Today marks one year in office for Rep. Pete Aguilar. Since his swearing-in a year ago today, Rep. Aguilar has focused on pushing legislation that supports San Bernardino County’s middle class and grows the Inland Empire economy. He’s been a champion for small businesses, veterans and working families, and has worked with his Democratic and Republican colleagues to advance meaningful legislation. Rep. Aguilar has also worked closely with federal agencies to bring critical funds back to the community and to Inland Empire residents.

In his first year of office Rep. Aguilar has:

• Participated in 205 constituent meetings, tours and events.
• Held 72 mobile office hours to assist constituents.
• Helped 366 constituents with problems they faced with federal programs like Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits and immigration.
• Returned over $1.6 million in benefits to residents, including nearly $100,000 in veterans benefits alone.
• Announced over $54 million in grant funding for California’s 31^st Congressional District.
• Introduced three bills to help get the Inland Empire economy back on track through targeted tax credits for small businesses to train and hire new employees in high unemployment areas like San Bernardino, and to help businesses that have been hurt by unfair trade.
• Passed six amendments to put veterans back to work, investigate higher suicide rates among female veterans, support minority students pursuing STEM careers,  help small businesses do business with the Department of Defense, and to help with infrastructure at the San Bernardino County International Airport.

Rep. Aguilar also continued the spirit of bipartisanship that he was known for as the Mayor of Redlands, working with his Republican and Democratic colleagues to address critical issues facing the Inland Empire and the country. In 2015, Rep. Aguilar:

• Ranked 61^st out of all House members and 21^st among Congressional Democrats in number of votes breaking with his party.
• Ranked 5^th out of California Congressional members and 4^th out of California Democrats in number of votes breaking with his party.
• Cosponsored 136 bills, over a third of which were authored by Republicans.

“I remain committed to supporting policies that will grow our economy and strengthen our middle class,” said Rep. Aguilar. He added, “I look forward to continuing that work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and at every level of government to ensure that Inland Empire families always have a seat at the table.”

Rep. Aguilar represents California’s 31^st Congressional District. Prior to serving in Congress, he was the Mayor of Redlands where he resides today with his wife Alisha and their two sons.