Local Issues
Congressmember Karen Bass was born and raised in Los Angeles. She continues to represent California's 37th Congressional district with pride in Washington, DC.
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Representatives Schneider, CBC Chairwoman Bass, CHC Chairman Castro, CAPAC Chairwoman Chu, Blumenauer, Lawrence, Davis, Davids, Haaland, and Wasserman-Schultz signed the letter addressed to President Trump.
The text of the letter in full is below:
Mr. President,
As jobless claims continue to spike—with millions of new claims being filed every week—millions of Americans are finding themselves unable to pay their bills. This is especially true for low-income families, which are more likely to pay higher rates for basic utilities, including electricity and heat. While some individual states and utilities have put in place moratoriums on disconnections, these policies currently provide an inconsistent patchwork of protections, with many Americans at risk of falling through the cracks.
Rep. Bass Joined Community Coalition's Digital Community Forum on COVID-19's Impact on Black America
In a letter to House Leadership, the lawmakers recognized that choices being made during this response will shape society and policy making for years, if not decades, to come and without consideration policymakers risk exacerbating interrelated crises of income and wealth inequality, racism, and ecological decline.
The five principles outlined by the lawmakers are:
"Nipsey Hussle was a visionary. You can see the love he had for the community in his investments. You can see the love he had for the community in his philanthropy. You can see the love he had for the community in initiatives like Destination Crenshaw, which broke ground last month.
"We still feel that love and we show it right back.
"You can see our love for him on our clothes. You can see our love for him in our work. You can see our love for him in the murals on our walls throughout the neighborhoods of South LA.
Effective Wednesday, March 18, 2020, Congressmember Karen Bass’ team members will be principally working from home during normal business hours. Both offices have instituted continuity of operations procedures (COOP) to ensure constituent services are not interrupted during this extraordinary period.
Telephone messages will continue to be returned, and constituent correspondence responded to in the same timely manner. To ensure prompt reply, the office recommends constituents use email or phone in place of physical mail when possible.