Congresswoman Jackie Speier

January 4, 2012

As we start the new year, I would like to take a moment to reflect on some of last year’s events. But first of all I want you to know that I am privileged and honored to represent your concerns before Congress.

2011 was dominated by economic uncertainty. It is impossible to ignore the plight of the unemployed and the working poor, especially those who earn too much to receive public assistance but not enough to make ends meet in the Bay Area.

I tried surviving on the daily Food Stamps budget of $4.50 for all food items. I made it for five days, but it was like running a marathon, one where I was in pain when I crossed the finish line. Thousands of people in the 12th Congressional District confront hunger on a daily basis. For them this is not a test, a five-day exercise, it is, instead, the grim reality of the widening gap between the wealth and everyone else. Congress acted on two critical measures at the 11th hour. We extended unemployment benefits for those who reached the limit of 26 weeks and we maintained the payroll tax reduction to add $1,000 to the average annual paycheck of working men and women. It was a temporary victory and we have much work to do next year to extend those benefits.

I will continue to hold Job Hunters Boot Camps until they are no longer needed. Check my website for the next one. I’ve held seven boot camps since January 2010 –four this year --and nearly 4,000 job seekers have participated in them. Though it is difficult to track how many people actually find jobs as a result of the boot camps, we know of some success stories because they contacted my office. Jim Thomas of San Carlos was one of them and he spoke at the last boot camp in November. He was a true inspiration! Just as important each camp draws dozens of Bay Area employers who collectively have thousands of job openings.

Make it in America has been another priority in 2011. If every one of us spent another $64 per year on American products, 200,000 new jobs would be created. We need to make it in America so that everyone can make it in America. In June I organized an exhibit of regional manufacturers at the San Mateo County Fair. We had about 20 Bay Area companies showing off their products from Intuitive Surgical which makes the daVinci surgical robot, to Kelly Moore Paint, to McRoskey Mattresses, to Gimbal’s Fine Candies, to Casa Sanchez chips and salsa, to Active Spectrum which makes magnetic resonance spectroscopy equipment. It was amazing to see how many interesting and high quality products are made here and of course all of those companies are employing local workers. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Three out of four new American jobs are created by small businesses. We need to support them. To that end I challenged myself and all of you to only buy American products and local services this holiday season.

I also introduced legislation with my Republican colleague Steve Womack from Arkansas to close a loophole that is hurting small businesses. The Marketplace Equity Act empowers states to collect sales taxes from online companies that do not have a physical presence in the state. These companies currently have a price advantage over bricks and mortar retailers who do have to collect state sales taxes.

This September we observed the first anniversary of the San Bruno pipeline disaster. Survivors held a beautiful memorial at Skyline College. Family members of the eight people who died in this tragedy rang a fire bell for each of the victims and then released white doves into the white, foggy sky. It was somber and memorable service that will stay with me forever.

I remain determined to improve the safety of our pipeline system nationally. Congress passed H.R. 2845 The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 in December. This bill is an important step forward. It eliminates the grandfathering rule—this means that old pipes will have to be tested and fixed if they leak.

Unfortunately, the bill does not adopt several key recommendations released by the NTSB after its investigation of the San Bruno pipeline failure. It does not require installation of automatic and remote shut off valves on existing pipelines in high consequence areas. In the San Bruno explosion it took an hour and a half to turn off the gas with two manual valves. Had automatic or remote shut off valves been in place, it would have taken less than ten minutes and most likely saved many homes and possibly lives. I will continue to push my legislation, H.R. 22, The Pipeline Safety and Community Empowerment Act of 2011, to require the installation of automatic and remote shut off valves, mandate effective inspection methods and require disclosure of emergency response plans to local officials and first responders.

Much work has already been done in the state of California and I am confident that we will end up with one of the safest pipeline system in the country. But - the scars and the pain from the San Bruno explosion continue to linger. We must put the safety of Americans before the profits of corporations and ensure that there won’t be another San Bruno anywhere.

This last spring I started bringing attention to a stain on our military - rape and sexual assault by fellow service members. The Department of Defense estimates there were 19,000 such incidents in 2010. Only 13.5 % were reported and only 8 % of those reports resulted in prosecution. In the end, 465 service members were either administratively discharged or punished through the court-martial process, that amounts to a dismal 2.5 %. In November I introduced the Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act—the STOP Act—which takes the reporting, oversight, investigation, and victim care of sexual assaults out of the hands of the military’s normal chain of command and places jurisdiction in the newly created, autonomous Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office comprised of civilian and military experts. This is a crisis we can and must fix.

Our troops are coming home from Iraq. I am thankful for their service and glad that they are able to spend the holidays with their families. I will continue to work to get our troops home from Afghanistan –we’ve been there ten years too long.

The holidays are an important time to be with loved ones and give thanks for what we have. I am grateful for our wonderful community, my family and friends. It is also a time to help the less fortunate. I hope you will consider visiting a food bank or homeless shelter to provide support in some way.

Please remember that my office is always there for you should you have problem with a federal issue. Have a wonderful bright new year!

All the best,

jackie