Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar reflected on his first term in the United States House of Representatives, where he served the people of California’s 31^st Congressional District in the 114^th Congress, and looked forward to the 115^th Congress, which begins in January 2017.

“Ensuring San Bernardino County’s working families have a seat at the table has been, and will remain, my top priority. That includes prioritizing legislation that will put people back to work, make college more affordable and help veterans access the tools they need to adjust to life at home. It also means creating opportunities in our community through workshops, information sessions and resource fairs, and being an advocate to help people access federal agencies to obtain their federal benefits or funding for local projects through federal grants,” said Rep. Aguilar. He added, “I’m grateful for the support and confidence of our district to bear these responsibilities now, and moving forward.”

In his first term in office, Rep. Aguilar has:

• Participated in 337 constituent meetings, tours and events.
• Held 151 mobile office hours to assist constituents.
• Helped nearly 900 constituents with problems they faced with federal programs like Social Security, Medicare, and veterans benefits.
• Returned over $2.2 million in benefits to residents.
• Announced over $76 million in grant funding for California’s 31^st Congressional District, including $1 million to help offset the costs incurred from local law enforcement’s heroic response to the Inland Regional Center terror attack.
• Introduced eight bills to put Inland Empire residents back to work, make college more affordable, increase accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and to empower colleges and organizations with resources to help Dreamer students on campuses.
• Passed fourteen amendments to major legislation, including measures that will boost funding for cybersecurity training programs and facilitate the hiring of veterans by transitioning their skills from the military to civilian jobs.
• Cosponsored 274 bills, over one third of which were authored by Republicans.
• Ranked 4^th out of all 53 California House Members in number of votes breaking with his party.
• Ranked 3^rd out of all California House Democrats in number of votes breaking with his party.

 

Rep. Aguilar represents California’s 31^st Congressional District. He serves on the House Committees on Armed Services and Agriculture. In the 115^th Congress, he will hold the leadership position of Whip of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he will be the only California member on the caucus’s leadership team. Rep. Aguilar previously served as the Mayor of Redlands, where he resides today with his wife Alisha and their two sons.