• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) applauded the Biden-Harris administration for announcing a change in housing policy to benefit veterans, a policy that he proposed as part of the recently adopted Home for the Brave Act, according to an Aug. 8 statement from Carbajal’s office. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will now no longer count a veteran’s disability benefits toward total income when determining their eligibility for HUD programs, ensuring these benefits are not the reason veterans cannot access housing benefits. Financial benefits for service-connected disabilities were previously counted as income when determining eligibility for housing assistance programs through HUD. As a result, many veterans were determined ineligible for these housing programs because their disability benefits placed them at a higher income level. Other agencies, including the International Revenue Service, do not consider veterans’ benefits for service-connected disabilities as income. “It is wrong to deny veterans access to housing assistance programs due to disability benefits they receive for service-related injury or illness,” Carbajal said in the statement. “This change will make housing more affordable and accessible on the Central Coast and across the country and support those who stepped up to defend our nation by ending this housing discrimination against our disabled veterans.”
• U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California) and Chris Coons (D-Delaware) reintroduced the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act, legislation to prevent future Muslim bans similar to the ones enacted by former President Donald Trump, according to an Aug. 7 statement from Padilla’s office. The bill would explicitly prohibit religious discrimination in our immigration laws and ensure that any use of the president’s authority to suspend entry into the country would be based on specific and credible facts, and be narrowly tailored to address a compelling government interest. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised to ban Muslim immigrants from the United States. Upon taking office, he tried to enact bans that were repeatedly struck down by the courts until the conservative majority of the Supreme Court ultimately upheld a much-altered version of the ban in a 5-4 vote. While President Joe Biden reversed these bans, the possibility of their revival remains. “No president should have the power to ban travel to the United States based on bias against certain religions or countries,” Padilla said in the statement. “Sadly, that’s exactly what we witnessed during the Trump administration in the Muslim bans, which Trump has promised to revive and expand if he were to be reelected. These discriminatory bans undermine American values as a nation of immigrants. We must pass the NO BAN Act to put permanent safeguards in place so these types of hateful abuses of power never happen again.”
• Gov. Gavin Newsom welcomed the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s new CEO Ian Choudri after receiving board approval, according to an Aug. 8 statement from Newsom’s office. With more than 30 years of leadership experience in the transportation sector, Choudri takes the helm for the California high-speed rail project—a multi-phased rail development that would connect San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim—as all environmental reviews from Los Angeles to the Bay Area are complete, train set selection is underway, and station and track construction’s on deck. Choudri currently serves as senior vice president at HNTB Corporation, an American-based infrastructure design firm that has extensive experience working on federal and state-level transportation infrastructure projects and systems. In his current capacity, Choudri serves as a national strategic advisor to multiple rail, transit, and transportation agencies that require an understanding and ability to navigate unique technical, regulatory, and financial challenges. “Ian’s deep experience and get-it-done attitude are impressive, and he’s taking control at an important moment for this project,” Newsom said in the statement. “Over the next few years, the dream of high-speed rail in California will become a reality, as we begin to lay track, design and build stations, and buy trains. Ian is the perfect steward for the next phase of high-speed rail.”
