Looking Back on the 115th Congress

January 03, 2019

Dear Friend,

As the new Congress convenes this week, I want to send a thank you for contacting me with your thoughts throughout these past two years. Your emails, phone calls, faxes, and letters to my California and D.C. offices have numbered in the thousands every week, and I thank you for being one of the hundreds of thousands of people who took the time to participate in our democratic process during the 115th Congress. 

In addition to your letters and phone calls, I’ve been fortunate to see many of you- over 17,000- at my town halls, where I’ve had the opportunity to answer many of your questions and share my policy perspectives. You have voiced your concerns on important topics ranging from offshore drilling to the international challenges of the day. And by working with many of you directly, my team and I were also able to help over 5,000 constituents get help with federal agencies and return over 5 million dollars to constituents through this casework. 

One particularly timely town hall was a student summit on gun violence at Dominican University, where we brought together hundreds of students, parents, and educators. In response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, students and young people are leading a movement to say “enough is enough” to our nation’s gun violence epidemic. You can listen to highlights of our conversation on my podcast. 




As we kick off this new Congress, I want to take a moment to reflect on the past two eventful years. The massive fires in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties were among the most destructive in our state’s history, and a very damaging fire struck the Junction City area in Trinity County as well. As we continue to recover from the damage and dislocation of these fires, we are eternally grateful for the first responders who saved lives, homes, and businesses, and for the neighbors and community leaders who are helping others rebuild. I helped to secure $100 million in disaster recovery funding, and I will continue to work with local, state, and federal partners to ensure that families and communities have the resources they need during the long path to recovery and resiliency.

While the past congressional session has had its challenges, I have always stood up for the values of the Second District of California. Here are just a few highlights: 

  • I founded the new Congressional Freethought Caucus, which is helping to spark an open dialogue in Congress about science and reason-based policy solutions, and the importance of defending the secular character of our government. 
  • I worked to preserve an open and free internet by signing a discharge petition to force the House chamber to debate the Trump administration’s changes to net neutrality rules. 
  • I introduced a bill that would make Medicare available to all Americans by offering individuals the opportunity to enroll in Medicare and allowing businesses of all sizes to purchase Medicare coverage for their employees.

In these first two years of the Trump administration, I have often had to play defense to protect important American values. For example, when it was revealed that immigrant families were being separated at the border, I joined many of my colleagues in introducing a strong and comprehensive response: the Keep Families Together Act. And to protect our coasts from the Trump administration drilling spree, I introduced several pieces of legislation, including the West Coast Ocean Protection Act to permanently protect the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts from the dangers of offshore drilling, and the Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act to prohibit new or renewed oil and gas leasing in the Arctic.

My first priority in this new legislative session will be to help end President Trump’s shutdown. I stand ready to take an early vote on strong, bipartisan legislation to reopen the government, without funding the president’s ridiculous border wall.

The 116th Congress presents a new opportunity for forward progress. I will now have the privilege of chairing a Natural Resources subcommittee, and my colleagues and I have a stronger seat at the negotiating table. As your Congressman, I will do everything I can to stand up for all of the core values that we share, safeguard civil rights and liberties, protect the environment, and defend our democracy.

Remember, if you ever need help with a federal agency, please contact my San Rafael office at (415) 258-9657. If you would like to keep up with what I am doing as your representative, please subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Please also subscribe to my podcast, “Off the Cuff with Rep. Huffman,” so that you can engage with our in-depth conversations about what's happening in California and in Washington, D.C.

Thank you again for the continued honor of representing you in Congress. I hope you and your family had a very happy holiday season.

With Best Regards,

Jared Huffman
Member of Congress