Justice & Fairness

America was founded on ideals that all individuals are created equal, regardless of race, religion, sex, status, or orientation, as one nation subject to the rule of law. One of my priorities in Congress is ensure that everyone is treated with dignity, justice, and equity.

I address issues of justice by authoring legislation to promote individual rights, cosponsoring bills that protect individuals, and continuing to demand accountability. I have the great honor of serving on the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over a wide range of issues including crime, civil rights and liberties, immigration, bankruptcy, antitrust, intellectual property, and all constitutional amendments. Working on this Committee allows me to influence important legislation that positively impacts California’s 15th District.

What I Am Doing For You

I'm an original cosponsor of, I voted for, and the House has passed H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, to grant statehood to the District of Columbia and ensure its residents have an equal voice in our democracy. It is inexcusable that the more than 700,000 American citizens who live in the District are denied full voting representation in the Congress in the United States based on where they live. Ensuring every American can participate fully in our democracy is a fundamental value.

I'm an original cosponsor of H.R. 1522, the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act, to grant statehood to Puerto Rico and ensure its residents have an equal voice in our democracy. It's time to end more than 120 years of colonialism and provide full rights and representation to more than 3.2 million Americans. Back-to-back hurricanes, earthquakes and now the COVID-19 pandemic have proven that the Island’s colonial status is simply not working.

I'm an original cosponsor of H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, to create a commission to examine slavery and discrimination in the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies. We must continue a national conversation about how to confront the brutal mistreatment of African Americans during slavery, Jim Crow segregation, and the enduring structural racism that still plagues our society today.

I'm an original cosponsor of H.R. 963, the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, to re-establish Americans’ 7th Amendment right to seek justice and accountability through the court system by eliminating forced arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, and civil rights cases. The bill would let consumers and workers to agree to arbitration after a dispute occurs. 

I'm an original cosponsor of H.R. 3642, a bipartisan bill to award a Congressional gold medal to the 369th Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the "Harlem Hellfighters", in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during World War I. The Hellfighters, the most celebrated African-American regiment in World War I, confronted racism even as they trained for war, helped bring jazz to France, then battled Germany longer than almost any other American doughboys. Like their predecessors in the Civil War and successors in the wars that followed, these African-American troops fought a war for a country that refused them basic rights – and their bravery stood as a rebuke to racism, a moral claim to first-class citizenship.

I cosponsored H.Con.Res.19, urging the establishment of a United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation. The Commission will examine the effects of slavery, institutional racism, and discrimination against people of color, and how our history impacts laws and policies today.