Today is my last day as a Member of Congress.

I came to Washington on a mission to grow representation for working families, crack down on special interests, hold government accountable, and help Californians get the resources we deserve. (1/6) Together, we’ve made a lot of progress—but the fight is not over.

We need to continue to lower costs for Americans, push housing prices down, and make it easier for our neighbors and kids to have a fair shot. (2/6)

In the wake of Hurricane Helene—and with the looming threat of Hurricane Milton—we ought to reflect on how Congress can best provide the tools and resources to help us prepare for and recover from disasters.

Project 2025 would take away many of those tools. A brief 🧵 👇 Project 2025 would decimate America’s disaster response. It would:
-Eliminate grants and loans that help Americans prepare for and recover from disasters
-Gut @NOAA and the National Weather Service
-Make it harder for @FEMA to respond to every disaster (2/7)

Some observations 🧵🧵

The justices rigorously questioned the government's lawyer. This is a good thing. In criminal cases, the burden of proof is on the government, and our Court should press the government on its use of power, especially in prosecutions. (1/5)

https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1780232897867211202

The government’s lawyer, Elizabeth Prelogar, was masterful. Coming from another branch of government, I appreciated the opportunity to see this impressive Biden appointee in action. (2/5)

Each year, my office puts together an End of Year Report, so Orange County families can see how I’m representing them.

As we ring in the #NewYear this weekend, here are some of my favorite accomplishments of 2023 ⤵️ (1/9) My job is to help Orange County families, and I'm grateful to work with such an effective team. We introduced dozens of bills, took hundreds of meetings, responded to thousands of messages, and delivered millions owed to Californians by federal agencies. (2/9)

Nice try, but wrong.

Drug companies and their enablers keep trying to convince the American people that lowering drug prices is somehow bad for patients. I’ve debunked these myths over and over. Here are some highlights 🧵

https://twitter.com/MikeCrapo/status/1696566522330677506

For ages, Big Pharma CEOs have claimed that massive price hikes are necessary to fund research and development.

This is a bald-faced lie. These profits go straight into the pockets of Big Pharma execs and shareholders. (2/5)

https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1394724627566391297

First Republic Bank was taken over by @FDICgov and sold overnight—the third bank failure in two months. I’ll dive deeper into what Congress can do, but first let me say this: Americans' money in the banking system remains safe and deposits up to $250,000 are fully insured. 🧵🔽 These recent bank failures were avoidable.

The Fed’s report on #SiliconValleyBank's collapse pointed to bank mismanagement and the 2018 rollback of financial safeguards, among other issues.

I wrote two bills to prevent this from happening again. (2/5)

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1651967224448528390

The East Palestine, Ohio, railroad derailment has jeopardized hundreds of families, who will now face significant environmental and human health concerns for decades. Let’s talk about it. 🧵⬇️ I agree with my colleagues that we need accountability, but we need to understand what caused this catastrophe in the first place, so we know how Congressmembers can prevent a similar disaster from ever happening again. (2/6)

When Republicans took power in 2010, they defunded the IRS so it would be easier for their ultra-wealthy donors to cheat taxes. Families have since been dealing with delays, and big corporations have been pocketing billions in taxes they owe under the law each year. (1/3) I’ve been pushing to give the IRS the resources it needs to serve taxpayers and crack down on ultra-wealthy tax cheats. With 50,000+ workers—including many customer service representatives—set to retire soon, time has been of the essence. (2/3)

https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1549882216687120384

Yesterday, I got ready to head to DC to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act: historic climate action, protecting taxpayers, lower drug prices, and more. I have rarely been as excited to go to Washington! (1/6) Unfortunately, my only travel was all over the airport to different ticket counters and customer service desks, then back home again. My flight was canceled, and like thousands of other Americans each day this summer, I was stranded. (2/6)

110+ people die in the U.S. *every day* from gun violence. I urged House leadership to hold separate votes on common sense gun safety measures so Americans would know exactly where their Representative stands—with them or with the gun lobby.

THREAD on today's votes ⬇️ The House voted on the Protecting Our Kids Act today. This legislation is composed of 7 "titles"—i.e. different sections that seek to tackle various facets of the gun violence epidemic. Each title was voted on separately to boost accountability and transparency. (2/10)

Price gouging is anti-capitalist. Big Oil is threatening our entire economy by keeping supply low and jacking up prices at the pump far beyond the inflation rate to satisfy Wall Street.

Oil and gas company executives are *literally* admitting it. (THREAD ⬇️) A majority of surveyed executives admit to not increasing supply because Wall Street doesn't want them to. Profits are at a 7 year high and shareholders don't want to give that up—especially since Big Oil is planning $40 billion in stock buybacks. (2/7)
cbsnews.com/news/oil-produ…

In my house, we pay serious and regular attention to the price of bacon. My local store has Oscar Meyer for $6.99/pound. Stocking up!

Unlike Washington insiders, who focus on Caucus politics and partisan bickering, my focus is on helping families bring home the bacon. THREAD ⬇️ What I'm telling colleagues and reporters: Food prices are a real pain point for families. People, myself included, are shopping differently, putting back $6.29 boxes of cereal and spending considerable time looking for sandwich bread for under $5. (2/5)

politico.com/news/2022/05/1…

Yesterday, @OversightDems published its final staff report into Big Pharma's price gouging. The findings are egregious—but they’re not surprising. Drug manufacturers have long prioritized their profits over the physical and financial health of families. (THREAD ⬇️) Price gouging hurts both patients and taxpayers. The report found that Big Pharma jacked up the prices of 12 drugs 250x over the past several years. Taxpayers are footing that multi-billion-dollar bill through Medicare, which can’t even negotiate how much it has to pay. (2/8)

Representatives have a duty to get answers for the American people. At my and @RepRoKhanna's request, my colleagues and I were recently briefed by Dr. Peter Marks, @US_FDA’s vaccine chief, on when kids under 12 will be able to get vaccinated.

THREAD on what we learned ⬇️ First, a disclaimer: We can't rush the science, but we can be communicating better about the vaccine approval process. My colleagues and I wrote to the @US_FDA last month to get clear information on behalf of parents of kids under 12. (2/9)

https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1427687260305063937

Representatives can often offer amendments—or changes—to a bill during debate. I'm proud to bring the voices of Orange County families to Washington, and I'm so excited to share that the House approved eight of my proposed changes to the annual defense bill. (THREAD) Worsening wildfires aren't just a threat to people, homes, and businesses; they also pose a direct risk to our military readiness. We ought to know how well prepared @DeptofDefense is against wildland fires, so I drafted a bipartisan proposal to get answers. (2/7)

I visited the U.S.-Mexico border to listen and to learn. Partisan pundits are no substitute for seeing for yourself. (Disclaimer: the border is not a monolith. The border in California is different from TX or AZ—in geography, in history, and in economy.) THREAD on what I saw. ⬇️ Borders are a necessary part of defining a nation-state. Each country sets border policy on the people and goods that enter and exit, and does so in the context of its neighbors, global affairs, and values. That policy should be lawful and fair. (2/x)

If you want a strong and growing economy, you should care about child care. Millions are leaving the workforce, hesitating to form small businesses, or forgoing promotions because child care is unaffordable for most families. Our entire economy is hurt as a result. (THREAD) Facts:
1⃣ In most states, child care costs more than in-state college tuition.
2⃣ Child care costs have risen 1000% in recent years—faster than housing and health care.
3⃣ Women got 12% of new jobs last month. At this rate, it’ll take 9 years to return to pre-pandemic employment.

As a single mom, I’ve spent 5 figures on child care for a summer. Enrolling my daughter in preschool at the college where I taught cost more than undergraduate tuition.

Families can't keep stretching their budgets. Here’s how Congress can help parents—and our economy. (THREAD) Families shouldn't have to spend hours trying to figure out if they can get help paying for child care. I agree with @POTUS that child care expenses should be capped at 7% of income, which will deliver targeted relief without handcuffing busy parents with mountains of paperwork.

I'm excited to see @POTUS's announcement today about steps he's taking to protect consumers, promote competition, and expand our economy. This action is long overdue and includes many policies I’ve been fighting for. (THREAD) whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/… First, let’s talk about consumer protection. It's now easier and cheaper for consumers to switch banks. Banks are required to transfer your financial transaction data if you choose to take your business elsewhere. (2/5)

Congress provided billions to help health care workers fight COVID-19. Turns out, some health care systems may have used these taxpayer dollars to boost their bottom lines, rather than patient care and worker support. I'm calling them out ⬇️ (THREAD)
nytimes.com/2021/05/21/hea… After receiving $1 billion in CARES relief, @tenethealth bought 45 surgery centers instead of properly staffing ICUs and ERs during a pandemic. At one location, overwhelmed staff were forced to prop patients upright in chairs since there were no beds—not to mention no oxygen.

When I ran for Congress, I made a promise to be transparent about the major decisions I make as Representative for California’s 45th District. So, I’d like to explain “Motions to Recommit” (MTRs) and my recent decision to uniformly vote NO on all of them. [THREAD] The minority party can offer a Motion to Recommit just before we vote on final passage of a bill. If the MTR is adopted, the text of the bill is revised. Historically, MTRs were offered by Members “friendly” to the bill, as a way to correct errors in the text.