- Lake County News reports
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Garamendi and Thompson sworn in to serve in 117th Congress
Both men offered their gratitude to their constituents for electing them to office.
Garamendi noted that as he took his oath on Sunday, “I was reminded of the awesome responsibility I have to ‘create a more perfect union,’ to act in all ways consistent with the Constitution, to advance economic and social opportunities for all Americans, to protect our home, the Earth, from the destruction of climate change, and to secure the safety of our country from domestic and foreign threats.”
He continued, “The most pressing and immediate challenge before the 117th Congress is to provide the much-needed resources to defeat COVID-19 and restore the economic wellbeing of Americans that have lost so much due to this pandemic. The health and safety of my constituents is my utmost concern during the coronavirus pandemic. I will take every step to ensure American families have the tools they need to protect themselves from the virus without facing unnecessary economic hardship.”
Garamendi said he will fight throughout this new session of Congress to ensure every American has equal access to an affordable education, and that our K-12 and public university systems are fully supported.
“My work as chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness will also continue, where I will work to support the missions at Travis and Beale Air Force Bases, ensure our nation has a strong defense against the recent string of cyber-attacks it has faced, and that our military helps address the global threat posed by climate change. I will also continue my work as a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to create new jobs in our region by promoting my ‘Make It In America’ and “Buy American’ policies that will help rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure with American materials and workers. I look forward to accomplishing all of this and more with the Biden-Harris Administration,” Garamendi said.
“Yes, I’m excited by the challenge and the work ahead, but I know that I can only succeed in meeting the challenge with the continued support and advice of my constituents. I encourage every Third District resident to write to my office to share their priorities and ideas with me. You can do so by visiting http://garamendi.house.gov,” he said.
Thompson outlined his priorities for the coming session.
“It’s my deep honor to be sworn in to again serve our community in Congress. Our nation faces a crisis unlike any in our lifetimes and we must tackle this challenge together. I will work tirelessly to ensure we have the resources to crush the coronavirus and support the families, workers, small businesses and state and local governments that are struggling. We need more relief and we must work to get this done as soon as possible. This is our most urgent task in the first weeks and months of this year,” Thompson said.
“This Congress, we must also tackle our nation’s most important and pressing problems. Chief among my priorities is addressing the threat of climate change, an issue that poses an existential threat to our planet and to future generations. We must also work to build back our economy that has been hit hard by the virus, including creating jobs that meet the needs of our 21st-century economy,” Thompson said.
“I will continue my work to help end gun violence and ensure our new president signs into law my bill to expand background checks and help keep our communities safe. I’ll also fight to ensure we expand access to high-quality, affordable health care and to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure,” he said.
“Finally, I am committed to redoubling my efforts to bring back every federal dollar and resource to help our community rebuild from the recent fires and to prevent future fires. We must address both fire recovery and prevention at the same time. I know that this new Congress, with the help of President-elect Biden, can address these critical priorities and help make history,” Thompson concluded.