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Welcoming guests to the State of the Nation Luncheon were (l-r): Cerritos Council member Jim Edwards, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez and Hawaiian Gardens City Council member Myra Maravilla.
By Larry Caballero
Congresswoman Linda Sanchez was the keynote speaker for the Cerritos Chamber of Commerce State of the Nation Luncheon Aug. 17 at the Cerritos Sheraton Hotel where she reported to more than 80 in attendance that she truly believes that “we will see a breakthrough in what gets done in Washington after the November elections.”
Sanchez also said that extreme partisanship is hurting the country and that “change is coming!”
She is currently the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and said that immigration is not the only issue on the minds of Hispanics. “It’s the economy and job security.”
Sanchez also serves as the ranking member of the Congressional Ethics Committee, the watchdog for Congress, and she believes that a lot still has to be done to rebuild trust in our legislators.
As a member of the Select Benghazi Committee she was somewhat dismayed that it is still being funded since it has already filed its final report.
Sanchez will be termed out of the Hispanic Caucus and Ethics Committee at the end of the year and plans to launch a campaign for a House leadership spot.
According to Sanchez, the House will only be in session 111 days in 2016 because this is an election year. “This has certainly been an unpredictable campaign cycle,” said Sanchez, “and when it couldn’t get any nuttier, it does.”
After the summer recess, the House must fund government and provide funds to eradicate the Zika virus, a growing public health crisis in the United States and in the world. Government also will need to “overhaul the criminal justice system,” said Sanchez.
Yet she is optimistic about the future. “The economy is going in the right direction, business is beginning to recover, and investments are being made in our communities.”
Sanchez also stated that concerns with transportation and the infrastructure need to be solved, and more funding will need to be allocated since “reliable transportation is an economic necessity.”
The Congresswoman also believes that tax reform has to be addressed since some tax breaks need to be permanent, especially in the areas of renewable energy and technology.
She was asked about the veteran hospitals and said that they provide important health care, but there are systemic problems in some states including Texas.
“More transparency and accountability, along with more funds are needed to address some of the issues that have been detected in the hospitals,” said Sanchez.
The last question concerned the future of the two-party system in America. Sanchez said that she learned when she moved to Washington in 2002 that wanting one hundred per cent of anything is a waste of time. “Maybe 60% of what you want and incremental changes are better. Compromise moves our country forward,” said Sanchez.
Congresswoman Linda Sanchez serves the communities of Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada, La Palma, Los Nietos, Montebello, Norwalk, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, South El Monte and Whittier.
The Congresswoman speaks of rebuilding trust in the legislature. As the ranking member of the Congressional Ethics committee, perhaps she could help build transparency by publicizing the ethics complaint alleged against her for campaign finance violations by one of her past office workers prior to the election and the result of that complaint.