Nanette Barragán

We need to continue the post-recession economic recovery started under President Obama’s administration. While unemployment is at its lowest level since the Recession of 2008, we must continue to work so that the recovery touches everyone. I will fight for economic policies that strengthen California’s working class.

Americans have struggled with stagnant or falling wages for decades. I am a strong supporter of equal pay provisions and a staunch defender of worker’s rights. I will continue to advocate for a pro-labor agenda, including raising the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour and ensuring Davis-Bacon Act protections remain in place.

Eighty percent of all international trade passes through our nation’s ports. Trade is incredibly important to our region and our local economy. But for too long trade deals have benefited big business at the expense of U.S. workers and our environment. I will fight to ensure that trade agreements are transparent and reflect our national priorities. We need agreements that benefit working families, raise wages, and keep good paying jobs here at home, as well as provide environmental safeguards and health protections.

Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán congratulates Compton College on their updated federal designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). HSI is one of several federal Minority-Serving Institution designations from the U.S. Department of Education for institutions of higher education that categorically or historically enroll a targeted racial or ethnic group.

 “Congratulations to Compton College on being awarded Title III and Title IV Hispanic-Serving Institution designations from the U.S. Department of Education,” Congresswoman Barragán said. “Compton College plays a critical role in our community, training and teaching our youth to gain the valuable skills they need to contribute to the community and achieve their goals. The college will now be able to access additional resources to better serve students and our entire community. It was great to work closely with Compton College to try and secure this designation – and I’m proud our joint effort made this designation possible. I look forward to continue working to improve access to affordable and high-quality higher education.”

 In October 2020, Barragán sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education requesting reconsideration of Compton College’s application to receive and HSI designation.

 “Thank you, Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán, for assisting Compton College with receiving our HSI designation,” said Dr. Keith Curry, Compton College President/CEO. “This designation will open avenues to pursue new sources of funding and create increased opportunities for students to excel and achieve their goals. We look forward to implementing new and improved programs designed to help students succeed, especially those from historically marginalized communities.”

My district is one of the most polluted districts in the nation, where the sight of refineries and urban oil wells next to homes and baseball fields are a common occurrence. Unfortunately, this is all too normal in communities of color, which routinely endure immense environmental injustices. It takes immense strength to fight polluted air and water in places where the contamination is profound and the injustices are deep.

Due to limited resources and lack of political power, communities of color are often where you will find industrial facilities and air and water contamination. Members of Congress, as well as environmental justice activists from all parts of the country, must unite to both increase awareness and pursue policy change.

A clean environment is about more than environmentalism. It’s about breathing in clean air and drinking uncontaminated water. It’s about new technologies and creating new jobs for the 21st century. Instead of risking the public health of the frontline communities across the country, we should be focused on transitioning to a clean energy economy by electrifying our transportation system and ramping up our use of renewables. We can’t have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness unless you also have environmental justice. These issues go to the core of who we are as a nation.

Healthcare is a fundamental right. Throughout my time in Congress, I have consistently fought on behalf of the Affordable Care Act. The ACA has provided affordable health care coverage for approximately 20 million Americans since its enactment in 2010. Thanks to the ACA , insurance companies can’t discriminate against those with pre-existing medical conditions. Thanks to the ACA, families can keep children on their health insurance plans until they turn 26 years old. And thanks to the ACA, Medicaid coverage has been expanded in California. While the ACA is not perfect and needs to be strengthened, it has saved lives and expanded coverage to those in need.

Almost 120,000 people have gained coverage in the 44th congressional district alone due to the ACA. The State of California has insured nearly 5 million people which means that 91% of all Californians have health care coverage. Millions more Californians have directly benefitted from the ACA’s efforts to strengthen current healthcare laws and will no longer have to fear losing their healthcare as a result of a change in work circumstances or an unforeseen diagnosis.

Congress should work to improve the ACA where improvements are needed. Instead, Republicans are busy trying to gut its most important provisions. I will fight to preserve and strengthen health care reforms that make quality, affordable health coverage accessible to all.

I am dedicated to ensuring that everyone in my district has access to affordable housing.  At a time when the stock of affordable housing is in decline, families spend an increasing amount of their income just to keep a roof over their heads.  It is essential that Congress take actions to support, preserve, and build affordable housing.  As a strong advocate for public housing residents, I support efforts that combine housing market-driven solutions, federal support and state and local initiatives.

I support legislation to protect seniors from foreclosures, make Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance more affordable, and I back a sense of the Congress that homelessness in America should be eliminated.

The City of Los Angeles has the nation’s largest population of chronically homeless people. This is unacceptable. I introduced the Housing Homeless Veterans Act to address our veteran homeless problem by directing housing vouchers for homeless veterans to areas of the country where they are needed most. As a member of the Congressional Homelessness Caucus I will continue to work to address this growing problem.

As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, I believe in ensuring that our country is equipped to meet our myriad national security challenges. I am working to secure our nation’s critical infrastructure, including our ports, and to address unique vulnerabilities.

Cyber threats and attacks are becoming increasingly common, sophisticated and damaging. We must make dramatic investments and improvements to our cyber defenses. I am focused on building an effective cybersecurity program across the federal government.

Our seniors deserve health and financial well-being in their golden years. We must honor the promises the Social Security system made to workers and retirees. Maintaining the integrity of this safety net is a national priority. Without Social Security income and Medicare coverage, many seniors would fall into poverty—an unkind reward for a lifetime of work.

It is vital that we honor the promises our Social Security system has made to our nation’s workers and retirees. Maintaining the integrity of this vital safety net must be a national priority, as Social Security income is necessary for seniors no longer in the workforce. At a time when President Trump and Republicans in Congress have signaled a desire to dismantle many Social Security protections—forcing seniors to negotiate their own health and retirement benefits—it is imperative that we continue fighting to preserve the guaranteed benefits our nation’s seniors depend on.

I am fighting to preserve and strengthen healthcare reforms that make quality, affordable healthcare coverage accessible to all of America’s seniors. The care and services provided by Medicare and Medicaid are often the only resources available for senior healthcare. Seniors deserve to have a dignified retirement, not to have their access to healthcare and basic income programs cut out from underneath them.

I am proud to represent more than 16,000 veterans living in California’s 44th District.  Our veterans answered the call to defend our democracy and freedom, and in return we must honor them and their families by ensuring they have all the tools and resources necessary to succeed in civilian life.  As a member of the bipartisan Congressional Military-Veterans Caucus, I will continue to ardently champion for America’s veterans, active duty personnel, and their families.

Our service members make tremendous sacrifices for our country, but too many don’t get the support they need when they return home. I introduced the Housing Homeless Veterans Act to address our veteran homeless problem by directing housing vouchers for homeless veterans to areas of the country where they are needed most.

Many assume that joining the military means an automatic guarantee of citizenship. It does not. I am passionately working to address the growing issue of deported veterans. My legislation, the Veterans’ Pathway to Citizenship Act, grants lawful permanent resident (LPR) status to any current or former member of the Armed Forces, and provides guidance and resources so that service members can more easily obtain citizenship. Anyone who risks their life to fight for our country should be granted citizenship.