Harris Appoints Community Leader, Veteran Organizer and Champion of Immigrant Communities to Lead State Operation

Harris Will Serve On Key Immigration, National Security, Environment & Budget Panels

Harris: "At a time when so many Californians and Americans are uncertain about our future, I will aggressively fight for our families and the ideals of our nation”

LOS ANGELES --  U.S. Senator-Elect Kamala D. Harris announced today she will serve on four committees in the 115th Congress.  Harris will serve on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee -- the frontline of immigration enforcement action in the next Congress; the Committee on Intelligence, which handles key national security and intelligence issues; the Environmental & Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over issues critical to preserving California’s environmental leadership; and the Committee on Budget, which will be one of the major battlefields in the fight to defend the Affordable Care Act.

"These four committees will be key battlegrounds in the fight for the future of our country," said Harris. "At a time when so many Californians and Americans are uncertain about our future, I will aggressively fight for our families and the ideals of our nation.”

"No state will be more impacted by any potential changes to federal immigration policy than California, and I look forward to zealously protecting our state’s interests on the Homeland Security Committee. California also is a world leader on climate change policy, and I will fight hard against attempts to roll back key environmental protections on the Environment and Public Works Committee. As our country faces major intelligence challenges and cybersecurity threats, I will fight for our security, our civil rights, and our liberties on the Intelligence Committee. And, on the Committee on Budget, I will fight to preserve the Affordable Care Act to protect health care access for all Americans.”

As a prosecutor and California’s chief law enforcement officer, Harris brings a depth of experience to the work of each of these committees.

Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee: Harris has a long record as a prosecutor protecting public safety and defending immigrants, refugees and their families. Harris partnered with law enforcement agencies in Mexico and Central America to tackle trans-national gangs that smuggle drugs, human beings and weapons across our border.   She fought to pass the TRUST Act in California that protected immigrant victims of crime and outlawed retaliation for undocumented immigrants who reported crimes. She cracked down on notarios and scammers who sought to prey upon undocumented immigrants. Because of her leadership, thousands of unaccompanied children fleeing violence from Central America received legal counsel as they navigated the complex immigration process. Harris has prosecuted businesses that engaged in wage theft and fought for protections for immigrants in the workplace.  She has been a leading voice for increasing -- not stopping -- the number of refugees our country accepts from Syria and other war-torn countries. She will continue working hard for the rights of all residents and Americans through the course of her work on the Homeland Security Committee.

Select Committee on Intelligence: As a prosecutor, Harris has long fought for smarter approaches to intelligence and law enforcement strategies, and has taken on international cyber-crime. She will take this "smart" framework that relies heavily on prevention, data collection and technology advancements to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Much of Harris’ work as Attorney General focused on fighting cyber-crime. She created the largest e-crime unit in the nation and a privacy enforcement and protection unit within the California Attorney General’s office. Together these units helped focused law enforcement on crimes committed through the use of technology and the protection of consumer privacy online. Her Department of Justice wrote California’s first reports on commercial and government data breaches and conducted trainings for California businesses to help them better secure consumer data. She also led a delegation of state attorneys general to Mexico to bolster bilateral collaboration on fighting cyber-crime.

Environment and Public Works Committee: Harris will bring a wealth of experience defending California's landmark environmental and climate change protections to the U.S. Senate. As a prosecutor, she prosecuted Big Oil companies and big corporate polluters.  She partnered with other Attorneys General to defend President Obama's Clean Power Plan and she will fight hard against any attempts to roll back critical environmental protections. And she has long been a proponent of investing in clean energy technology and green energies jobs that can fuel our economy and move our country away from fossil fuels. Much of the committee’s work involves funding and approving infrastructure projects, and California has more than $59 billion in unmet transportation needs. Harris will fight for smart infrastructure investments that can help fuel long-term economic growth.

Committee on Budget: Harris will be on the front lines of the fight to defend the Affordable Care Act as a member of the Committee on Budget. As Attorney General, she defended the law in court from numerous legal challenges and has aggressively fought to expand healthcare access for Californians. California has been a leader in the country under Obamacare, running one of the most successful exchanges in the nation and funding health care for almost 5 million individuals under the law. Harris will continue to advance California's leadership on this issue and fight for health care for all Americans.

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