Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined Univision 34 Los Angeles to discuss his priorities for California, highlight his work to support communities recovering from the Los Angeles fires, and emphasize the need to protect California’s most vulnerable.
Watch the full video of the interview here.
Key Excerpts:
On addressing California’s most pressing issues:
[…] California is a great place to live, to innovate, to create. We’re just this hub of innovation. We’ve got the most creative people in the world, the most incredible entrepreneurs. And this is what draws people, and has always drawn people to California. It’s why we have an economy the size larger than all but about four or five countries in the world. So we have shown, notwithstanding all the trashing of California that you hear from the president and others. We have created this economic behemoth here in California. Nevertheless, with that success, housing prices have gone up, the cost of living has gone up. We’re too slow to get things done on site manufacturing and to be able to build housing. So we have our share of problems that we have to address, and in terms of the most urgent for me, making sure that these victims of the terrible fires can rebuild. This is an opportunity to show what California can do. Can we rebuild quickly? Can we do the cleanup? Can we get people back in their homes and their neighborhoods? Can we do so with a sense of urgency that we must? I look at this as a test, and I’m going to be doing everything I can to make sure that we pass that test. And then California continues to be a great place for people to live, to work, and to raise their families.
On supporting communities recovering from the fires:
My first job has to be the recovery from the fires. And I went into this job with my top priority being housing and homelessness. That remains a top priority. But the most urgent priority is the housing for those who’ve been displaced, those who’ve lost everything, getting them situated, getting them the help they need right now, in this moment. I’ve been out to the different shelters in the disaster resource centers. I’ve surveyed the terrible damage from those fires and had the privilege of feeding the firefighters and thanking them for what they’re doing. That’s my focus, and I’m going to continue to bring a real sense of urgency to it.
On protecting vulnerable Californians:
[…] They also seem quite intent on targeting some of the most vulnerable citizens and making them, well, dehumanizing them, making them something less. And the trans community in particular, they have really made the fulcrum of so many of their attacks. You would think listening to the now president and his supporters, at least some of them, that the biggest issue in the country was not rising prices, it wasn’t public safety issues, it wasn’t the border, it was the trans community. You would think that was the biggest issue. But frankly, these are our most vulnerable citizens, and particularly young kids. And I think that the government needs to stay out of their business, let them make their own decisions. Let parents and their kids make their own decisions, and not try to villainize very vulnerable kids.
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