Representative Scott Peters

Dear [salutation],

The October District Work Period is a chance for me to talk directly with San Diegans about what matters most to them — from securing federal funding, to concerns around Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, to lowering electricity bills, and more. This week, I visited several CA50 businesses, met with constituents and organizations, and spoke at many other community events.

Rep. Peters presents a certificate to a San Diego veteran

Rep. Peters stands with students at his office's 2026 Hackathon event

Rep. Peters speaks with a resident at a skilled nursing facility

Top left: Rep. Peters presents a certificate to a San Diego veteran

Top right: Rep. Peters stands with students at his office's 2026 Hackathon event

Bottom: Rep. Peters talks with a resident at a skilled nursing facility

Permitting Reform Will Lower Costs for Everyone

Rep. Peters speaks with a group of clean energy and labor professionals

Rep. Peters speaks at a press conference about permitting reform

On Thursday, I hosted a roundtable with leaders from the renewable energy and labor sectors to discuss local and federal efforts to hold data centers accountable, lower energy costs, increase clean energy production, and create good-paying jobs. After the roundtable, we urged the House and Senate to pass the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) in this Congress to fix our outdated, broken federal permitting system so we can lower costs.

The bill has strong reforms that will help us keep data center costs off our electricity bills, meet surging energy demand, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and outcompete countries like China.

In the roundtable, I heard from local attorneys, energy providers, engineers, energy developers, and union leaders who all agree: process delays hurt everyone. We have the opportunity to fix that with this bill. Amid recent local attention on data centers, I talked about how BAAJA will prevent ratepayers from paying for the rise in usage and the infrastructure costs of data centers nationwide. BAAJA would ensure that data centers, no matter where they're built, have to pay for the electricity they use and for the infrastructure upgrades required for them to connect to the grid. That means San Diegans won't foot their bill.

I’ll take insights from this conversation back to Washington with me when we work to clarify and strengthen BAAJA next month. It’s not perfect, especially with President Trump in the White House and his finger on the scale. But he’s a two-year problem. BAAJA solves a three-decade one.

Watch a recording of the full press conference here.

No Data Center at NAVWAR

Since World War II, the property next to Highway 5 where NAVWAR now sits has played a critical role in our national defense. It's the birthplace of naval aviation. In those years, the factory churned out a bomber an hour. Today, NAVWAR conducts critical cybersecurity operations. NAVWAR needs a secure modern office building and the surrounding area really needs to be upgraded and redeveloped.

San Diego is in a housing crisis that represents the biggest barrier to our economic growth and prosperity. For years, I’ve said that the NAVWAR campus is one of our best chances to build housing at scale with good access to the highway and transportation. In 2023, I sent a letter to Navy leadership urging them to prioritize affordable housing in the project. Last week, I strongly, publicly opposed the new proposed plans for a data center here.

NAVWAR's proximity to public transit and other community amenities makes it an ideal location for new military housing units. A data center isn't neighborhood-serving and wastes a chance to provide critical housing or something else that benefits the community. Because it's on navy land, the project does not require a congressional appropriation. But I will continue to speak out about my opposition to putting a data center - which the community also opposes - where we need housing.

Demanding Answers from DHS

I was shocked and angered by ICE agents arresting parents and students at an elementary school and a community college in San Diego last month. Parents should be able to bring their children to class and return to pick them up without fearing that a routine school day could end in family separation. Teachers should be able to focus on teaching and students on learning. College students need to be able to focus on learning and pursuing their goals and dreams.

On Monday, I led Reps. Juan Vargas (CA-52), Mike Levin (CA-49), and Sara Jacobs (CA-51), and U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) to demand answers from the Secretary of Homeland Security. We asked him to share the scope of the increased ICE enforcement in our community, who is being targeted, and where the authorization to conduct enforcement near schools and other sensitive locations came from. Congress has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight and that’s exactly what I’ll continue to do until ICE stops acting with such blatant cruelty and lawlessness.

I talked to NBC7 San Diego about the letter and ICE’s brutal actions. Watch the full interview here.

Scott's Reads

I talked with the San Diego Union Tribune about BAAJA and how it takes too long to build the things we need to power America. Read the full story here.

Catch up on the latest episode of 72 and Sunny with Megafire Action

Click here for a comprehensive list of the actions I've taken to push back on the Trump Administration and protect San Diego.

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Thanks, and take care.

Scott H. Peters
Member of Congress

Permitting Reform Will Lower Costs for Everyone

No Data Center at NAVWAR

Demanding Answers from DHS

Scott's Reads

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