Mike Levin

Mike and a group of bipartisan colleagues, along with PP Leader Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), introduced The Supporting Families of the Fallen Act to increase the maximum life insurance coverage for service members and veterans to $500,000 from $400,000. The proposal increase reflects inflation levels and is meant to update a previous policy coverage that has not changed since 2005. The legislation supports servicemembers’ and veterans’ families by giving them the option to increase their policy coverage to an amount that best fits their needs. It is important that our politicians continue to honor and create programs for those who fight for our country.

One of the devastating realities of the Covid school closures is that it revealed just how many children rely on school meals as a primary source of food. Thankfully, Mike is looking to change all that with the Stop Child Hunger Act, a sweeping bicameral bill that looks to help provide meals while schools are closed. Currently, the number of students eligible for free or reduced priced meals is a staggering 29.6 million. Under Mike’s bill, eligible families would receive an EBT card to help provide meals when school is out of session for the summer as well as other winter and holiday breaks. No details about the cost of this proposal were announced but it may not be possible to really put a price tag on feeding our children.

Mike is one of the biggest champions for the environment in Congress, representing part of Southern California’s coastline. He’s just added to his quiver a newly introduced bill that would ban any new leasing for exploration or development of oil or natural gas along the coast. In Mike’s view, the environmental consequences outweigh any economic advantages of drilling, and he has a point. If you look at the numbers, San Diego and Orange County contribute about $7.7 billion in economic activity and provide more than 140,000 jobs in tourism and recreation, which could be hurt by more drilling. The bill is headed to committee where its fate will be determined – do you have a good feeling about this one?

After Biden’s State of the Union, Mike decided to send out an official statement praising the Biden Administration. Mike is one of the leaders of green energy and the administration has introduced some of the most aggressive pledges to reduce greenhouse emissions in half by 2030 so it’s no surprise Mike is a Biden cheerleader. But more specifically, Mike touted the White House’s ability to administer over 232 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and it’s plan to invest in families with universal access to pre-K, two years of free community college for all Americans, lower childcare costs, and comprehensive paid family and medical leave. Cheerleading, commence!

Mike has a keen eye towards looking out for the cornerstone of communities and oftentimes that the annual local Fair. These events are particularly high revenue sources for cities, like his district’s Del Mar Fairgrounds, and have almost unanimously taken a large financial hit thanks to Covid. The bipartisan Agriculture Fairs Rescue Act would allocate $500 million to states’ agricultural departments, who would then oversee the disbursement of funds to fairs and fairgrounds throughout the state. Mike isn’t delusional in thinking this can save all the fairs but believes “this would make a huge dent.” On that note, let the hotdog eating competitions begin!

From dreams of settling on Mars to potential celestial wars, it’s no secret that the future is playing out in space. Mike recently appealed to the acting FCC chair asking for better regulation of constellations of hundreds of thousands of small satellites and to study the impact they could have on the environment. The FCC must, Mike says, address the increasing orbital debris that has potential to damage spacecraft and pollute the Earth’s environment. “When we talk about global sustainability,” he insists, “our efforts cannot stop at our geographic border, or even at the limits of our atmosphere.”

Raise your glass to Mike. He has been on a roll. For starters, he was voted 6th most effective lawmakers by the Center for Effective Lawmaking and the 8th most effective member in the House on defense and veterans’ issues. That is a big accomplishment. Mike introduced more than 50 pieces of legislation of which 14 bipartisan bills were signed into law. He recently reintroduced his bipartisan Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2021 with PP leader Nancy Mace (R-SC) to provide parity in GI Bill benefits for members of the National Guard and Reserve. Oh, and Mike announced that $125 million in Federal Relief to open schools will be awarded to his area from the America Rescue Plan. We are burning up here at Political Playlist!

Inspired by the nationwide push to end systemic racism, Mike fathered a virtual panel of local Black leaders in education to discuss the challenges for black students in the area. The panel included college students from Howard University, the vice president of student affairs and diversity and inclusion at San Diego State University, a UC San Diego professor and critical race theorist, and the Encinitas Union School District trustee. The panel covered how each of these education leaders has tackled racism in their upbringing and careers and how familiarizing current students with stories like theirs can help to move the needle further. Kudos to Mike for putting together this innovative discussion!

Mike is known for holding frequent town halls, which had to shift from in-person to virtual during the pandemic. Now, Mike is taking it one tech-step further and is coming to an App Store near you with the launch of his new podcast called Listening With Levin. On the eve of its release, Mike reminded folks that his “most important responsibility is keeping my constituents informed about my work and my policies.” In the first episode, he updates folks on the latest Covid news, before talking Climate with Dr. David Victor. Indeed, information is power, and it’s always great to see our elected officials actually communicating with their constituents. Speaking of, does your Congressperson have a podcast yet? Maybe it’s time to “@” them.

The environment is at the top of Mike’s agenda and not just because he represents a SoCal district heavily impacted by the changes in climate. Much of his background is actually in energy as a former environmental attorney and he founded a clean energy association. Mike congratulated Biden’s executive order to combat the climate crisis, protect public lands, and foster clean energy job creation. Many bills Mike introduced in the 116th Congress were aligned with this mission, as are some of the bills he plans on reintroducing like the Restoring Community Input and Public Protection in Oil and Gas Leasing Act. He also introduced the Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV) Act during the 116th Congress to facilitate nationwide adoption of zero-emission vehicles, and the Green Spaces, Green Vehicles Act to fund the installation of ZEV charging infrastructure. Environmental bills galore!