Press Releases

Earlier this morning, Congressman Salud Carbajal was sworn in to his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the Central Coast in California’s 24^th Congressional District.

Upon taking his oath of office, Rep. Carbajal issued the following statement:

“It is my privilege to again represent in the halls of Congress the communities, businesses, and hard-working families of the Central Coast,” said Congressman Carbajal. “From my first year in the House helping our area navigate the Thomas Fire and the Montecito debris flow to this past term working to combat COVID-19, resolve supply chain disruptions, and curb rising inflation, there have been no shortage of challenges faced by both our region and our nation. It has been my honor to work in Congress to deliver solutions for these and other challenges: like the continuing epidemic of gun violence, the devastating damage brought by climate change, and the need to lower costs of housing, child care, food, and other costs of living.”

“Continuing to tackle these challenges remains my top priority in this upcoming term, and despite newly divided control in Washington, I am still committed to advancing the policies and investments that will help the Central Coast. As someone who has served in Congress under both Republican and Democratic Speakers, I am no stranger to the hard work that must be done in these circumstances to continue deliveing for my constituents.”

In addition to looking ahead to the new Congress, Rep. Carbajal reflected on the many new laws that he helped create over the past year; and the work that will be done, regardless of the makeup of this current Congress, to implement these impactful measures for the entire nation.

“When I first raised my right hand in 2017 and accepted my role as Congressman, I pledged to deliver key actions for our region: tackling climate change, investing in our infrastructure, passing common sense gun laws, supporting our veterans, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, lowering health care and prescription drug prices, and creating good-paying jobs,” said Congressman Carbajal. “In this past year, my colleagues and I delivered on those promises through and through. I am proud to have been a part of one of the most productive Congresses in modern history – and I know that my job in the coming term includes working with the Biden-Harris Administration to implement these new laws to ensure the policies we enacted last year have the maximum possible impact.”

Over the past two years, Congressman Carbajal helped get signed into many new laws, including:

·       The Inflation Reduction Act: the largest-ever congressional investment in climate action, which starting January 1 capped insulin prices for seniors at $35 a month and created a litany of new middle class tax incentives to help lower Central Coast energy and health care costs.

·       The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: which has already delivered nearly $350 million to support Central Coast infrastructure projects to improve roads and highways, airports, transit, and waterways.

·       The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: the first federal gun safety law in 30 years, including Rep. Carbajal’s Extreme Risk Protection Order Act to provide federal funds to states to improve use of ‘red flag’ laws.

·       The CHIPS and Science Act: which invests in bolstering domestic manufacturing of semiconductors and reinvigorating research and development to create new good-paying STEM jobs across the U.S.

·       The American Rescue Plan: which helped get millions of vaccines in arms in record time, safely reopened schools, brought millions of dollars in investments and direct payments to the Central Coast, and kickstarted the fastest, strongest jobs recovery in modern times: more than 10 million jobs in just two years.

·       The Honoring our PACT Act: the largest expansion of veterans’ health benefits in decades, helping veterans from Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam and other retired servicemembers get coverage for exposure to toxins.

·       The Small Passenger Vessel Liability Fairness Act: written by Carbajal to update the liability laws related to boating disasters after the 2019 Conception boat fire.

·       The Federal Firefighters Fairness Act: a new law championed by Carbajal to improve disability and retirement benefits for federal firefighters by ensuring they receive the same access to job-related disability and retirement benefits as their state and local counterparts.

·       The Respect for Marriage Act: landmark legislation to keep marriage equality the law of the land, ensuring the federal government will never again stand in the way of people marrying whom they love.

California’s 24^th Congressional District

The newly redrawn 24^th Congressional District retains all of Santa Barbara County and portions of San Luis Obispo County – including areas as far north as Morro Bay, Cayucos, Santa Margarita – and adds to the Ventura County portion of the previous district to include Ventura, Oak View, and Ojai.