The Trump administration is using confidential data collected by federal agencies to racially profile immigrant communities. My district is one of the most diverse places in the country, and in CA-12 we don’t stand by while our neighbors are harassed, terrorized, and illegally detained. That’s why I’m cosponsoring the Home Together Act and the Limiting ICE’s National Encroachment Act to reign this administration in. CA-12 says not in our neighborhood.

CA-12 is one of the most diverse places in the U.S., with dozens of languages spoken, rich histories of migration, and deep roots of political engagement. Since the start of my term in Congress, I have been committed to sitting, speaking, and being with everyone in our district. And since being sworn in in January, I am proud to have welcomed over 4,000 people across NINE town halls, including at town halls in every one of the seven cities in our district. Thank you for your stories, your voices, and your time -- I am carrying your voices with me to the halls of Congress every day. The work continues.

Oversight Committee Republicans organized a hearing this week to talk about childhood nutrition. Great, let’s talk about it. When I was a young single mother working and going to school, SNAP and WIC kept me and my baby healthy and fed.

I spoke on the House Floor against extreme and cruel amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act that would ban data collection on gender identity at DOD. As a Vice Chair of the @EqualityCaucus, I will never stop fighting for the rights of our LGBTQ+ siblings.

Safety is found in care — not in conquest. I joined @repdeliaramirez, @Justice4Mahmoud, @CynthiaNixon, Morgan Spector, and my colleagues to call for the passage of the Block the Bombs Act and say that the genocide in Gaza MUST end.

Let me be clear. The way that Republicans are trying to redraw our electoral maps  is racist.

Their new maps WILL disenfranchise Black and brown voters and tear apart the rights and protections our elders fought so hard for. The Congressional Black Caucus will not stand for it. We are not strangers to fighting for our rights. We know what it takes and we are not backing down.

I am proud to have secured over $91 MILLION in federal funding for the East Bay in August, and over $240 MILLION in federal funding for CA-12 since January! This funding will go towards HeadStart programs, programs that address gender-based violence, and substance abuse recovery initatives. This is what investing in our communities, our people, our future looks like. I will continue to tirelessly work so our people are fought for and cared for.

I’m incredibly proud to stand alongside @SenAdamSchiff , @RepAOC and @DonaldNorcross in introducing legislation to ensure striking workers have access to unemployment insurance.   From the longshore workers of West Oakland to front line workers across the East Bay, no worker should ever have to choose between exercising their right to fair bargaining and putting food on the table for their family. That’s not a level playing field, it’s exploitation.   This bill restores balance, strengthens workers’ voices, and empowers them to fight for better wages and conditions.

John Burton’s kindness, his generosity to young people drawn to a life of service, and his unshakable belief in following your convictions will continue to inspire me. California has lost a lion, and I will miss him deeply.

I'm demanding the Department of Labor reverse its failure to protect federal contractors with disabilities, a violation of both law and basic justice. Rights and protections are not given nor handed down, we must stand and fight for them.

The survivors that came up to Capitol Hill today to speak with @OversightDems represent not only their own courage but a fierce demand: that this country finally put its resources and its will towards ending trafficking and building a world where no child is ever sold, and no survivor is ever silenced. And let us be clear; every politician, every institution that protected Jeffrey Epstein or profited from his crimes is complicit in the rape and trafficking of children.

On Labor Day, we honor the generations of workers who fought, organized, and risked their lives so that working people could have dignity on the job. From the longshore workers of West Oakland who shut down the port in defense of their rights, to the sisters who lead the domestic worker organizing across our neighborhoods - the East Bay has always been the beating heart of the labor movement. I stand in solidarity. Rights are not handed down. We have to fight.

As a member of @HSBCDems, I am always looking for ways to uplift our small businesses + entrepreneurs and bring together federal resources. Thank you to everyone who came out, including Mayor Barbara Lee!

It was incredible to host my first CA-12 small business expo this week! We spent the day connecting innovators, entreprenuers, and small businesses in the East Bay with federal, state, & local agency representatives to talk about how we can best support small businesses in CA12.

Piedmont, you were the last stop on our CA-12 town hall tour. I've now hosted NINE town halls to hear from folks all across the district. I will be carrying all of your voices with me back to Washington and the policy making table as another legislative session begins.

Oakland’s Chinatown has for more than a century been a center of culture, commerce, and political power. From its founding, through exclusion and displacement, Chinatown’s families and businesses have built a community that continues to shape the life of our City. The Chinatown Chamber of Commerce carries that legacy forward. 

This year’s StreetFest was a beautiful and powerful reminder of this living history. 

Our small businesses deserve to thrive with safety and security. I am honored to work with Chinatown’s leaders towards a more vibrant future!

For too long, young Black men have been pushed to the margins of the innovation economy. This work pushes back. At Hidden Genius, young Black men are building skills, gaining support, and stepping into spaces where they have always belonged. This is what justice looks like in practice. These young men have bright futures ahead, and I am excited to see all that they will create.

Food, health care, and shelter are basic human rights.   Barring immigrants from disaster aid is cruelty and just the next step in Trump's plan to dehumanize immigrant communities. In CA-12, we care for our neighbors through the darkest times. My office and @AsmMiaBonta's office have resources for immigrant communities you can find here:  simon.house.gov/services/imm… and a18.asmdc.org/immigration-re…

Militarizing our cities is not the way that we create safety. We create safety by funding SNAP and Head Start, and building opportunities and mechanisms for success -- not pouring funds into militarizing the National Guard on our streets.

The genocide in Gaza demands moral clarity & decisive action. As infants die of starvation, we cannot look away. I joined @RepPressley and @RepPettersen in demanding @SecRubio facilitate an end to the Israeli blockade and ensure that food and baby formula enter Gaza immediately.

I joined @DeanObeidallah to talk about what I've been hearing from immigrant communities and how we can best support our immigrant family in the East Bay.

I sat down with @repmcgovern and leaders in the nutrition space in East Oakland for a conversation on rising food insecurity after the Republicans passed the largest cut to SNAP in history with their budget bill. Republicans are trying to break our social safety net, but we are linking arms to work together, create our own solutions, and lift up our people. We can end hunger, we can end poverty -- but we can't do that if we pathologize the poor, willingly let people fall through the cracks, and refuse to create actual conditions that allow people to work and succeed. When I return to Washington in September for committee work and votes in Congress, I am carrying the wisdom and insight shared here today by our community leaders, nonprofit leaders, and philahtorphy leaders back as I work to combat Republican’s assault on the American people.

This is not charity. This is survival. This is love for the people. This is East Oakland leadership showing that when we come together we nurture each other, we protect each other, and we rise together.

Honored to join Money B, Mystic, and Candice Elder, the visionary founder and CEO of the East Oakland Collective, for Feed the Hood 34.

Thank you to everyone who came out to our town hall in Albany! This is what democracy looks like, right here in the East Bay. I will carry your stories, concerns, and questions with me as I continue to fight for the East Bay, and America, that we dream of for our children.

The future is right here in the Bay. Glad to join Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft at the Anthro Energy opening celebration this week in Alameda. As a member of @HSBCDems, I'm a huge supporter of the innovation economy right here in my district and supporting local talent through education and workforce programs.

Affordable, accessible, transit is a necessity. I had a great time riding the @SFBayFerry line from Alameda yesterday and learning about the new work that SF Bay Ferry is doing to electrify their fleet, improve ridership experience, and get people to work, sports games, and activites affordably and safely!

Join me and representatives from federal, state, and local agencies for a small business panel discussion and resource fair on August 26th at 10am in downtown Oakland! RSVP for more information at simon.house.gov/SmallBizExpo.

Stripping DACA recipients of their healthcare is a gross injustice and yet another dehumanization tactic by this administration, who will do anything to tear communities and families apart. Dreamers have contributed their incredible talents in CA-12 and across the country. 
If you’re seeking immigration assistance, reach out to my district office. Dreamers and our immigrant communities deserve dignity and respect no matter what. mercedsunstar.com/news/artic…

Happy back to school, East Bay! Our teachers and students are central to the tapestries of our communities, I cannot wait to see where this year takes you all, let’s have a great one!

Today marks 90 years of Social Security. While Republicans roll back billions in spending on social safety net programs, they threaten to leave our seniors and vulnerable populations at risk. Social Security is an earned benefit and should be treated as such. I am committed to protecting Social Security and ensuring that everyone in the East Bay and across the nation has the resources they need to live and thrive. If you’re looking for help with the Social Security Administration or another federal agency, contact my office at (510) 763-0370, we’re here to help. What does social security mean to you? Let me know in the comments⬇️

The administration’s attack on the National Museum of African American History and Culture is an attack on truth itself. Erasing Black history is how oppression survives. We stand with our partners on the ground, the Black faith community, scholars, and activists who are fighting to protect our story and our right to learn it. ap.org/news-highlights/spotl…

🚨NEW: Our next town hall will be in Albany on Wednesday, August 20th at 6PM at Albany High School's Little Theatre. RSVP for more information at SIMON.HOUSE.GOV/RSVP.   Looking forward to seeing you all in person, hearing your questions and concerns, and discussing how I can best serve you in Congress.

July was a busy month in Washington. Here's a recap of what I've been up to - introducing bills to advance disability justice, and finding ways to support the Bay in the aftermath of Republicans' big cruel, ugly cuts earlier in the month.

Cutting SNAP benefits will hurt children, seniors, and folks with disabilities- the people the program was originally designed to protect- the most. I will not stand by while programs that got me where I am today are gutted. I am fighting everyday to make sure our communities in the East Bay are fed and have have the resources they need to better their lives.

Taking a moment today to shout out my first ever intern classes in D.C. and Oakland! As they depart for their next adventures, I cannot wait to see all the good they will do. It was so wonderful getting to know you all this summer, thank you for your hard work and dedication to CA-12.

Sixteen years ago today, Justice Sotomayor was sworn in as the first Hispanic woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court. Every day since, she has held the line while Republicans repeatedly assault our democracy and strip our rights away. She has weathered the storm with grit and integrity. Thank you, Justice Sotomayor for your brilliance and your dissent against unlawful and undemocratic actions. law.berkeley.edu/article/us-…

Last month alone, I brought over $45 MILLION in federal grant funding home to the East Bay! Since January, I have announced over $150 MILLION in federal funding for CA-12. At a time when Republicans are hell-bent on cutting funding for everything from health care to art programs, I am working day in and day out to ensure we have the resources we need to compete, innovate, and thrive. To stay up-to-date on funding announcements and events, be sure to sign up for our newsletter: simon.house.gov/contact/news….

As we enter the August work period, I am on my way back to our beautiful district to vist small businesses, meet with community leaders, and hear from you all at upcoming town halls. The work continues, I cannot wait to see you all.

On the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, I’m doing everything we can in our communities and in Congress to protect the rights we've fought so hard to secure. Here’s how I've been working as your Congresswoman to protect and expand voting rights.

This week marked 60 years of Medicare and Medicaid. Republicans are attempting to defund and dismantle these vital programs, attacking our entire health care ecosystem, shutting down hospitals, cutting the salaries of our already underpaid health care workers, and leaving vulnerable populations without care. I am fighting everyday to ensure that Medicare, Medicaid and our health care workers in the Bay have the federal resources they need.

I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with @AAPD today to talk about navigating life and lawmaking as a disabled woman. 

Keep fighting the good fight, and never stop showing up authentically in every space you step into.

This past weekend, I joined the congregation at City of Refuge in Oakland and celebrated the 70th birthday of Bishop Flunder. In a time when we need to lean on each other and support each other the most - it was incredibly healing and powerful to join for worship.

Saturday, I joined the @ellabakercenter and @AmikaMota from Sister Warriors in Oakland for a community conversation. We talked about how we can build the future we deserve, support our communtities during hard times, and make transformative change through policy and organizing.

Today we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the ADA! As the first congenitally blind member of Congress, I am here to bring disability voices with me to the policy making table.

Last week, under the cover of night, Republicans passed a bill to pull back money that Congress ALREADY approved and Trump had already signed into law. I voted hell NO. In particular -- this recessions bill pulled back money for public broadcasting. In our district, we depend on public radio for news, culture, and emergency alerts about wildfires and earthquakes. Republicans are clawing back $9 billion for programs like public radio, but have no issue passing largest defense funding bill in our nation's history. Make it make sense.