Agriculture

As a lifelong cattle rancher, I understand the unique needs of California agriculture. California feeds America and much of the world, and it’s important that we pursue policies that help farmers and ranchers pass their way of life on to the next generation.

I am proud to represent California’s Third Congressional District, which has a unique and vibrant agricultural economy. From rice to walnuts to peaches to tomatoes, you can find it all. Because of this, I am a strong supporter of programs to help California farmers expand overseas markets, increased investment in agricultural research, investment in conservation programs which benefit farmers and wildlife, and federal crop insurance and commodity programs.

As a huge proponent of Buy America, I am pursuing policies that ensure that our school children are eating safe, nutrition foods grown in here in the United States, rather than places like China.

Economy

My top three priorities in Congress are jobs, jobs, and jobs. Continuing our economic recovery from recent recessions requires a commitment to fair trade deals, stopping outsourcing, and promoting American manufacturing through Make It In America policies. My work in Congress includes:

• Opposing Unfair Trade Deals. I believe in fair trade deals that promote American manufacturing. Polices like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will not do that. It will promote outsourcing and undermine labor and environmental standards. I have opposed it every step of the way and will vote against it again if it is brought back before Congress.
   
• Supporting American manufacturing. I serve as a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and I am committed to rebuilding American infrastructure using American parts and American labor. When the California High Speed Rail authority requested a waiver to outsource production of train cars to a foreign supplier, I immediately called the Authority and got them to reverse course. I will do everything in my power to support Making It In America.
   
• Promoting our maritime industry.  As a member of the Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, I recognize the importance of our domestic maritime industry. It's vital to our economy and our national security. I have authored legislation that would require a percentage of our oil and Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) exports to be carried on American ships sailed by American mariners. This will create jobs for our domestic industries and revitalize our ports and shipyards.
   
• Growing American Food for American Schools. I've introduced legislation that would use the force of law to require school districts to file for a waiver if they want to use imported food for school lunch programs, and make those waiver requests accessible to the public. I believe that American schoolkids should be fed by fresh, healthy agricultural products from local American farms.

These are just a few of the ways in which I'm supporting American jobs--but I also want to hear your ideas.

For more information concerning my work on the economy, please contact my Washington, DC office.  I look forward to your feedback.

Thank you.

--Congressman John Garamendi

Education

I believe every student, from pre-kindergarten to the post-graduate university level, deserves every opportunity to advance and prosper. Indeed, our economy’s long-term growth depends on a well-educated, innovative workforce.

I also believe that scientific research is one of our nation’s most important investments, creating jobs and entirely new sectors of our economy while making our research universities the best in the world. Support for clean energy, innovative water recycling and water use technology, and advances in the space program will all help America prosper and grow in the coming century. For this reason, I am a strong proponent of technology transfers converting public research into private industry and jobs.

I am a former University of California regent and California State University trustee who believes there are few priorities more important than keeping college costs low to make sure that no qualified student is priced out of an education. 40 million Americans hold over $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. This is a crisis that requires immediate attention. 

As a Member of Congress, I was proud to support a $36 billion expansion of the Pell Grant scholarship for lower-income students.  I have consistently voted for and introduced legislation to make student loans more affordable by removing profiteers from the industry. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reports that by converting to a direct loan system, this policy will save taxpayers $61 billion over 10 years.

I've also introduced the bipartisan "Student Loan Refinancing and Recalculation Act," which would allow students to refinance their student loan interest rates, lower future student loan interest rates, eliminate origination fees on student loans, and delay student loan interest rate accrual for low-income and middle-class borrowers while they are pursuing their education. 

I am also passionate about closing the achievement gap in our nation’s schools and committed to providing teachers with the tools they need to do their jobs. I have always supported robust investments in our schools, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and in vocational training. When we let students slip through the cracks, their potential is limited, and our country loses future skilled workers. In Congress, I will continue doing all I can to make sure that every American – and especially the next generation – can pursue the American dream.

For more information concerning my work and views on education and science, please contact my Washington, DC office. I look forward to your feedback. Thank you.

--Congressman John Garamendi

Environment

Congressman Garamendi has made a career out of protecting our public lands and natural resources. He is a conservationist and outdoorsman who supports preserving public lands, and he works closely with hunters and fishermen. He believes clean air and clean water help create healthy communities. He is a consistent advocate for clean energy production and efficiency projects, because he understands that environmental stewardship and long term economic growth go hand-in-hand.

As a longtime resident of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Garamendi understands the economic, recreational and aesthetic benefits that it provides. He is fiercely opposed to an attempts to degrade this national treasure.

For more information concerning Congressman Garamendi's work and views on the issue of Environment, please contact his Washington, DC office. 

Fiscal Responsibility

Congress has the duty and obligation to be good fiscal stewards of the public treasury. Wasteful spending needlessly adds to our deficit and takes money away from vital services. Indeed, as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Interior Department under President Clinton, I shrunk the department while improving its management of public lands.

I’ve voted for more than three trillion dollars in spending reductions since entering Congress while supporting needed investments in job creation, health access, research, infrastructure, and services to help seniors, children, and working families.

From my earliest days in Congress, I called for a responsible drawdown from Iraq and Afghanistan, and continue to think we can both save money in defense and keep America and our allies safer by targeting Al Qaeda like a laser and investing in foreign intelligence instead of engaging in protracted ground wars.

I have voted to save money in health coverage by cracking down on Medicare fraud, modernizing electronic health records, removing duplicative paperwork, and encouraging preventative and wellness care to stop expensive ailments before they happen. I have also called for ending tax loopholes that encourage businesses to ship jobs overseas and for ending wasteful Big Oil subsidies. I have also called for ending the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, restoring the wealthiest 1%’s tax rate to where it was during the surplus years of the Clinton administration.

For more information concerning my work and views on fiscal responsibility, please contact my Washington, DC office. I look forward to your feedback. Thank you.

--Congressman John Garamendi

Foreign Policy

I believe that America’s reputation in the world is best strengthened by having a strong and capable military, smart diplomacy, and a commitment to human rights, democracy, and cooperation. As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in rural Ethiopia in the 1960s, I know that an American hand extended in friendship can shape hearts and minds.

As Chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, I will continue to support our military and programs like the Peace Corps while working with our allies across the globe to achieve peace and security in our times.

Health Care

I believe that quality, affordable healthcare is a right for all Americans. I served for eight years as the Insurance Commissioner of California, and I know for a fact that the for-profit insurance industry will do what it can to maximize its profits at the expense of consumers. As your Congressman, my health care priorities are to:

• Keep the Affordable Care Act in place. Because of the Affordable Care Act, 30 million Americans have health insurance when they didn't before. The Affordable Care Act bans discrimination on pre-existing conditions. It allows children to stay on the health insurance plans of their parents until age 26. It bans charging women a higher premium for the same coverage. It expands Medicaid to cover more lower-income Americans. It has saved tens of thousands of lives by providing strong incentives against readmission of patients. And it has saved tens of thousands of lives by using market incentives to reduce hospital readmission rates. If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, all these benefits go away. We cannot go back to the era where people were unable to get coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
   
• Defend Medicare. There are plans working their way through Congress that would end the guarantee of Medicare as we know it and replace it with a voucher system for seniors to buy their own private insurance. I will fight this every step of the way. Medicare is the most efficient health care program in the United States, and will do everything I can to turn it into a coupon.
   
• Expand Medicare's benefits. Right now, Medicare doesn't cover eye lenses, dental care, or hearing aids. What sense does that make? Seniors have ears, eyes and teeth. I have continually co-sponsored legislation that will expand Medicare to cover these vital services.

For more information concerning my work and views on Health Care issues, please contact my Washington, DC office. I look forward to your feedback. Thank you.

--Congressman John Garamendi

Immigration

Congressman Garamendi supports a comprehensive and bipartisan approach to modernizing our nation’s broken and antiquated immigration system. Garamendi is proud to stand with Dreamers and supports a pathway to citizenship for all DACA-eligible immigrants. Garamendi also supports commonsense border security provisions that prevent violent criminals and individuals that seek to wreak havoc from entering our country. He also believes that a comprehensive solution much provide a long-term, reliable workforce for California’s agricultural economy.

Today, Garamendi is working with his colleagues in the House to force a vote on bipartisan immigration reform that enhances border security and provides a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers.

Make it in America

Congressman John Garamendi has authored numerous bills to bring back good-paying manufacturing jobs in America. Garamendi believes that when we “Make It In America” we provide a vital economic stimulus for our nation and help rebuild the middle class. Garamendi’s Make It In America agenda ensures that when the federal government spends taxpayer dollars, those dollars are spent on American-made goods made by American workers.

“As American businesses are on the brink of closing due to the compounding COVID-19 crisis, the federal government must take every action it can to support American manufacturers and workers. America is a beacon of hope, a global powerhouse and the land of opportunity,” Congressman Garamendi said. “We must rebuild our once robust manufacturing sector, repower our factories and assembly lines, hire the working men and women of this great nation, and restore America’s once prospering middle class.”

“I want to walk into Target and see ‘Made in America’ throughout the store. We can make it in America,” Congressman Garamendi added. “Middle-class wages in America have stagnated for three decades, and our country’s future success depends on bringing back good manufacturing jobs. We must ensure the U.S. tax code and other federal polices encourage job creation in America. This work can be done by hardworking Americans in Northern California and throughout the country. Let’s make it here.”

Congressman Garamendi is sponsoring the following bills:

•  The Made in America Act would strengthen “Buy American”  requirements across major federally funded public infrastructure projects to better support American businesses, manufacturers, and workers. Garamendi’s bicameral bill adds “Buy American” requirements to federal programs that currently lack such standards and ensures that building materials used in these federally funded infrastructure projects, including steel, iron and construction materials, are produced domestically.
   
• The Energizing American Shipbuilding Act would revitalize America’s strategic domestic shipbuilding and maritime industries by requiring that increasing percentages of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil exports from the United States be transported on U.S.-built, flagged, and crewed vessels. Garamendi’s bipartisan bill is expected to spur the construction of several dozen ships, supporting thousands of good-paying jobs in American shipyards, as well as the domestic vessel component manufacturing and maritime industries. According to an estimate from the Shipbuilders Council of America, the bill would result in the construction of more than 40 ships: approximately 28 LNG carriers by 2041 and 12 oil tankers by 2033.
   
• The American Food for American Schools Act would strengthen enforcement of existing “Buy American” requirements under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s school breakfast, special milk, lunch, and afterschool snack programs to support American family farmers and ensure that schoolchildren are eating nutritious, locally grown foods. Garamendi’s bipartisan bill would also increase public transparency by allowing parents to know from where the food served to their children in school comes.
   
• The TIFIA for Airports Act would unlock low-interest federal financing for public airport improvement projects, subject to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) “Buy American” requirements to modernize our nation’s airports using American materials and workers. Garamendi’s bill builds upon U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth’s (D-IL) “Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) for Airports.”
   
• The Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Disclosure Act of 2019 would require airlines to disclose the maintenance history for their aircraft fleets, specifically the location and date an aircraft underwent heavy maintenance—the most comprehensive test for an aircraft. Specifically, airlines would be required to submit an annual report to a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database that tracks the maintenance history of their aircraft fleets. The database would indicate whether maintenance was conducted in the United States or abroad; by FAA-certified mechanics or not; or by airline employees or third-party contractors. Garamendi’s bipartisan bill prioritizes transparency for passengers, airline safety, and supports the creation of new middle-class aviation mechanic jobs in the United States.

116th Congress (2019-2020)

• The Pharmaceutical Independence Long-Term Readiness Reform Act requires the Department of Defense to identify the vulnerabilities faced by our country’s dependence on Chinese pharmaceuticals, and to only purchase American-made raw materials, medicines, and vaccines for the military. The bill was enacted in the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283).
   
• “Buy American” Requirement for MARAD Small Shipyard Grant Program: Garamendi’s amendment implementing “Buy American” requirements for federal funds awarded under the Maritime Administration’s Small Shipyard Grant Program was enacted in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public law 116-92). Garamendi’s amendment was based off Senator Baldwin’s (D-WI) “Made in America Shipbuilding Act of 2020.”
   

113th Congress (2013-2014)

• The Made in America Act: Create Clean Energy Manufacturing Jobs in America Act authorizes federal acquisition of, or the provision of federal funds to states for purchase of, only green technologies that are 85% manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies that are 85% grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States.

112th Congress (2011-2012)

• The Made in America: Create Transportation Manufacturing Jobs in America Act would eliminate certain grounds for waiving Buy American requirements that the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) obligate federal funding for certain air navigation, highway, and rail activities and projects only if U.S. steel, iron, and manufactured goods are used in such projects.
   
• The Airports, Highways, High-Speed Rail, Trains and Transit: Make it in America Act would create American jobs by setting stronger standards for goods and equipment purchased with federal dollars for airports, highways, high-speed rail, trains and transit. The legislation increases domestic content provisions for airports and rolling stock from 60 to 100 percent over time, eliminates non-availability waivers, and makes similar waiver reporting requirements across the different modes of transportation.
   
• The Manufacture Renewable Energy Systems: Make it in America Act would create American jobs by ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent on American-made renewable energy systems, including solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. Phased over a four year period, the bill requires the federal government and any state government buying renewable technologies with federal funds to purchase renewable sources of energy grown, produced, or manufactured with 100% American content. It also requires any company taking advantage of the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit to buy 100% American content within four years after the bill becomes law.

111th Congress (2009-2010)

• The Close Foreign Tax Loopholes: Make it in America Act of 2010 would offer tax incentives to American companies looking to invest in jobs-creating capital improvements.
   
• The Buses, Rail Cars, Ferryboats: Make it in America Act of 2010 would create American jobs by eliminating three waivers to the Buy America requirement and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent on American-made buses, rail cars, and ferryboats.

Middle-class wages in America have stagnated for three decades, and our country’s future success in a global economy depends on reinvigorating our manufacturing sectors. Our competitors have invested significant resources in the clean technologies of the future, and it’s important that we do the same.

Garamendi has been fighting to rebuild the American middle class by advancing his Make It In America agenda from his earliest days in Congress. Watch one of his first speeches on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on this issue from July, 2010:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=packR-APUr0

Military and Veterans

The 3rd Congressional District is home to Travis AFB, the largest air mobility organization in the Air Force, and Beale AFB, which is located in Yuba County and performs a vital intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission.

As Chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, Congressman Garamendi is instrumental in crafting the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an annual bill that sets the policy for our nation's armed forces. Garamendi ensures that each year, the NDAA supports our men and women in uniform, advances America’s interests around the world, and supports the critical missions at both Travis and Beale AFBs.

Garamendi is honored to represent the thousands of veterans, military personnel, and their families who reside in the district. He has a 100% pro-veterans record and will continue fighting for those who have sacrificed so much in defense of our nation.

Seniors

Every American who worked hard and played by the rules deserves to retire with dignity. All of us deserve the peace of mind that comes when basic necessities are covered through Medicare and Social Security. I have stood against Congressional Republican efforts to dismantle Medicare and privatize Social Security, because these institutions have done a remarkable job of ending desperate poverty among our seniors.

In 1967, almost a third of American seniors lived in poverty. Today, thanks to Medicare and Social Security, less than ten percent of American seniors live in poverty. We have more work to do, particularly in creating more job opportunities for seniors who want to work, improving nursing room care, and expanding vital services like dental and vision coverage to all seniors, but to my last breath, I will fight back against any effort to roll back support for seniors.

I've introduced the "Fair COLA for Seniors Act" to create a new cost of living adjustment (COLA) calculation for Social Security that actually reflects how retirees spend their money – especially in health care. This would result in a better, fairer COLA for seniors and disabled Americans.

For more information concerning my work and views on the issue of Seniors, please contact my Washington, DC office.

I look forward to your feedback. Thank you.

--Congressman John Garamendi   

Social Justice

I believe America’s international strength and respect lies in its diversity and commitment to social justice. This is especially true in California, home to the most diverse population in America. All Americans, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability, deserve equal treatment under the law. When considering legislation, I always remember the immortal words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

For more information concerning my work and views on the issue of social justice issues, please contact my Washington, DC office.

I look forward to your feedback. Thank you.

--Congressman John Garamendi

Transportation and Infrastructure

A nation cannot prosper if it doesn’t have an effective and efficiently-run transportation infrastructure. I believe investments in water, energy, education, and broadband priorities are also essential to create good jobs and keep America competitive in an increasingly globalized economy.

We must improve the region’s dilapidated highway infrastructure while encouraging public transit and bicycle/pedestrian travel. I will continue to defend the Capitol Corridor and other regional transit services.

For more information concerning my work and views on transportation and infrastructure issues, please contact my Washington, DC office.

I look forward to your feedback. Thank you.

--Congressman John Garamendi

Water

I’ve lived in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta community of Walnut Grove for more than three decades, and I understand that sound water management is required to make Northern California prosperous. I have been a leading opponent of the twin tunnel boondoggle, formally known as California WaterFix, which has the potential to destroy the Delta. I am also strongly opposed to rolling back state and federal environmental laws in order to pump more water to the San-Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

I believe it is possible for California to solve its water problems, but the Delta and Northern California communities must be at the table, and it will take a comprehensive, multifaceted approach. We must prioritize storage like Sites Reservoir, conservation, recycling, levee improvements, and habitat restoration. Any water plan without these elements is incomplete at best. You can view my Water Plan for All of California here. 

Women

When women succeed, America succeeds.

That's why Congressman Garamendi supports policies that guarantee full economic and social equality for women, including freedom of choice, equal pay for equal work, and full equality and integration in our armed forces.