Julia Brownley
Congress - CA 26
| Website: | www.juliabrownley.com |
| Facebook: | facebook.com/JuliaBrownley |
| Twitter: | @JuliaBrownley |
| Why are you running for office?: | It is my greatest honor to be able to represent Ventura County in Congress and I would like to continue to do so. I have fought and will continue to fight to make sure adequate federal resources are brought to Ventura County to address the COVID-19 pandemic. As Chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, I want to continue to fight for our veterans. I’m proud to have authored legislation to bring to Ventura County a new, much improved, veterans’ clinic, and I want to make sure it lives up to its promise. As Chair of the Women Veterans Task Force, I want to continue to fight for equity in benefits and care for our women veterans. I am proud to serve on the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and want to continue to fight to protect our clean air and water. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I want to continue to fight for federal resources to improve our local infrastructure so that we can create more good jobs, support our small businesses, innovative tech and bio industries, and keep Ventura County a beautiful place to live and work. |
| What makes you qualified for the job?: | Since being elected to Congress in 2012, I have been focusing on the issues important to Ventura County families — increasing opportunities for middle-class families, bringing down healthcare costs, making higher education more affordable, preserving and protecting our environment, making sure our veterans receive the services they deserve, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and ensuring equality for all. I have a strong record of working with both Democrats and Republicans to get things done for Ventura County. Some of my bills signed into law with bipartisan support include legislation to make an Oxnard veteran eligible to receive the Medal of Honor, evaluate which suicide prevention and mental health programs best serve women veterans, help more veterans succeed in the job market after their service, and ensure equitable funding for the Port of Hueneme. As a member of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, I was instrumental in releasing the most comprehensive Congressional study of how we fight climate change while positioning our county and our country to be global leaders at the forefront of the innovations that will grow our economy and create good-paying jobs of the future. I am also extremely proud of the work we do for constituents, and I want to continue providing the best constituent services possible. To date, we have opened over 8,000 cases and returned more than $18 million in benefits owed. We have also secured millions of dollars in grants for companies, local government, and other economic drivers like the Port of Hueneme. |
| What are your two main priorities if you win?: | If re-elected, I will continue to provide the best possible assistance to my constituents. I will continue to fight for our veterans and make sure that our new veteran clinic provides exceptional care. I will continue to fight for our small businesses and for our working families to make sure they emerge from the pandemic stronger and more secure. |
| How will you interact with other governments?: | I work and will continue to work very closely with all of our local elected officials, regardless of party, to fight for the federal resources they need. From the Thomas Fire, Woolsey Fire, the Borderline shooting, and most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m proud to have worked closely with our local elected leaders to make sure that, along with the community, to recover. We will need to do so as we recover from the pandemic, and what will likely be new challenges in the future. |
| What are your plans to help overcome COVID-19?: | While Congress passed several bills to provide lifelines to struggling Americans and small businesses earlier this year, there is clearly much more to do. We will need resources and infrastructure in place to make sure we have a safe and effective vaccine as soon as possible. We need to make working families whole. We need to continue and improve programs for small businesses so they can get back on their feet. We need to shore up state and local governments who have been impacted beyond their capacity to respond without federal assistance. |
| Which two issues are most important to you?: | As we continue our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, I want to focus on rebuilding our economy and helping struggling small businesses and working families weather this economic storm. That means ensuring that COVID-19 relief legislation includes additional funds for families, for food assistance, for public education, for the unemployed, for our healthcare providers, for developing a vaccine, and for fighting the spread of the virus. Americans are struggling deeply, they have lost their jobs, their savings are depleted, and they are in need of further action from the federal government, and I am committed to bringing the full resources of the federal government to bear. I also want to continue fighting for our nation’s veterans and ensure that they have access to comprehensive health care and the benefits they have earned and deserve. I want to continue to address the inequities and barriers that women veterans face when accessing VA care and benefits. They are the heroes that fought for us, we now have a duty to fight for them. |
