Brittany from Point Loma reached out because she was concerned about the future of her research at UC San Diego following NIH grant disruptions. She tried to reach out to the NIH but didn’t receive any response or updates on her grant. My office was able to facilitate communication between Brittany and the NIH’s Office of Legislative Policy and Analysis. In August, Brittany received a Notice of Award for Year 2 of her lab. 

On Wednesday, I spoke at the National Clean Energy Week (NCEW) Policymakers Symposium. For the first time in a long time, the United States is about to experience a significant increase in the demand for electricity. That’s a problem for every American. Last year, we were implementing an all-of-the-above energy strategy to increase supply and lower costs. Now that President Trump is cancelling wind and solar projects, Republicans are only interested in "some-of-the-above," which seems to only include natural gas. We’ve taken an ideological U turn from a pragmatic, competitive energy policy to one with limited supply and much higher energy bills. This self-induced failure does not Make America Great and I remain committed to making renewable energy a key part of any energy deal.

This week, I released a bipartisan permitting reform framework with the Problem Solvers Caucus. Our plan would update our environmental laws to meet today’s challenges and invest in a grid for this century so the U.S. can lower energy costs with abundant, all-of-the-above sources. 

• This article from the Guardian gives a fair and honest account of how we can condemn violence of all kinds following the horrific shooting of Charlie Kirk, without rewriting history about his values or what he stood for.  

• A longer read, but the EcoModernist dives into public perceptions around climate and energy policies and what climate advocates and Democrats can do to address our climate goals with broad support.  

Finally, I aim for this newsletter to be an informative, fact-based recap of what’s happening in Washington and the work I’m doing to address what’s important to San Diego. If you know someone who would appreciate these updates like you do, please feel free to forward this email or encourage them to sign up to receive them here.

Thanks, and take care.