Press Releases
Rep. Takano, Rep. Haaland, and More than 40 Members of Congress Demand Federal Action to Address Global Recycling Challenges
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), and more than 40 Members of Congress sent letters to the Department of Commerce and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging they take action to address the current recycling crisis being faced in response to China's "National Sword" policy, which bans the import of various plastics and unsorted mixed papers to China. For more than three decades the United States and many other countries have relied on China to … Continue Reading
July 16, 2019
Rep. Takano and Rep. Cook Launch Work for Warriors Caucus in the 116th Congress
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Rep. Paul Cook (R-Calif.) launched the Work for Warriors Caucus for the 116th Congress, a bipartisan Congressional caucus which will promote and increase awareness of California's successful Work for Warriors program, with the eventual goal of expanding the program in California and replicating it in other states. This caucus was originally established by Reps. Takano and Cook in the 113th Congress. "The Work for Warriors program in … Continue Reading
July 12, 2019
Rep. Takano’s Amendment to NDAA to Improve Tracking of Non-Citizen Veterans Passes the House
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Mark Takano's (D-Calif.) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would improve tracking of non-citizen veterans passed the House. This amendment would direct the Department of Defense (DOD) to notify the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) when a non-citizen servicemember is honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces. By providing DHS with information on a non-citizen veteran's service history, more time and additional consideration could … Continue Reading
July 11, 2019
Rep. Takano’s Bipartisan NDAA Amendment to Prevent Consolidation of Defense Media Activity Passes the House
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) led a bipartisan effort supported by Members of the California and Pennsylvania Congressional House Delegations to pass an amendment to the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to prevent the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to consolidate Defense Media Activity (DMA). Amendment #373 requires DOD to report to Congress on its current and future plans to consolidate DMA and prohibits any funding for such consolidation until 180 … Continue Reading
July 11, 2019
Rep. Takano’s Amendment to NDAA to Preserve Deportation Protections for Military Families Passes House
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Mark Takano's (D-Calif.) amendment to the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to prevent the Trump Administration from scaling back parole in place passed the House. This amendment mandates that each spouse, widow, widower, parent, son, or daughter of a member of the armed forces are eligible for parole in place. The amendment also reaffirms the importance of parole in place in preserving family unity and the Secretary's authority to exercise the … Continue Reading
June 28, 2019
Rep. Takano Statement on the Elimination of the Gainful Employment Rule
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) released this statement following the Trump Administration's announcement of the elimination of the gainful employment rule, which set clear standards for all programs at for-profit institutions and non-degree programs at public and private, non-profit institutions with a track record of leaving students with mountains of student loan debt and inadequate job prospects. "The Trump Administration is greenlighting the reckless use of federal student … Continue Reading
June 26, 2019
Rep. Takano Reintroduces Higher Education Regulations to Protect Students and Hold For-Profit Colleges Accountable
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) reintroduced the Protections and Regulations for Our Students, PRO Students, Act. The PRO Students Act is a comprehensive piece of legislation designed to protect students from for-profit colleges by establishing strong regulations for the for-profit college system. This legislation was originally introduced by Rep. Takano in 2015. The abrupt closures of for-profit colleges such as Corinthian Colleges, ITT Technical Institutes, and more-recently … Continue Reading
June 13, 2019
Reps. Takano, Hill, and Cook Secure Bipartisan Amendment to Prevent Consolidation of Defense Media Activity in the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act
Riverside, CA - Reps. Mark Takano (D-CA), Katie Hill (D-CA), and Paul Cook (R-CA) secured a bipartisan amendment to prevent the consolidation of Defense Media Activity (DMA) in the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The amendment, which was adopted Wednesday, would limit any funds from being used to consolidate the DMA until 180 days after the date of enactment of this act - providing Congress additional time to consider and respond to a potential consolidation of DMA. "This … Continue Reading
June 12, 2019
Senate Passes Rep. Takano’s Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act
Riverside, CA - Today, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) released the following statement after the Senate unanimously passed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, H.R. 299. "Tonight, we can finally tell the tens of thousands of veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War but wrongly denied benefits that justice is finally coming. By passing the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, Congress has proven to the nation, to our veterans and their families, and the … Continue Reading
June 11, 2019
Rep. Takano and Chairman Scott, Sens. Brown and Murray Introduce Legislation to Expand Overtime Pay for Millions of Workers
Washington, DC - Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) and Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Patty Murray (D-WA) today introduced legislation to make millions of American workers newly eligible for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours a week, providing economic security to millions of working families. The Restoring Overtime Pay Act would increase the overtime salary level from $23,660 per year to nearly $51,000 per year, making roughly 4.6 million workers … Continue Reading
June 07, 2019
Chairman Takano and Rep. Vargas Demand Answers from Acting ICE Director Following GAO Report on the Deportation of U.S. Military Veterans
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) authored a letter to Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Mark Morgan following a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report's findings on the issue of the deportation of U.S. military veterans, as reported by CNN. The report released on Thursday found that ICE has not been following existing policies for non-citizen veterans who may be … Continue Reading
May 28, 2019
Rep. Takano Releases Updated Report on the Heavy Burden of Rent in Riverside
Riverside, CA - Rep. Takano (D-Calif.) released an updated version of his 2014 report examining rent costs, household income trends, and housing availability in Riverside County. The report found that about one in three households in the Inland Empire are severely rent burdened, with 30.2 percent of all Riverside County renters spending more than half of their annual income on rent. Since 2007, Riverside County's median annual income has decreased by 7.2 percent while rent has gone up by 3.8 … Continue Reading
May 22, 2019
Rep. Takano and Chairwoman Adams Lead 75 House Democrats in Opposing Department of Labor’s Proposed Overtime Rule
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), led 75 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta expressing opposition to the Department's proposed overtime rule and urging the withdrawal of this rule, which would fail to strengthen protections for millions of American workers. In the letter, Members write, "The Department's proposed salary threshold of $35,308 … Continue Reading
May 21, 2019
Rep. Mark Takano Statement on Iran
Washington, DC - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, released this statement following a bipartisan briefing on Iran and the current escalating tensions being provoked by President Trump and his administration: "Today, I attended a bipartisan Congressional briefing on Iran with Secretary Mike Pompeo, Acting Secretary Mike Shanahan, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford. The purpose of this intelligence briefing was to … Continue Reading
May 17, 2019
Rep. Mark Takano Statement on Passage of the Equality Act
Washington, DC - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), co-Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, released this statement following the passage of H.R. 5, the Equality Act, which would extend anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ Americans with regard to employment, education, access to credit, jury service, federal funding, housing and public accommodations: "The House has taken a historic vote to extend federal protections from discrimination to LGBTQ Americans. Our nation was founded on the principle … Continue Reading
May 17, 2019
Rep. Mark Takano Leads Bipartisan Letter Opposing the Relocation of Defense Media Activity Functions from March Air Reserve Base
Riverside, CA - Today, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) sent a letter signed by Rep. Calvert and Sens. Feinstein and Harris of California to Acting Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, expressing concern and opposition to the Department of Defense's ongoing effort to relocate Defense Media Activity (DMA) functions currently stationed at March Air Reserve Base, which would lead to the elimination of the positions of about 250 employees. In the letter, Members write, "DMA-Riverside stands as a … Continue Reading
May 17, 2019
Rep. Mark Takano Statement on Fighter Jet Crash at March Air Reserve Base
Riverside, CA - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) released this statement following the Military F-16 Fighter Jet Crash at March Air Reserve Base. "I am grateful that no one was seriously injured after an F-16 fighter jet crashed at a warehouse near March Air Reserve Base. I will be requesting more information from Commander Coburn on what went wrong during the exercise and what measures are being implemented to avoid another dangerous incident. Thank you to the first responders at the scene who … Continue Reading
May 10, 2019
Rep. Takano Delivers Floor Speech in Spanish for Mothers Separated from their Children at the Border
Washington, D.C. - In honor of Mother's Day, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) delivered a speech on the House Floor to express solidarity with mothers separated from their children at the border due to President Trump's family separation policy. You can download the speech here. Spanish transcript of Rep. Takano's speech: Este día de las madres, tengo un mensaje para todas las mamás que fueron separadas de sus hijos en nuestra frontera después de hacer un viaje largo y … Continue Reading
April 24, 2019
Rep. Takano: “I will actively oppose any efforts to move crucial DMA capabilities outside of March ARB.”
Riverside, CA - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) released the following statement following confirmation that the U.S. Department of Defense is considering the relocation of Defense Media Activity (DMA) functions currently stationed at March Air Reserve Base. "I am disappointed in the Department's push to consolidate its Defense Media Activity functions to other parts of the country, and I will actively oppose any efforts to move crucial DMA capabilities outside of March ARB. "DoD has been … Continue Reading
April 15, 2019
Rep. Takano Commends UCR for Receiving $2.5 Million Federal Grant to Support Business Growth in Riverside
Riverside, CA - The U.S. Department of Commerce announced today that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2.5 million federal grant to the University of California, Riverside (UCR) for use in a life sciences industry business incubator. The Inland Empire Entrepreneurial Life Science Incubator Acquisition Project will support life sciences-focused businesses by creating job opportunities for the region's workforce and addressing the demand for more high-skilled workers. … Continue Reading