- William Yen ’23
While our California representatives may not each be as renowned as our two senators, they still play a crucial role in providing a political voice to each district and community. In this article, we will discuss Jackie Speier, who currently represents California’s 14th Congressional District (Daly City-Redwood City) in the House of Representatives.
Before her years as congresswomen, Speier was a member of the California State Assembly, the lower house of the California State Legislature, serving from 1986-1996. In 1998, she was then elected to the California State Senate, the upper house of the California State Legislature, in which she served until 2006. After that, in 2008, she assumed office in the U.S. House of Representatives, the position she serves in today.
Stances (Quoted from her website):
- Women’s Rights: It is the women’s right “to make their own health care decisions, their right to earn equal pay for equal work, and their right to succeed in work environments free from harassment and discrimination.”
- Healthcare: “Health care is a human right and that our health care system should work on behalf of the people […] the Affordable Care Act marked a milestone for our country’s health care system and Congresswoman Speier supports policies to expand and improve on this landmark legislation.”
- Economy: “Congress must pave the way for a strong economy by investing in human capital and infrastructure projects to strengthen our workforce and by ensuring basic safeguards, such as a living wage and collective bargaining rights, so that hard-working Americans can share in our nation’s wealth and security.”
- LGBTQ Rights: “Congresswoman Speier is a passionate ally to the LGBTQI community […] she champions legislation that pushes our country closer toward true equality for every American […] Congresswoman Speier is a cosponsor of H.R. 5, the Equality Act”
- Gun Violence: “Congresswoman Speier is a longtime champion of universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, gun and ammunition buyback programs, and incentives for states to establish Extreme Risk Protection Order laws, which are policies expanding prohibitions on firearm access for domestic abusers.”
- Education: “Congresswoman Speier believes that every student deserves the opportunity to receive a high-quality education, from early childhood to higher education, regardless of income or zip code. She is committed to expanding access to early childhood education, strengthening our public schools, and solving our college affordability crisis.”
- Environment: “Given the dire threat of climate change, Congresswoman Speier believes that the United States must take radical action to become carbon neutral within the next ten years. She supports H.Res. 109, which calls on Congress to create a Green New Deal to meet critical emissions goals and invest in sustainable infrastructure.”
_________
Want to learn more? Check out the sources I used below:
Image Citation:
“Jackie Speier’s Official Photo” by United States Congress is licensed under the public domain.
–Social Science: Finding the human in humanities
