Pete Aguilar

California's 31st congressional district became more favorable for the Democratic Party as a result of redistricting following the 2010 Census.[16] The Cook partisan voting index rates the district D+5. In January 2012, Aguilar announced he would run for the seat held by incumbent Republican Gary Miller.[17] Although the top Democratic vote-getter, with 22.6% of the vote, he finished behind Miller and Robert Dutton, the California State Senate Republican Leader. Because of California's open primary, both Republicans advanced to the November general election.[18] In March 2013, Aguilar announced he would run again for election from California's 31st congressional district.[19] In the June 2014 primary, Aguilar finished second, qualifying for the November general election[20] where he defeated Republican Paul Chabot with 51.4% of the vote.[21] Aguilar defeated Chabot again in the 2016 general election with 56.1% of the vote.[22]

In the 2018 primaries, Aguilar ran against Democratic challenger Kaiser Ahmed [23]and Sean Flynn, a Republican economist and aikido artist.[24] Aguilar narrowly defeated Flynn with 45.96% to 45.45% percentages. Ahmed received 8.59% of votes.[25] In the general election, Aguilar garnered 58.7% of the vote, with Flynn trailing behind at 41.3% [26]

California's 31st congressional district, which Aguilar has represented since 2015.

Aguilar's time in Congress has focused on immigration, job creation, trade practices, gun control, national security, LGBT issues, veteran affairs, drug prevention, student loan debt, and environmental protection. Aguilar has supported legislation to attract individuals in the cybersecurity field to join the military;[27] prevent discrimination against LGBT people by government contractors;[28] provide funding for homeless veterans;[29] and provide funding for research into opioid addiction.[30] He has introduced the Grace Period Alleviation (GPA) Act, which would give college graduates an optional grace period before beginning to repay certain types of loans.[31] With Senator Dianne Feinstein and Republican Congressman Paul Cook, Aguilar introduced legislation to protect the habitat along the Santa Ana River.[32] Aguilar has vowed to fight the repeal of the Affordable Care Act,[33] and to protect women's reproductive rights.[34] In addition, he has worked closely with law enforcement and local, state and federal officials and agencies to help communities recover costs incurred from the emergency response to the 2015 San Bernardino attack,[35] which took place in Aguilar's district,[36] and helped secure additional funding for survivors of the attack.[37]

Immigration

During the Obama Administration, Aguilar supported expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for undocumented children and creating the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program.[38] Aguilar introduced the Academic Success Centers and Education Networks for Dreamers (ASCEND) Act, which would establish grants for college and university programs and services to benefit undocumented students.[39] While Aguilar voted in favor of legislation that would effectively halt the resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq to the United States, citing national security concerns,[40] he subsequently criticized President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order as "xenophobic" and said it sent a message of "hate and bigotry to the rest of the world."[41] Aguilar criticized President Trump and his staff for citing the 2015 San Bernardino attack in defending the President's executive order.[42] In 2018, with Republican Congressman Will Hurd, Aguilar authored legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for DACA recipients and addresses border protection concerns.[43]

Job creation

Aguilar released a job-creation initiative for his district that includes cutting taxes on small businesses, investing in infrastructure, expanding job-training programs, expanding Pell Grants, increasing the minimum wage, and equal pay for women.[44] He has introduced a number of bills into Congress focusing on small businesses, including legislation to provide tax credits to small businesses for on-the-job training expenses,[45] tax credits for small business for full-time newly hired employees,[46] legislation to make it easier for small businesses to repay loans,[47] and legislation making it easier for small businesses to advertise job openings.[48] Aguilar annually hosts a jobs fair that connects job-seekers with employers in his district.[49] Additionally, in April of 2017, Pete started a quarterly "Job For a Day" tour where he works throughout the Inland Empire doing jobs such as train conducting for Metrolink, sorting Goodwill donations, and bagging groceries at local markets. [50] [51] [52] The goal of the tour is to interact with community members directly and learn about the daily operations of local businesses.

In 2017, he introduced a bill that would provide active-duty service members and reservists access to training for commercial drivers’ licenses granted by the FAST Act.[53] Aguilar authored the Active Duty Voluntary Acquisition of Necessary Credentials for Employment (ADVANCE) Act, which President Trump signed into law in 2018.[54] Aguilar authored the OPPORTUNITY (Offering Promising Persons Occupations Relevant To Upholding National Interests For Years) Act, which Trump signed into law in 2018. The bill connects students of color with the Department of Defense Cyber Scholarship program.[55]

Trade policy

Aguilar introduced the Displaced Jobs Relief Act, which increases authorization of funds for the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms program (TAA-F) to help businesses that have been negatively impacted by trade. He has urged the United States International Trade Commission to find that imported steel subsidized by Korea, Mexico and Turkey creates unfair competition and hurts steel manufacturers in his congressional district.[56]

Gun control

Aguilar has advocated for reforms to curb gun violence[57][58] by closing loopholes that terrorists have used to obtain guns[59] and banning assault weapons.[60] Following the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, Aguilar participated in the 2016 United States House of Representatives sit-in to show support for gun control legislation.[61]

• Committee on Appropriations (Vice Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
• Committee on House Administration
  • Subcommittee on Elections

• Chief Deputy Whip, House Democratic Caucus
• Whip, Congressional Hispanic Caucus
• Pro-Choice Caucus
• LGBT Equality Caucus
• Latino-Jewish Caucus
• Diabetes Caucus
• Work for Warriors Caucus
• Joint Strike Fighter Caucus
• Veterans Jobs Caucus
• Former Mayors Caucus
• Wine Caucus
• Native American Caucus
• Steel Caucus
• Hunger Caucus[62][7]
• New Democrat Coalition[63]
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus[64]
• Climate Solutions Caucus[65]

Aguilar announced his candidacy for Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus in September of 2018, but was defeated by Rep. Katherine Clark (MA-05) by a vote of 144-90. [66]

Congressman Aguilar's top contributors throughout his career have been JStreet PAC, League of Conservation Voters, Credit Union National Association, Matich Corporation, and New World Medical. Since 2011, he has not contributed personally to his own campaign, and relies mostly on individual contributions from community members. He has obtained nearly $5.3 million in contributions from individuals (63.86% of total donations). Top donations are generally from democrats, but also include lawyers and law firms, Leadership PACs, and labor unions. His total career campaign donations amount to $8.2 million. [67]