Working in Washington

January 14, 2022

Greetings!

I was happy to be back in Washington, DC this week working for our Orange County community.

Make sure to follow my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get these updates in real-time! Here are some highlights from my week:

Celebrating Korean American Day

This week we celebrated Korean American Day. As one of the first Korean Americans ever elected to Congress, this day is very special to me. I was proud to speak on the House Floor and join my bipartisan colleagues to introduce a resolution honoring Korean American Day. Click here or below to watch my speech:

While I was in DC, members of my team attended Korean American Day celebrations at the Council of Korean Churches of Orange County, which oversees 450 Korean churches in our community. Happy Korean American Day to all celebrating in our Orange County community!

Taking Steps to Combat the Opioid Crisis

Fentanyl is a dangerous synthetic opioid that is flooding our communities and taking lives across the country. It’s similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more powerful. In November 2021, more than 1,000 pounds of fentanyl were seized by Customs and Border Protection agents. This amount is enough to kill more than 250 million people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that for the first time, the U.S. experienced more than 100,000 drug overdoses in a year. This is a tragic loss of life.

That’s why this week I joined my colleagues to ask leadership from both parties to bring legislation to the House Floor that would permanently classify fentanyl-related substances under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. This would classify this deadly, addictive drug as having no medical value and a high potential for abuse. Read the full letter here and an excerpt below.

We must take tougher steps to keep deadly substances like fentanyl out of our neighborhoods and bring those responsible to justice. Permanent scheduling of fentanyl-related substances is essential in our fight to save lives and confront the addiction epidemic, and we urge you to take swift action to ensure passage of legislation.

OPINION POLL: Vaccine Mandates

This week, the Supreme Court struck down the Administration’s vaccine mandate for all private businesses with 100 or more employees. We are already facing record labor shortages, rising costs, and supply chain issues. I believe this unconstitutional rule would have worsened these issues and put another burden on our job-creators.

I want to hear from you on this important issue.

Do you agree with the Supreme Court decision to strike down the vaccine mandate for businesses?

Yes

Select

No opinion

Select

Honoring our Law Enforcement

January 9^th was Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. I’m so grateful to the men and women who have dedicated their lives to keeping us safe. I’m also grateful to their families, who often sacrifice alongside these brave men and women. Thank you for all you do! Click here or below to watch my remarks.

How I voted

My goal as your member of Congress is to be as transparent as possible about the votes I am taking in Washington. You can always view my vote record on my website.

I want to hear your feedback! Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or comments on legislation or items currently up for debate in Congress. Click here to see what the House voted on this week. Here’s an explanation of some of my votes:

H.R. 1836 - Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act: Our veterans deserve to have the tools for success when they return home from service. This bill expands eligibility for GI Bill benefits for National Guard and Reserve members. I proudly voted in support of this legislation to support our service members as they return to civilian life.

H.R. 5746 NASA Enhanced Use Leasing Extension Act: Unfortunately, Congressional Democrats this week used a legislative gimmick to include partisan and highly divisive election-related legislation in a bill intended to make it easier for NASA to lease unused facilities. This legislation would give billions of taxpayer dollars to campaigns, bars meaningful voter ID laws, and expands the Federal Government’s control of our elections. I voted against this bill because it federalizes state and local election laws. I also am deeply concerned by the idea of taxpayer-funded political campaigns. You should be able to decide how to spend your hard-earned money.

I’ll be using this newsletter as a way to keep you up to date on my work on behalf of our Orange County community, so make sure you sign up for regular updates.

You can also connect with my official Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, where I’ll be posting the latest news and updates.

Sincerely,

Rep. Michelle Steel

Member of Congress