Last week, U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) traveled across San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties as part of his “Central Coast Affordability Tour” to hear directly from students, small business owners, families, and more on how the cost-of-living crisis is personally impacting them.
Download photos here.
“Last week, I visited colleges, small businesses, childcare providers, and more throughout the Central Coast,” said Rep. Carbajal. “I heard firsthand that the economy is simply not working for everyone. With the rising cost of housing, groceries, health insurance, and other necessities, families are in a crisis right now. The Trump administration has done nothing to fix this. In fact, their policies have made the affordability crisis worse. The tariffs are one of the broadest tax increases on families and businesses in American history. The ‘Big Ugly Bill’ will cause millions of people to lose their health insurance or see higher premiums. That’s why I worked with my colleagues in the New Democrat Coalition to release an Affordability Agenda — a commonsense plan to help make life more affordable for the Central Coast by focusing on lowering five core costs that are too high for hardworking people: health care, housing, energy, family care, and household essentials like groceries. I’ll keep working to stand up for the Central Coast and keep fighting to lower costs.”
In San Luis Obispo county, Carbajal stopped by:
- City Farm SLO to hear how federal SNAP cuts and tariffs are hurting small farmers, increasing food insecurity, and tripling farming equipment costs.
- Cuesta College to discuss the impact of the cost-of-living crisis with students. The Congressman heard directly from Cuesta students regarding how the increased cost of living is impacting them and their ability to plan for the future.
- SLO Noor Foundation for a discussion on the “Big Ugly Bill” and its role in raising health insurance costs.
In Ventura county, Carbajal stopped by:
- Ventura College to meet with students and staff to hear how the cost of living crisis is impacting college students.
- Spice-Topia, a small business in downtown Ventura, to speak with their owner about the impacts of Trump’s tariffs on their operations. Spice-Topia specializes in organic and Fair Trade–certified spices, teas, coffees, salts, and sugars, as well as kitchen tools.
In Santa Barbara county, Carbajal stopped by:
- CommUnify’s Storyteller Children's Center to meet with caregivers and discuss the ongoing child care crisis.
- Los Agaves Restaurant to speak with the owners about how tariffs and other policy changes are impacting their business.
Recent federal policy changes have worsened the cost-of-living crisis in America: Trump’s tariff taxes are crushing American consumers, costing the average family an extra $1,600 in 2025. Republicans’ “Big Ugly Bill” ripped healthcare coverage from 15 million Americans and doubled or tripled monthly insurance bills for 22 million more – all to cut taxes for the richest Americans.
As Vice Chair for Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition, Carbajal co-led the creation of the Affordability Agenda to offer a better path forward to lowering everyday costs in the short- and long-term by rolling back harmful policies pushed by Republicans in Washington, promoting competition and supporting small businesses to boost consumer choice, and breaking down regulatory barriers across the government to meet the needs of everyday Americans.
Affordability Agenda Summary:
Groceries & Household Essentials
- Restore certainty by rolling back Trump’s tariffs and advancing smarter, durable trade policies.
- Support small producers and crack down on price-gouging corporations to increase competition in the food marketplace.
- Lower internet bills by restarting the Affordable Connectivity Program.
- Increase the minimum wage and ensure workers have a seat at the table.
Health Care
- Reduce monthly costs by extending ACA tax credits and expanding access to prescription price caps.
- Protect patients from surprise medical bills and aggressive debt collection.
- Expand access to care by fully funding Medicaid and strengthening Medicare’s guaranteed benefits.
- Increase competition and transparency while cracking down on fraud and abuse.
Housing
- Cut red tape and update permitting and zoning to build four million homes in the next decade.
- Level the playing field by eliminating unfair tax breaks to private equity and large investors.
- Utilize innovative construction technologies to accelerate home production.
- Build more affordable homes by increasing Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocations and community benefits.
Energy
- Reform permitting rules to make it faster and cheaper to build energy transmission and generation infrastructure.
- Ensure energy is available and abundant by establishing a level playing field for all forms of energy.
- Reallocate electric grid costs to protect consumers from price hikes due to manufacturing and data center development.
- Invest in energy efficiency and home heating & cooling to lower residential energy costs.
Families
- Create a national paid family and medical leave program that covers all Americans.
- Support working families with expanded access to tax cuts and universal pre-K.
- Leverage federal resources and foster public-private partnerships to enhance care options and paid leave access.
- Invest in the home health and long-term care workforce to care for aging Americans.
You can read the full Affordability Agenda here.
