For Californians, drought has been a constant and inescapable fact of life for decades. Worsening drought in the Western United States is just one of the many life-threatening impacts of the climate crisis. And as drying conditions bring water reservoirs along the Colorado River to dangerously low levels, the impact of extended drought conditions is now threatening 40 million Americans’ access to water — unless we can come up with a plan to protect it.

I campaigned in 2018 on several priorities for California and the nation: preventing and combating wildfires, mitigating the effects of record-setting drought, responding to the homelessness crisis, and ensuring all Americans have access to affordable, high-quality health care. Congress has enacted legislation on all of these topics over the past several years, but more needs to be done – and I will continue these efforts.

The Assault Weapons Ban would ban the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and other high-capacity ammunition feeding devices. This includes the gun used by a shooter on January 22 to kill 11 people and injure 9 more at a Lunar New Year’s celebration in Monterey Park, Calif.

The bill recognizes that addressing homelessness requires additional affordable housing as well as mental health care, substance abuse treatment and job training. Cities and counties applying for grants under this bill would be responsible for the housing as well as these supportive services.

I first introduced this bill in 2011 to require the federal government to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages. In the decade since, the Supreme Court made same-sex marriages legal in its Obergefell ruling and public support for same-sex marriages has risen to 70 percent.

By overturning Roe v. Wade, the conservative majority on this Supreme Court has declared that women no longer have the right to control their own bodies. This decision is an outrage for the women of this nation and will have catastrophic consequences for generations.