Hieu from Rancho Bernardo reached out to my office because he was trying to retire, but the process had been held up with the Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS) since 2022 due to a debt that been assigned to him. My staff worked with Hieu to connect him with DFAS to learn how he could pay back the debt and proceed with his retirement. Within a month, Hieu received clarification from DFAS and a direct point of contact for future questions.  

If my office can assist you with your social security or veteran benefits, federal student loans, IRS refunds, or facilitate communication with other federal agencies, please reach out here.    

On Monday, my Veterans Claims Education Act passed the House on an overwhelming voice vote. This legislation was inspired by a constituent  who reached out to my office after he hired a for-profit company to maximize his VA benefits, but ended up having to pay more money to the company than the benefits he was receiving. No one should profit off our veterans trying to access their hard-earned benefits. My bill would provide educational resources so veterans better understand how to seek help from accredited, trusted sources. 

On Tuesday, Environmntal Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin spoke at an Energy and Commerce hearing. I thanked Administrator Zeldin for his recent tour of the Plant and for committing to ending one of the worst environmental catastrophes of the hemisphere. On the same morning, the EPA and U.S. International Border and Water Commission (IBWC) announced that they will complete the first phase of the expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) in 100 days rather than two years. I have worked with local and federal partners for years to address the cross-border pollution fouling San Diego’s coastal waters and I’m encouraged by the progress being made. I’ll continue to advocate for the health and wellbeing of our region as we begin to recover.  

The president seems to have a personal vendetta against Harvard University. That’s dangerous enough, and unfair to one institution, but the fallout could be worse because so many of these students want to study science, technology, engineering, and math. We want these young people to get their education and do their research here in the United States. We want places like San Diego to be world centers of brain power. These best and brightest minds from around the world, working hard to be scientists and engineers and doctors in our country, are not the criminals that President Trump promised to deport. These are precisely the people from overseas we want in the United States.  

This sends exactly the wrong message. It comes on top of threats to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and actual cuts. Other countries won’t sit idly by while we dither on scientific investment. We can expect the United States’ lead in scientific innovation to erode as researchers and innovators migrate to Europe and to China.