Ro Khanna

Ro wants everyone to have access to great jobs in their hometown. This is why he reintroduced the 21st Century Jobs Act which would allocate $900 billion in R&D funding for emerging technologies like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. This bill would create 3 million new jobs annually administered by the newly created Federal Institute of Technology (FIT). Ro says this massive technology investment will spread digital opportunities across the country to create regional centers for job creation in industries of the future. Sign us up!

Welcome to your worst nightmare! Oil giants, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, and others are on the chopping block after a secret voice recording was made public of a senior Exxon lobbyist saying the energy giant had fought climate science through “shadow groups” and had been targeting influential senators to weaken President Biden’s climate agenda. Ro called the video “appalling”, and it was the oil industry’s latest effort to “engage in climate denialism and to manipulate public opinion.” Oooooo someone is PISSED!

During one of our Political Playlist Happy Hours, we discussed the threat of cybersecurity and posed the question if young lawmakers are particularly equipped to handle the issue. Ro and fellow PP leader Nancy Mace (R-SC) are making a strong case for that as their bill to strengthen the federal government cybersecurity workforce has just passed committee and will make its way to the House floor. By enhancing the federal government’s capabilities, a pace will be set for other sectors of American public and private entities to follow suit. “While we don’t agree on everything, the severity of the cyber threat has proven so immediate that both conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats came together to support our bill.”

Celebrations are in order for Ro after the Senate passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act that he sponsored and introduced in the 116th Congress. The bill still needs to pass the House, but it passed the Senate with bipartisan support. The bill will ensure that the U.S. will remain the world’s leader in science and technology in the 21st century. This bill will invest $250 billion in tech to compete directly with China. Ro, as the representative from Silicon Valley, has been a champion of science and technology from the beginning and this is a big step forward for him.

The federal government is the largest employer in the country, so it would make sense that our investment in its cybersecurity programs should reflect that. And yet, our capabilities in this area seem to be falling short. Ro is picking up that slack by introducing a bipartisan bill, along with fellow Under-45er Nancy Mace (R-SC) that looks to bolster our cybersecurity workforce in order to better meet the threats we face today. Essentially, the program cycles its cyber experts through a rotation across a number of different agencies facing various cyber threats, all with the expressed goal of furthering their understanding of the digitally hostile landscapes. Ro has long been a vocal advocate for beefing up our cyber defenses, and it seems he’s found the perfect partner to work with across the aisle.