Freshman Congressman Returns From D.C.

There’s an English expression purporting to be of Chinese origin, “May you live in interesting times.”
Freshman Congressman Salud Carbajal, representing the 24th Congressional District — the Central Coast — since Jan. 3, has walked into one of the most interesting legislative sessions in modern times.
Taking over from 18-year veteran of the Hill, Lois Capps, Rep. Cardajal is a very different face for the Democratic Party than the 79-year-old former nurse. He’s 52, the son of Mexican migrants and served in local government on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors for 12 years before moving up.
In the new House of Representatives, despite the bi-partisan tone he initially reported to local media, his sponsored legislation so far has already been killed by a Republican-Democrat split of 240 to 193.
The Statue of Liberty Values Act or SOLVE Act, for example, which the Congressman said he backed as a remedy to President Donald Trump’s embattled “Muslim ban” (Executive Order 13769), “can’t make it to the floor.”
“There are no opportunities for debate or discussion [with the House majority],” said Rep. Carbajal. “However, the courts have validated the intent and spirit of that legislation.”
Asked if he expected this to be the status quo throughout his term, he said, “I’m an optimist but this will be a challenge.”
The Coast News’ initially contacted the Congressman’s office to seek comments regarding the County Board of Supervisors’ 3-2 vote to oppose the creation of a Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary offshore from SLO County to Santa Barbara.
While he’s made it a priority this term to seek a permanent ban on all future offshore oil and gas leases off the California Coast called, “The California Clean Coast Act,” he’s refusing to take a position on the marine sanctuary as a Congressman.
“I’m meeting with as many of my constituents as possible to understand their positions,” Rep. Carbajal said. “From all over my Congressional District. As a [county] supervisor, I signed a letter in support.”
He said the contacts that his staff reports so far, have come from area environmentalists and from fishermen concerned about their livelihoods.
“The preferred goal of a sanctuary is to serve everyone,” he said. “That’s something the Channel Islands, Santa Barbara found to be quite beneficial.”
With this as the first full week that Congress is not in session, since the start of the year, he said, “I need to get a better handle on that [the Arroyo Grande to Morro Bay] area.”
Hence his first “listening tour” and a chance for South County residents to speak at a Town Hall-style meeting in Arroyo Grande on Feb. 22 (which falls after the Coast News’ deadline).
Some of the other subjects that Rep. Carbajal said were a shoe-in for discussion include his efforts to secure any and all Federal resources possible to help the region economically weather the pending shutdown of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.
“We’re researching what’s been done in other districts that have gone through a plant closure,” he said.
With recent rumblings from “@realDonaldTrump” the President’s infamous Twitter, account about depriving the State of California of federal funding, the Congressman’s efforts to draw resources for the area could face unexpected hurdles.
“What ‘The Donald’ needs to understand is that California is a donor state,” he said. “We pay far more than we receive [in taxes]. Also there’s a Constitution. His ridiculous rhetoric doesn’t equal action.”
While his Washington, D.C. office is still being brought up to full staffing, in fact only a couple of old faces remain from Capps’ days, Rep. Carbajal said one continuity of legacy is their position on the Obama Administration’s signature health care reform.
“My third priority for this term is stopping any kind of healthcare repeal,” he said. “There are 100,000 people in my District who benefited from the Affordable Care Act.”
While he may have listed it last, there is far more passion in the Congressman’s voice speaking on this point.
“I’m doing my best while working with the opposition to any repeal,” he said, adding that his House colleagues understand the power of a filibuster; therefore, they’re going through funding mechanisms that only require a simple majority.
“The concern is that if there’s a repeal without an immediate replacement, the entire system could implode without funds. I think the Republicans are starting to understand how complex the system is with Medicaid having expanded in so many states.”
– By Camas Frank