuel economy standards must be based on science and increase as quickly as technically possible. As a result of Senator Feinstein’s Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act, the Obama administration announced in 2012 that fuel economy must reach 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by 2025.

To learn about how to save energy, visit EnergySaver.gov

Nuclear Safety and Nuclear Waste Storage

Senator Feinstein has long prioritized nuclear safety and recognizes the need to resolve long-term nuclear waste storage issues.

Consistent with the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, Senator Feinstein has proposed bipartisan legislation, the Nuclear Waste Administration Act, to establish a consent-based process for siting facilities in communities that want them to consolidate and safely and permanently store nuclear waste away from reactor sites. The bill enables the federal government to address its commitment to managing commercial nuclear waste, limiting the costly liability the government bears for its failure to dispose of spent fuel.

Senator Feinstein also believes that the federal government must not wait until a permanent repository is established to address nuclear waste storage. She proposed a pilot program for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel in the FY15 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill, which was approved by the Energy and Water subcommittee. This pilot program would also provide a consent-based process for siting interim storage facilities.

In the short-term, Senator Feinstein believes dry cask storage is the best solution for spent nuclear fuel storage and is safer than storing these wastes in pools at reactor sites.

Preventing Manipulation and Speculation in Energy Markets

Energy markets are global, complex and vulnerable to excessive speculation, fraud and manipulation. Energy markets and energy futures exchanges require strong federal oversight to protect consumers.

Senator Feinstein helped close the “Enron Loophole” to prevent manipulation, fraud and excessive speculation in electronic energy markets, and empowered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with new market oversight authorities.

The Environment

Senator Feinstein has a long history as a champion for California’s environment.

• Protecting California’s Deserts: Senator Feinstein authored and passed the California Desert Protection and Recreation Act as part of the 2019 Public Lands package. This bill builds upon the legacy of the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, Senator Feinstein’s landmark legislation that established Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, the Mojave National Preserve and protected more than 7.6 million acres of California desert wilderness. In 2016, Senator Feinstein asked President Obama to expand protections for the desert by creating the Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow and Castle Mountains national monuments. Those new public lands will also benefit from the 2019 legislation. The combined acreage of the 1994 legislation, the national monument designations and new legislation represents the largest effort to protect public lands in the lower 48 states.
• Lake Tahoe Restoration Act. In 2016, Senator Feinstein helped secure passage of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, a bill that authorized $415 million for aquatic invasive species control, storm water management, environmental restoration projects and fire risk reduction.
• Promoting Desalination: In the 115th Congress, Senator Feinstein provided the first-ever federal funding assistance for local desalination projects, and increased the Bureau of Reclamation’s funding for desalination research by 35% to help improve the cost-efficiency and environmental sustainability of desalination technology.
• Fighting the California Drought: In 2016, Senator Feinstein secured passage of bipartisan legislation to respond to California’s five-year drought and modernize the state’s water system. In addition to short-term operational provisions, the bill also authorized $558 million in funds to assist the state in building a new water infrastructure including desalination, recycling and storage projects. Senator Feinstein has ensured full appropriation of this $558 million to help California weather future droughts. Senator Feinstein obtained $515 million in new funding for storage, water recycling, desalination and other water supply infrastructure and $87 million in new funding to help restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This new funding was authorized under provisions Senator Feinstein and Representative McCarthy authored in 2016 legislation
• Supporting California Flood Control Projects: In 2018, Senator Feinstein secured $2.5 billion dollars for construction of seven of the highest priority flood control projects and two flood control studies. The construction projects are expected to be completed in three to five years. As ranking member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, Feinstein secured $4.5 billion for flood control projects in a recent bill to fund disaster relief and preparedness, with more than half of funds awarded to California projects. Projects include long-time priority South San Francisco Shoreline, Sacramento flood control, and funding a study for the Los Angeles County Flood Control System.
• Dealing with cross border sewage spills: In the 115th Congress, Senator Feinstein secured $35 million dollars to help clean up the pollution in the Tijuana River Valley through programs to update and build new wastewater treatment facilities and other needed infrastructure.  
• Headwaters Forest Agreement. In 1999 Senator Feinstein helped secure $250 million in federal funds (a match for state funding) to purchase the 7,500-acre Headwaters Forest, the largest privately held stand of uncut old-growth redwoods. The agreement also helped preserve 12 additional groves of ancient redwood trees.
• National Parks and Recreation. In 2005, a Feinstein bill added 4,500 acres of pristine natural land to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and 25,500 acres to the Redwood National Park in Del Norte County.
• Northern California Wilderness. In 2006, Feinstein legislation permanently protected almost 300,000 acres and preserves over 21 miles of the Black Butte River in Northern California.
• San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds Restoration. In 2003, Senator Feinstein led efforts to negotiate the purchase of 16,500 acres of salt ponds from Cargill along the San Francisco Bay and Napa River—the largest such wetlands restoration project in California history—through an unprecedented public-private partnership.
• Otay Mountain Wilderness Act. In 1999, Senator Feinstein helped pass a bill to preserve 18,500 acres of the Otay Mountain region. The mountain area, located in eastern San Diego County, is home to 20 sensitive plant and animal species.
• Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In 2000, Senator Feinstein authored a bill to add nearly 1,300 acres of undeveloped land in Pacifica, Marin County and San Francisco to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Foreign Affairs

The United States today faces many complex challenges around the world, including the spread of nuclear weapons, instability in the Middle East and rising tensions in East Asia.

It is Senator Feinstein’s goal to ensure the United States remains a champion for democracy, justice and human rights. She believes the best way to do this is by example. America's strength is our global moral leadership, not just our military prowess.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Senator Feinstein believes the only way to secure Israel as a democratic, Jewish state is to establish an independent Palestinian state by its side. In order to end the tragic cycle of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, resolving the conflict through a negotiated two-state solution must be a top priority.

Iran

Senator Feinstein strongly believes that the only way to peacefully ensure that Iran does not develop or acquire a nuclear weapon is through diplomacy.   

She strongly disagrees with the Trump Administration’s decision to violate the Iran nuclear agreement, and believes that the United States should rejoin the agreement as soon as possible.

Middle East

Senator Feinstein strongly supports U.S. and international efforts to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). She believes that the international community must take action to prevent this terror organization from re-consolidating control in the Middle East and exporting violent terrorism worldwide.

U.S.-China Relations

Maintaining a stable relationship with China is vital to the United States’ long-term economic prosperity and national security.

While Senator Feinstein supports robust trade between the United States and China, she is concerned by China’s restrictions on foreign investment and theft of intellectual property. 

Further, Senator Feinstein is concerned by China’s militarization of the South and East China Seas, and opposes all efforts to resolve disputes through the use of force. She believes China should uphold its international obligations and define its territorial claims based on international law.

Despite disagreements in the Sino-American relationship, Senator Feinstein will continue to strongly advocate for improved Sino-American political, security and economic ties as well as better cultural understanding.

Gun Safety

Senator Feinstein has long advocated for commonsense laws to reduce gun violence. Most notably, she achieved passage of the landmark, federal Assault Weapons Ban in 1994 and has advocated for its reinstatement since it expired in 2004.

Senator Feinstein in 2019 introduced three pieces of gun safety legislation in the Senate: an updated Assault Weapons Ban, the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act to help states develop court processes that allow family members to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and a bill to raise the federal age to purchase assault weapons and high-capacity magazines from 18 to 21.

Senator Feinstein is also a strong proponent of universal background checks; a bill to accomplish that was passed in the House in 2019 but not taken up by Senate Republican leaders. 

Health Care

Senator Feinstein has long been a champion of access to affordable, quality health coverage. She strongly supports a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her health. She has also been a leader in pushing for stronger consumer protections regarding chemicals that affect our health, in areas ranging from children’s toys to personal care products.

Preventing the Spread of COVID-19

• COVID-19 has severely affected our way of life and caused extreme hardship for millions of Americans nationwide. Throughout the pandemic, Senator Feinstein advocated for implementing preventative health measures that are effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19, including vaccination, mask-use and routine testing. Additionally, she supported several coronavirus emergency relief bills, dedicating trillions of dollars for individuals, families, vulnerable communities, small businesses and the medical community. Senator Feinstein proudly supported the American Rescue Plan Act, which President Biden signed into law on March 11, 2021. 

Protecting the Affordable Care Act

• Senator Feinstein supported and helped pass the Affordable Care Act in the Senate and voted for its passage in 2009.
• Senator Feinstein has consistently voted against efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. She voted in favor of the law in 2010, and continues to fight back against efforts to take away coverage and protections for consumers. She is focused on working with her colleagues to improve the law, rather than dismantle it.
• During the summer of 2017, Senator Feinstein was very vocal in her opposition to repealing the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans attempted no less than four times. Senator Feinstein rallied support for the bill in California and spoke frequently about how important the bill is, not only for the millions who receive health coverage because of it, but also for its support of Medicaid and the many programs it supports. Senator Feinstein believes that we must continue working to strengthen this legislation. 

Expanding Health Care Coverage

• During her time in the Senate, Senator Feinstein has strongly supported legislation and policies that ensure all Americans have access to the quality, affordable health care they deserve.
• Senator Feinstein is an original cosponsor of the Choose Medicare Act (S. 1180), introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). This bill would create a public health care option based on Medicare that would offer comprehensive coverage and all of the benefits covered under traditional Medicare.
• Senator Feinstein is the author of the Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings (PALS) Act of 2021, which would preserve coverage for routine breast cancer screening for women in their 40s.

Reproductive rights

• Senator Feinstein knows firsthand the struggles women face when it comes to accessing abortion care. She often speaks about her time at Stanford University when students would pass collection plates to fund trips to Tijuana to obtain an abortion. She strongly supports congressional efforts to codify the protections Roe v. Wade offered to women by passing the Women’s Health Protection Act.
• She signed onto multiple amicus briefs before the Supreme Court supporting a woman’s right to choose in cases including Trump v. Pennsylvania (2020), California v. Texas (2020), June Medical Services v. Gee (2019), New York v. Department of Health and Human Services (2019), Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas Family Planning and Preventative Health Services v. Smith (2017), Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellersted (2016), Zubik v. Burwell (2016).

Medical research

• She authored legislation to create the Breast Cancer Research Stamp in 1998. It was the first “semipostal” stamp, meaning that it covers first-class postage plus an amount to fund causes that have been determined to be in the national public interest. Since its creation, the stamp has raised more than $94 million for breast cancer research.
• Senator Feinstein strongly supports President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, which aims to reduce the death rate from cancer by 50 percent in the next 25 years.
• As co-chair of the Senate Cancer Coalition, Senator Feinstein has worked to raise awareness, improve treatment and increase research on cancer and other diseases. She has consistently supported increased funding for cancer research and has sponsored several resolutions over the past decade to recognize May as National Cancer Research Month, all of which passed the Senate unanimously.
• Senator Feinstein worked with her colleagues to enhance research focus on deadly cancers, which led to an improved emphasis and strategy for research of top deadly cancers, including lung cancer. She was the sponsor of the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act, components of which were included in the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act.

Helping at-risk women detect cancer: Senator Feinstein authored and secured passage of a bill that requires health care providers to inform patients if they have dense breast tissue, a factor that places women at a higher risk of breast cancer. Early detection is critical to increasing the chance of survival for women with breast cancer and patients deserve to know their own medical information in order to make fully informed decisions about their health.

Increasing diversity in NIH clinical trials: Senator Feinstein included language in the fiscal year 2020 spending bill to help reduce barriers to clinical trial participation for minority groups by directing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to revise existing protocol templates and guidelines for clinical trials that receive NIH funding. Racial and ethnic minority groups have been largely underrepresented in clinical trials among adults and evidence shows that irrelevant criteria may be inappropriately excluding these groups.

Confronting the Opioid Epidemic: To address the staggering number of drug and opioid overdose deaths ravaging this country, Senator Feinstein authored a number of key provisions that were included in the comprehensive, bipartisan opioid package, known as the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. This bill holds drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for failure to report suspicious orders of opioids and reauthorizes critical substance abuse prevention, treatment and enforcement programs that directly benefit California, including the Drug Free Communities, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program and drug court programs.

Maintaining funding levels for safety net hospitals: Senator Feinstein worked to prevent funding cuts to hospitals that serve a high percentage of Medicaid patients, known as Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospitals. She successfully fought for higher funding levels as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Cracking down on rogue Internet pharmacies - Senator Feinstein coauthored legislation to crack down on rogue Internet pharmacies that sell controlled substances without a valid prescription, while protecting consumers who fill legitimate prescriptions online.

Banning phthalates in children’s toys - Senator Feinstein authored legislation to impose a nationwide ban on phthalates in products designed for children’s use, modeled after the California and European Union bans. Senator Feinstein’s language was included as a provision of the comprehensive Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery: Senator Feinstein cosponsored the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act, which requires health insurance plans to pay for breast reconstruction surgery following mastectomies.

IMMIGRATION

Senator Feinstein has long been at the forefront of the debate to reform America’s immigration policies. She has been a staunch advocate for the creation of a farmworker protection program, protections for unaccompanied immigrant children and a pathway to citizenship for young immigrants who came to this country through no choice of their own and know no other home.

Dream Act

Senator Feinstein is committed to protecting the rights of Dreamers and ensuring their ability to remain in the United States without fear of deportation.

• The Dream Act: Senator Feinstein is a strong supporter of legislation to provide a path to legal status for undocumented persons who were younger than 18 years when they first arrived in the United States, lived in the country four years prior to enactment and have satisfied certain higher education or military service requirements, among other criteria.
• Protect Dreamer Confidentiality Act: Senator Feinstein is a co-sponsor of a bill to safeguard the private information – such as addresses and telephone numbers – of young immigrants known as Dreamers to ensure they are not targeted for deportation.

Expanding Temporary Protect Status (TPS):

• In February 2022, Senator Feinstein cosigned a letter to President Biden requesting that TPS be granted to Ukrainian nationals fleeing their country from the Russian invasion. In March 2022, TPS status was granted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for 18 months.
• In March 2022, Senator Feinstein cosigned a letter to President Biden requesting TPS be granted to Cameroon in response to armed conflict and widespread violence in the country. In April, DHS agreed to grant TPS to Cameroonians for 18 months.  

Protections for immigrant children

• Preventing Family Separation: Senator Feinstein led efforts to prevent family separation in the wake of President Trump’s zero tolerance policy, introducing the Keep Families Together Act with 48 co-sponsors. This bill would have prohibited employees of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, or the Department of Health and Human Services from removing a child under the age of 18 from his or her parent at or near a port of entry, within 100 miles of the U.S. border. The bill would explicitly prevent agencies from removing a child from their legal guardian, solely for the policy goal of deterring migration to the United States.
• Working to preserve the Flores Agreement: In 2019, Senator Feinstein introduced the Protecting Immigrant Families and Improving Immigration Procedures Act to protect immigrant children in federal custody and improve the efficiency of our immigration system. The bill would prohibit family separation, preserve the Flores Settlement Agreement, provide counsel to young children in immigration court, fund more immigration judges and allow them to prioritize important cases.
• Unaccompanied Immigrant Children: Senator Feinstein championed critical protections to ensure that unaccompanied immigrant children who arrive on the U.S. border are treated fairly and humanely. In 2000 she first introduced the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act, which was eventually incorporated and passed into law in the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In 2007, Senator Feinstein again introduced the bill, which was incorporated into the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and became law. The bill required family reunification whenever possible and provided pro bono legal representation for children at no expense to the government.

Reversing inhumane immigration laws

• In February of 2022, Senator Feinstein cosigned a letter urging President Biden to reverse inhumane immigration policies, such as Title 42, originally introduced under the Trump administration that continues to disproportionately mistreat Black migrants.

Advocating for improved conditions on our border

• Senator Feinstein’s California staff regularly visits the California/Mexico border to inspect conditions at Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Office of Refugee Resettlement facilities. These visits are important to ensure that conditions in immigration facilities uphold the humanitarian standards U.S. law requires and that immigration cases are heard quickly and efficiently.

The Intelligence Committee

Senator Feinstein has served on the Intelligence Committee since 2001. In that time she served as Chairman from 2009-2015 and as Vice Chairman from 2015-2017. During her time as Chairman of the SSCI, Senator Feinstein led the drafting and subsequent enactment of six consecutive authorization bills following a six-year span without authorization legislation. These bills are crucial tools to exercise oversight of the U.S. intelligence community, authorize funding for intelligence activities, and add or amend legislation affecting the intelligence community.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is responsible for providing oversight of all U.S. intelligence agencies. As a member of the committee, Senator Feinstein regularly reviews intelligence reports, budgets and activities and participates in committee investigations.

CIA Detention and Interrogation Report

In December 2014, the committee declassified the executive summary of a report led by Senator Feinstein that detailed brutal detention and interrogation methods used by the CIA in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Information on the report can be found here.

The report reached four key conclusions:

1. The CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” were not effective.
2. The CIA provided extensive inaccurate information about the operation of the program and its effectiveness to policymakers and the public.
3. The management of the program was inadequate and deeply flawed.
4. The program was far more brutal than the CIA represented to policymakers and the American public.

Committee staff examined more than 6.3 million pages of records to compile a 6,700-page report backed up by 38,000 footnotes. Although the full report remains classified, the 500-page executive summary provides a broad overview of the program.

Following the release of the executive summary, Senator Feinstein joined Senator John McCain to offer an amendment to ban so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques.” The Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass the ban in June 2015.

Senator Feinstein is committed to keeping the report’s executive summary in the public eye as well as the full declassification of the entire report.

Cybersecurity

Senator Feinstein is continually working on efforts to enhance the cybersecurity capabilities of the United States, including bolstering information sharing.

In May 2022, Senator Feinstein signed a letter requesting information from the Department of Homeland Security on efforts to protect the United States from Russian cyber and disinformation threats. The letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas references past Russian cyber operations – such the SolarWinds attack – as evidence of their history of engaging in malicious cyber activities that target the United States.

In August 2021, Senator Feinstein introduced the Sanction and Stop Ransomware Act, legislation to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure and target foreign governments that knowingly provide safe haven for cybercriminals.

In 2015, a bill she worked on with Senator Richard Burr was signed into law. The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act encourages the voluntary sharing of cyber-threat information, both company-to-company sharing as well as between companies and the government. This type of information sharing—with strict safeguards for private information—is key to countering cyber attacks.

The bill establishes the Department of Homeland Security as the federal portal to share cybersecurity information. It also maintains liability protections for companies, limited to the actions authorized in the bill. And in addition to incorporating robust privacy protections, the bill restricts the government’s use of cyber information to cybersecurity purposes and specific instances of major harm to people or the economy.

In an age where it seems like a high-profile hack of a government agency or a Fortune 500 company occurs so frequently, working together to stem cyber threats is crucial. Senator Feinstein is committed to ensuring that both government and the private-sector have the tools they need to share information about cyber threats and the defensive measures they can implement to protect their networks.

The Judiciary Committee

The Judiciary Committee has one of the broadest jurisdictions in the Senate, ranging from criminal justice and immigration issues to antitrust and intellectual property law.

Senator Feinstein served as the ranking member of the committee from 2017 to 2021. She is currently chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. 

Senator Feinstein is a leader on a number of issues that fall within the committee’s jurisdiction.

Combating Crime

Safeguarding communities has long been one of Senator Feinstein’s priorities. She has achieved passage of several important pieces of legislation to fight crime and strengthen the rights of crime victims including:

• Ryan Haight Act, to stop rogue pharmacies operating on the Internet and protect the safety of consumers who fill legitimate prescriptions online.
• The Crime Victims’ Rights Act, to give victims specific rights under civil law.
• The Hate Crimes Sentencing Act, to toughened penalties against offenders who commit hate crimes.
• The Combat Methamphetamine Act, to place restrictions on the sale of ingredients needed in the production of methamphetamine.
• The ART Act, to strengthen the rights of all copyright owners who deserve control over their work.
• Reauthorization of the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program
• Legislation that established the nationwide AMBER Alert network.

Senator Feinstein also co-sponsored the bill that created the highly-successful COPS program, which has put 100,000 new cops on the streets nationwide, including more than 14,000 additional officers in California.

Championing marriage equality

Senator Feinstein has long advocated for repealing the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to ensure that married, same-sex couples are treated equally under federal law regardless of where they live.

Senator Feinstein led a group of 40 Senators and 172 Representatives in filing a legal brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to find unconstitutional a key part of DOMA in United States v. Windsor.

Following the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in United States v. Windsor, which struck down a key part of DOMA, Senator Feinstein urged the Obama administration to ensure that legally married, same-sex couples are accorded equal treatment regardless of where they live.

Senator Feinstein’s bill to fully repeal DOMA, the Respect for Marriage Act, would correct what the Justice Department has identified as ongoing legal barriers to full equality for legally married same-sex couples, such as those that continue to exist within Social Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Battling identity theft

Senator Feinstein is a longtime proponent of requiring businesses to notify consumers in the event of a security breach, providing for strong security standards for businesses that hold people’s personal data, prohibiting the sale or display of an individual’s Social Security number without his or her consent, and protecting against fraudulent receipt of a person’s federal tax refund.

Ensuring an Effective Judiciary

Senator Feinstein is a strong advocate for ensuring that federal courts have well-qualified judges. Senator Feinstein maintains bipartisan judicial selection committees in each of California’s four federal judicial districts to assist her in recommending highly-qualified candidates to the president for nomination.

Senator Feinstein works to ensure that California’s federal judicial nominees receive prompt and favorable consideration in the Judiciary Committee and confirmation by the full Senate. Recently, several new judges have been confirmed to California’s federal trial courts based in Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2014 for the first time reached a full complement of 29 active appeals court judges.

Immigration Reform

Senator Feinstein strongly supports comprehensive immigration reform.

Senator Feinstein led the effort in 2014 to address the severe worker shortage experienced by frustrated farmers across the country by establishing the Agricultural Workers Program in the Senate-passed comprehensive reform bill.

Improving Gun Safety

Senator Feinstein has long advocated for commonsense laws to reduce gun violence including universal background checks, prohibition on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and stronger penalties for gun traffickers.

Senator Feinstein achieved passage of a landmark assault weapons ban in 1994 and fought to reinstate the assault weapons ban following the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

LABOR

Senator Feinstein has a long history of fighting to protect workers’ rights in the workplace and has a strong pro-labor record.

Ensuring fair salaries and benefits

• Senator Feinstein has been a staunch proponent of a living wage. She is a cosponsor of the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

• Senator Feinstein supported the Obama administration’s efforts to update overtime pay and extend overtime benefits to millions more Americans. She is also a cosponsor of the Fairness for Farmworkers Act, which would grant overtime protections to farmworkers.

• Senator Feinstein is a champion for paid family leave.
  • She is a cosponsor of the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, which provides partially paid family leave, including maternity leave.

• Senator Feinstein has been a strong supporter of expanding access to retirement savings opportunities for workers.
  • In 2017, she voted against resolutions to overturn Department of Labor rules that cleared the way for cities and states to provide access to retirement savings programs for employees without workplace options. She has also supported California’s Secure Choice program, which would provide an alternative for retirement savings to workers without workplace retirement savings programs.

• Senator Feinstein has, since her first session in the Senate, voted against repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, a crucial law that ensures workers are paid the prevailing wage for public works projects. She has voted to protect the law a number of times including in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012.

• Senator Feinstein is also a champion of workforce development.
  • She has supported funding for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs, introduced resolutions to recognize September as National Workforce Development Month, cosponsored the Community College to Career Fund Act in 2017 to encourage career training partnerships, and sent letters urging business groups to prioritize workforce development initiatives.

Protecting workers and worker rights

• Senator Feinstein opposes so-called “right-to-work” laws and other efforts to undermine unions.
  • She has cosponsored several bills to protect the right of workers to bargain collectively, including the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy (WAGE) Act, the Workers’ Freedom to Negotiate Act, and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act.

• Senator Feinstein has joined her colleagues to urge the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee to maintain provisions prioritizing worker protections and responsible contractors in the National Defense Authorization Act.

• In 2017, Senator Feinstein voted against repealing a Department of Labor rule requiring companies seeking federal contracts to disclose federal labor law violations.

• Senator Feinstein in 2017 voted against H.J. Res.83, a resolution that overturned Department of Labor rules clarifying the continuous obligation for businesses to maintain a record of workplace related injuries and illnesses.
  • In light of the rule being overturned, Senator Feinstein cosponsored the Accurate Workplace Injury and Illness Records Restoration Act to again attempt to clarify workplace injury recordkeeping obligations.

• As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Feinstein has fought to protect funding for agencies that protect workplace safety, including joining with her colleagues in 2016 and 2017 to urge funding for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

• Senator Feinstein is a leader in the effort to protect port truckers in California based on reports of appalling labor practices.
  • With three of her colleagues, she sent letters to companies reportedly working with port trucking companies engaging in concerning labor practices to demand higher standards among the companies they work with and immediately cancel any contracts that require workers to engage in abusive lease-to-own programs or that have violated safety standards and worker protections.

• Senator Feinstein has fought efforts to override California laws that provide wage and rest protections for truck drivers. She has helped defeat multiple efforts to preempt these laws through legislation, and has signed letters to the Administration opposing regulatory attempts to bypass legislation.

• Senator Feinstein has consistently voted against appointments to the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board whose experience indicated they would not put workers first and could undermine the mission of their employing agencies.
  • Senator Feinstein voted against President Trump’s nominee to the Department of Labor, now-Secretary Acosta, and voted against Marvin Kaplan and William Emanuel, nominees to the National Labor Relations Board.

Supporting U.S. manufacturing jobs

• Senator Feinstein is a strong supporter of bringing manufacturing back to the United States to provide more high-paying jobs for American workers.
  • She is a cosponsor of the Bring Jobs Home Act of 2017 to provide businesses with a tax credit when they move an offshore location to the U.S. and to deny tax credits for outsourcing expenses.
  • She also supports the Outsourcing Accountability Act of 2017, a bill that requires public companies to disclose the number of employees they have in the United States compared to other countries.
  • She has also successfully fought efforts to weaken California’s “Made in America” labeling standards, the strongest in the nation. These standards promote U.S. manufacturing by ensuring that products bearing the “Made in America” label are truly made in America.

• Senator Feinstein believes that any renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) must prioritize U.S. manufacturing jobs, which she conveyed in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in May 2017 at the outset of talks with Canada and Mexico. Concern about NAFTA’s effect on U.S. manufacturing jobs was one of the reasons Senator Feinstein opposed the original agreement in 1993.

LGBTQ+ Rights

Senator Feinstein has been a champion for LGBTQ+ rights her entire career, continually advancing the fight for equality. 

Equal marriage

Marriage equality for LGBTQ+ Americans has been one of the defining civil rights issues of our time. In 1996, Senator Feinstein was one of only 14 senators to oppose the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prevented the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. She chaired the first congressional hearing on repealing DOMA and was the lead Senate sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill to repeal DOMA. She also led a congressional delegation in filing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to find bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges. 

LGBTQ+ Equality in the military

Senator Feinstein was a consistent opponent of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prohibited LGBTQ+ service members from disclosing their sexual orientation. Senator Feinstein continued to champion LGBTQ+ service members after “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was repealed in 2011. She strongly opposed President Trump’s attempts to ban transgender individuals from serving in the military. 

• Preventing discrimination: Senator Feinstein is a supporter of the Equality Act, which would expand federal civil rights laws to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in public accommodations and facilities,  employment, housing, credit, jury service and federally funded programs. Specifically, the bill defines and includes sex, sexual orientation and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation. 

• Ending discriminatory adoption laws: Senator Feinstein cosponsored the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would prohibit discrimination against would-be foster parents and adoptive parents based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

• Diversifying data collection: Senator Feinstein supports the LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act, which would require federal agencies to collect demographic information on the LGBTQ+ community to asses needed changes in survey methods related to asking questions about sexual orientation or gender identity. 

• Workforce equality: Senator Feinstein Voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, known as ENDA, which would ban employers from firing, refusing to hire, or discriminating against workers or applicants based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

• Defining hate crimes: Senator Feinstein was a strong supporter of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded federal hate-crime laws to include crimes motivated by gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.

Trade

California’s Gross Domestic Product is an estimated $2.7 trillion, making it the 5th largest economy in the world.

Foreign trade is critical to California’s economy, supporting more than 4.7 million jobs. California leads the nation in agriculture and services exports, and is second in manufactured goods exports.

Here is how trade benefits three important sectors of California’s economy:

Services

The services sector, which includes professional services and jobs in hotels and restaurants, has led California’s economic recovery since the 2008 recession. In 2014, 66 percent of new California jobs were in the services sector.

In 2013, California exported $114 billion in services, a 58 percent growth over 2006.

California’s top services exports include:

• Business, professional and technical services ($24.2 billion).
• Royalties and license fees ($36.1 billion).
• Travel services ($25.4 billion).

Merchandise 

In 2018, California exported $178.4 billion in merchandise. More than 70,000 California companies export goods, and 96 percent of those are small- or medium-sized businesses with fewer than 500 employees. An estimated 632,000 jobs in California are supported by exporting goods.

Computer and electronic products, which accounted for $45.2 billion of total merchandise exports in 2018, is the largest category of manufactured exports.

Agriculture 

California’s agriculture industry, the largest in the United States, also relies heavily on export markets. In 2013, California’s agricultural exports were valued at $21.2 billion, nearly half the $46.4 billion output from the state’s 77,900 farms.

Trade is essential for the global agricultural economy, since there is an advantage to growing certain crops in specific regions and during specific seasons.

California produces about 80 percent of all the almonds consumed in the world. Almonds account for approximately 25 percent of California’s agricultural exports. California almonds are estimated to create 104,000 jobs in California and add $11 billion to the state’s economy.

Trade Adjustment Assistance

Despite the benefits of trade to California and its economy, Senator Feinstein recognizes that trade has a negative effect on some American workers. That’s why she strongly supports Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). TAA provides workers who have been displaced by trade job with retraining and other assistance.

In June 2015, Senator Feinstein voted for legislation to renew the Trade Adjustment Assistance program through June 30, 2021, with a $450 million annual budget.

In fiscal year 2013, 7,609 Californians received training under the program.

The Department of Labor estimates that since 1975, more than two million workers have relied on this program to receive supplemental income assistance and additional training needed to find new employment.

Veterans

California is home to nearly 2 million veterans, more than any other state. Senator Feinstein is committed to improving the services provided by the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Health Care

To reduce wait times at VA facilities and increase accountability within the department, Senator Feinstein supported the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act. She also supported the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act (the VA MISSION Act), which expanded the VA caregiver program and access to health care in the community.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Feinstein has worked to increase funding for medical research on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at California’s 10 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers.

She has also fought for funding to improve the VA’s medical records system to reduce the long wait periods too many returning veterans face when they apply for the health care benefits they have earned.

Veterans who were exposed to toxic fumes while fighting for our country are American heroes, and they deserve world-class care and benefits for their selfless service. The bipartisan PACT Act will help VA deliver for those veterans—and their survivors—by empowering us to presumptively provide care and benefits to vets suffering from more than 20 toxic exposure-related conditions.

To those veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors: you can apply for PACT Act benefits by filing a claim at VA, and you can learn more about the PACT ACT at VA.gov/PACT or by calling 1-800-MyVA411. 

Homelessness

Senator Feinstein believes the high rates of homelessness among veterans is unconscionable.

There are more than 19,500 homeless veterans in California, and 1 out of 10 of those lives in Los Angeles.

In September 2011, Senator Feinstein’s legislation to renovate facilities on the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center Campus passed the Senate and was signed by President Obama. The refurbished building will house homeless veterans and provide additional services for the most vulnerable veterans in Southern California.

Senator Feinstein is now pushing Congress and the administration to designate additional funding to house homeless veterans in additional buildings at the West LA VA.

Jobs

Senator Feinstein believes the country must do more to help veterans reintegrate into civilian life and find good-paying jobs.

She supports providing opportunities for veterans to further their education and retrain after they leave military service, as well as incentivizing businesses to hire veterans.

Serving California’s Veterans

After decades of mismanagement at the West Los Angeles VA Campus, Senator Feinstein led an effort to halt these abusive practices and restore the campus to its intended purpose: service to veterans. In 2016, Congress passed the West Los Angeles Leasing Act, a law written by Senator Feinstein. This law requires that leases and land sharing agreements on the campus principally benefit veterans and their families. In addition to securing the passage of this law, Senator Feinstein has also worked to implement the Master Plan, which requires the development of 1,200 units of permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans.

Senator Feinstein’s office can assist California veterans in applying for health and education benefits. If you are a veteran and looking for assistance with your case, please contact Senator Feinstein’s San Francisco Office at (415) 393-0707.

The Small Business Administration Office of Veterans Business Development has resources for veteran-owned small businesses here. Information on the Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) Program is available here.

VOTING RIGHTS

Senator Feinstein has consistently fought to protect the right to vote and has been a proud supporter of key voting rights legislation during her time in the Senate. Senator Feinstein recognizes that protecting the legitimacy of our nation’s elections is of paramount importance to ensure the integrity of our democracy.

Voting Rights Legislation

Following the Supreme Court’s decisions in 2013 and 2021 to significantly weaken the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Senator Feinstein has supported legislation to restore crucial voting rights protections. She is a cosponsor of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The Freedom to Vote Act would protect access to the ballot by strengthening vote-by-mail and early in-person voting opportunities in federal elections and allowing same-day voter registration at polling places. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore important provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including the “preclearance” provisions that allow the Justice Department to prevent discriminatory state voting laws from taking effect.

Election Security

Vote-by-mail is allowed in some form in 21 states and has been allowed in California for 60 years without evidence of widespread voter fraud. Leading up to the 2020 election, Senator Feinstein consistently spoke out against President Trump’s repeated claims that mail-in voting would lead to fraud, noting the fact that President Trump himself has voted by mail in previous elections.

She strongly advocated for increasing access to mail-in voting leading up to the 2020 election as the safest way for Americans to exercise their right to vote during the Covid-19 pandemic. To help prevent delays in counting vote-by-mail ballots, in August 2020 she coauthored the Postal Service Emergency Assistance Act to give the United States Postal Service up to $25 billion to cover revenue losses and operational expenses resulting from COVID-19.

She also supports the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act, which would help expand early voting and no-excuse absentee vote-by-mail to all states during natural disasters or public emergencies.

• Native American voting rights: Senator Feinstein was an original cosponsor of the Native American Voting Rights Act in both the 115th and 116th Congresses. The bill would protect the voting rights of Native American and Alaska Native voters by, among other things, expanding polling sites on tribal lands (2021).

• Preventing voter intimidation: Senator Feinstein is an original cosponsor of the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act. Among other things, the bill would make it a criminal offense to engage in certain practices, such as providing false information on voter eligibility, that were meant to intimidate voters and suppress turnout, especially among minority voters. (2021)

• Federal Election Commission transparency: Senator Feinstein co-signed a letter to the FEC urging it to act quickly to complete the rulemaking process to provide clear rules concerning disclaimers on online political advertisements. Senator Feinstein has advocated for Americans’ right to know who is paying for advertisements that have been placed to influence their vote, regardless of whether those advertisements run on the radio, television, or online.

Women’s Rights

• In response to the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal, Senator Feinstein in March 2017 introduced legislation requiring amateur athletics governing bodies to report sex-abuse allegations to law enforcement or a child-welfare agency within 24 hours. The bill was signed into law on February 14, 2018.

• Senator Feinstein introduced a resolution to recognize February 7th, 2018 as National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which passed the Senate unanimously.

• Senator Feinstein introduced a resolution with Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (S.Res.323) to mandate sexual harassment prevention training for Members, officers, employees, and interns of the Senate. She was an original cosponsor on a similar bipartisan resolution (S.Res.330) introduced soon after that passed the Senate unanimously. (2017)

• Senator Feinstein is an original cosponsor of the Congressional Harassment Reform Act of 2017 (S. 2236), a bipartisan bill that requires anti-harassment training for all congressional members, officers and employees and reforms how Congress handles harassment and discrimination claims.

• Senator Feinstein is an original co-sponsor of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017 (S. 2203), a bill to ensure that employers cannot force their employees to submit to private arbitration of sex discrimination claims and waive any rights they would otherwise have under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

• Senator Feinstein led a letter in December 2017 to the Director of National Intelligence to review treatment of women employees in national security positions. 

• Senator Feinstein joined other women senators in calling on the EEOC (which enforces federal workplace anti-discrimination laws and investigates discrimination charges) to address sexual harassment in the food and hospitality industries. 

• Senator Feinstein is a longtime supporter of the Violence Against Women Act, known as VAWA, which became law in 1994, and was reauthorized and expanded upon in 2000, 2005, and 2013.

• Senator Feinstein has consistently supported resolutions to revive consideration of the Equal Rights Amendment. (1993-2017)

• Senator Feinstein introduced a resolution designating March 2016 as National Women’s History Month and recognizing the many notable contributions that women have made to the United States. (2016)

• Senator Feinstein joined a congressional amicus brief in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstadt opposing the undue burden that Texas law had placed on women’s access to abortion. (2016)

• Senator Feinstein voted for the Paycheck Fairness Act (first voted for cloture on June 4, 2012, then again as an amendment on March 24, 2015 – both failed). This bill would have strengthened the standards of the Equal Pay Act to better help employees who take action against workplace wage discrimination on the basis of gender. (2012, 2015)

• Senator Feinstein voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which was signed into law. This bill amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to state that an unlawful employment practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation practice is adopted and amended the statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit. (2009)

• Introduced the Harassment-Free Workplace Act to strengthen workplace protections. The bill would have expanded sexual harassment protections to employees of small businesses, making it an unlawful employment practice for a respondent to engage in a practice that constitutes sexual harassment as defined under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against an employee or job applicant, and prohibited any action against an employee or applicant in response to a charge or allegation of sexual harassment or participation in an investigation. (1994)

DACA

On September 5, 2017, Donald Trump’s Justice Department terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA.

Since this announcement, Senator Feinstein and her Democratic colleagues have prioritized protecting these young people, known as Dreamers, from deportation.

Statements

• On December 21, 2017, Senator Feinstein released a statement laying out why she would not vote for a government funding bill that did not include the Dream Act. Her statement can be read here. Excerpt:

“I’ve supported passage of the Dream Act for more than a decade. I’ve been a vocal supporter of young people protected by DACA since President Obama created the program in 2012. I’ve been an advocate for CHIP, which insures millions of children, for two decades. I’m not new to these issues, and my positions haven’t changed.”

• On December 5, 2017, Senator Feinstein released a statement opposing Kirstjen Nielsen for Homeland Security Secretary. Her statement can be found here. Excerpt:

“I voted against Kristjen Nielsen as Department of Homeland Security Secretary because I believe she would continue to prioritize deporting immigrant families rather than criminals. We also don’t yet have a commitment from Republican leadership that the DREAM Act will be passed by the end of the year, which places hundreds of thousands of young people in line for DHS deportation.”

• On October 18, 2017, Senator Feinstein spoke at an oversight hearing with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Her statement can be found here. Excerpt:

“On DACA, you recommended in September that the program be terminated. And I think we believe these young people have placed their trust in the government. They have come out of the shadows. They have provided all of their information to authorities. They seek the opportunity to “get right with the law.” And I think most of us believe these DREAMers embody the American spirit and have made positive contributions to the country. So we should stand by them.”

• On October 9, 2017, Senator Feinstein released a statement on the Trump administration’s immigration priorities. The statement can be found here. Excerpt:

“The Trump administration created a crisis by terminating the DACA program. Now it’s demanding draconian changes to our immigration system in exchange for fixing that crisis. It’s wrong to play with people’s lives and DACA recipients shouldn’t be a political football. The administration has now clearly stated that it doesn’t want to work in a bipartisan fashion, and that’s unfortunate. In response, Congress should quickly work to pass the bipartisan DREAM Act before Christmas.”

• On October 5, 2017, Senator Feinstein released a statement about her decision to oppose the nomination of Francis Cissna as head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The statement can be found here. Excerpt:

“I voted against the nomination of Francis Cissna as director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services because he refused to commit to the DACA program or protecting the hundreds of thousands of young people it currently safeguards. The Trump administration’s decision to end DACA without a permanent, legislative solution is cruel and irresponsible. I cannot support nominations for immigration positions in the administration until DACA youth are protected.”

• On October 3, 2017, Senators Feinstein and Harris released a joint statement encouraging DACA recipients to mail their renewal applications. The statement can be found here.

• On September 12, 2017, Senator Feinstein released a statement in support of a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to preserve DACA. The statement can be found here. Excerpt:

“I strongly support Attorney General Becerra’s decision to take legal action to preserve the DACA program and protect more than 232,000 Californians from deportation. While I’m confident that DACA would be upheld, this action by Attorney General Becerra is no substitute for congressional action. Dreamers need a permanent, legislative solution that provides a path to citizenship. We should pass the DREAM Act as soon as possible.”

• On September 5, 2017, Senator Feinstein released a statement on the termination of DACA and called for action on the “Dream Act.” The statement can be found here.

“Failure to protect young people who have come out of the shadows would constitute an abject moral failure. DACA recipients registered with the government, had background checks and paid taxes. They provided extensive documentation about their lives and put their trust in the government. We can’t respond by penalizing them.”

Op-eds

• On December 7, 2016, Senator Feinstein wrote an op-ed entitled “Dreamers fear deportation” for the San Francisco Chronicle. The op-ed can be found here. Excerpt:

“I intend to join that effort to protect the more than 350,000 law-abiding young people who are living, working and being educated in the state of California. We have a moral obligation to do all we can to shield them from deportation and keep their families together.”

Remarks

• On December 21, 2017, Senator Feinstein submitted remarks to the Congressional Record where she laid out the reasons why she could not vote for a government funding bill that didn’t include the Dream Act. The remarks can be read here. Excerpt:

“These young people study, they work, they pay their taxes. They’re patriotic. They’re American in every way that counts, and to leave them in such uncertainty is nothing less than cruel.”

• On September 6, 2017, Senator Feinstein spoke on the Senate floor about protecting DACA students and their contributions to society. She also called for a vote on the “Dream Act.” Video of the speech can be found here.

• On October 3, 2017, Senator Feinstein spoke at the hearing entitled “Oversight of the Administration’s Decision to End Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.” The press release about her statement can be found here  and video is available here. Excerpt:

“No family in America should be forced to face this fear and uncertainty at the hands of their own government. So I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting Senators Graham and Durbin in passing the DREAM Act. These youth should not be political footballs, they shouldn’t be asked to choose between their future and their families, and they should have the certainty of permanent immigration status.”

Congressional hearings

• As the lead Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Feinstein invited Oscar Vazquez, a former Dreamer and U.S. Army veteran, to testify against the confirmation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January 2017. His written testimony is available here and video of his testimony can be watched here.

• Senator Feinstein also invited Denisse Rojas Marquez, another Dreamer from California, to testify on October 3, 2017, at a hearing titled “Oversight of the Administration’s Decision to End Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.” Her written testimony is available here and video of her testimony can be watched here.

Letters

• On July 27, 2017, Senator Feinstein joined a letter led by Senators Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin to President Trump asking that he use his executive authority to protect the DACA program. Text of the letter can be found here.

• On September 25, 2017, Senator Feinstein joined a letter led by Senator Bill Nelson to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke asking for the deadline to submit DACA renewal applications to be extended. The letter can be found here.

• On October 25, 2017, Senator Feinstein joined a letter led by Senators Robert Menendez and Kamala Harris to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke asking that the information provided by individuals as part of the DACA program be protected from use for enforcement purposes. The letter can be found here.

• On November 15, 2017, Senator Feinstein joined a letter led by Senator Martin Heinrich to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) rejection of renewal requests that were received after the application deadline due to U.S. Postal Service delays. The letter can be found here.

• On November 21, 2017, Senator Feinstein signed onto a letter led by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass the “Dream Act” before Senate recess in December. The letter can be found here.

Legislation

• On August 2, 2017, Senator Feinstein cosponsored the “Dream Act” (S. 1615) introduced by Senator Graham (R-SC) and Senator Durbin (D-IL). This legislation would provide a path to legal status to undocumented persons who were 18 years old or younger when they first arrived in the U.S., have lived in the country four years prior to enactment, and have satisfied certain higher education or military service requirements, among other criteria.

• On January 12, 2017, Senator Feinstein became an original cosponsor of the “BRIDGE Act” (S. 128) introduced by Senator Graham (R-SC) and Senator Durbin (D-IL). The “BRIDGE Act” would provide extended protection from deportation, for three years, to those who qualified for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

• On April 12, 2007, Senator Feinstein cosponsored the “Dream Act of 2007” (S.774) introduced by Senator Dick Durbin. This legislation would provide a path to legal status to undocumented persons who were 18 years old or younger when they first arrived in the U.S., have lived in the country four years prior to enactment, and have satisfied certain higher education or military service requirements, among other criteria.

Votes

• On December 23, 2017, Senator Feinstein voted against a continuing resolution to fund the government because it did not include the Dream Act. She said she would continue to fight for its passage at every opportunity.

• On June 27, 2013, Senator Feinstein voted in support of passage of the bi-partisan comprehensive immigration reform measure known as the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act that included the Dream Act (S. 744). The bill would have given legal status to an estimated 11 million individuals, including Dreamers.

• On December 18, 2010, Senator Feinstein voted in support of cloture on the Dream Act (S. 3963). This bill would provide a path to legal status to undocumented persons who were 16 years or younger when they first arrived in the U.S., have lived in the country five years prior to enactment, and have satisfied certain higher education requirements, among other criteria.

• On October 24, 2007, Senator Feinstein voted in support of cloture on the Dream Act (S. 2205). This bill would provide a path to legal status to undocumented persons who were 16 years or younger when they first arrived in the U.S., have lived in the country five years prior to enactment, and have satisfied certain higher education requirements, among other criteria.