H.R. 359 - Cesar Estrada Chavez Study Act of 2007
This legislation authorizes the U.S. Department of Interior to study lands important in the life of Cesar Chavez for possible inclusion into the National Park System. Currently there is no single unit of the National Park System dedicated to Latinos. H.R. 359 was passed by the Natural Resources Committee on May 2, 2007 and the full U.S. House on July 10, 2007. Companion legislation (S. 327) was introduced by Senators McCain and Salazar. This legislation was signed into law on May 8, 2008 as part of S. 2739, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-229.).  

H.R. 398, Healthy Places Act of 2007
This legislation establishes a process to incorporate all levels of government in community planning with the goal of designing communities which promote healthier living. It establishes health assessments and an interagency working group and funds grants and research. This legislation is strongly supported by the American Public Health Association. Senator Obama has introduced the Senate companion. It is pending action by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee.

H.R. 468, Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2007
This legislation provides grants to public and private non-profit entities for community-based intervention efforts targeting schools, the family and media to promote and strengthen communication regarding teen pregnancy. It also provides grants for the creation of a National Clearinghouse to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate information and technical assistance to those seeking to reduce rates of teen pregnancy.  H.R. 468 is supported by the National Campaign to End Teen Pregnancy and HOPE. It is pending action by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Companion legislation (S. 1790) has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Obama.

H.R. 542 – Culturally Competent Veteran Care Act
This bill ensures that the VA implements and complies with Executive Order 13166, which requires all federal agencies to prepare a plan to improve access for eligible persons with limited English proficiency to its federal assistance programs and services. H.R. 542 would mandate the VA to assess the language needs of its beneficiaries, including identifying the non-English languages that are likely to be encountered. It has been endorsed by several organizations. The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs held a hearing on this legislation in early 2007. A GAO study requested by Congresswoman Solis on this issue is expected to be released in June, 2008.

H.R. 625 – Atanacio Haro-Marin Post Office Bill
This bill will name the post office located at 4230 Maine Avenue in Baldwin Park, California in honor of U.S. Army Sgt. Atanacio Haro-Marin. Sgt. Haro-Marin was the first fallen soldier in Iraq from the City of Baldwin Park.  This legislation was signed into law by the President and became Public Law 110-31.

H.R. 860 – California Wild Heritage Act of 2007
This legislation, introduced in the Senate by Senator Boxer, would protect more than 2.5 million acres of public lands in California and the free flowing portions of 21 rivers. It would also establish the Sacramento River National Recreation Area. This bill is pending action by the House Natural Resources Committee.

H.R. 1103 – Environmental Justice Act of 2007
This legislation codifies the Executive Order on Environmental Justice (E.O. 12898), requires implementation of recommendations made by the Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office, and implements reporting requirements. H.R. 1103 was the subject of a hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee and is pending further consideration. Companion legislation (S. 642) has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Durbin.

H.R. 1747 - Safe Drinking Water for Healthy Communities Act of 2007 This legislation amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate a national primary drinking water
regulation for perchlorate, a contaminant which poses significant public health risk to vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women and infants.  H.R. 1747 passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee on November 8, 2007 and is pending consideration by the full Energy and Commerce Committee.  

H.R. 1968 - Community Health Workers Act of 2007
This legislation supports the important efforts of community health workers, including promotoras de salud, by providing grants to states, local or tribal governments, and community-based organizations. Community health workers help enroll eligible but uninsured children in public health insurance programs and conduct health education, promotion, prevention, and outreach for underserved communities. H.R. 1968 is pending action by the Energy and Commerce Committee.  Community health workers were included in H.R. 3162, the CHAMP Act, which passed the House on August 1, 2007. Efforts continue to include community health workers in the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

H.R. 2548 - Marine Vessel Emissions Reduction Act of 2007
This legislation requires the EPA to limit the sulfur content of fuel in domestic and foreign-flagged marine vessels when they enter or leave U.S. ports and will establish emission controlling standards for new and in-use engines.  H.R. 2548 will significantly reduce emissions associated with large container ships and cargo ships, and ensure that as our nation's economy grows public health improves, workers have a safer environment, and costs associated with public health impacts of pollution are reduced. This bill is pending action by the Energy and Commerce Committee. Companion legislation (S. 1499) has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Boxer and is pending consideration by the Environment and Public Works Committee.

H.R. 2847 – Green Jobs Act of 2007
This legislation authorizes up to $125 million in funding to establish national and state job training programs, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, to help address job shortages that are impairing growth in green industries, such as energy efficient buildings and construction, renewable electric power, energy efficient vehicles, and biofuels development.  It also includes a special section to create Pathways Out of Poverty through job training in underserved communities. H.R. 2847 was included in H.R. 6, the historic energy reform bill passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President on December 19, 2007 (Public Law 110-140).

H.R. 3014 – Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2007
This comprehensive legislation addresses linguistic and cultural barriers, lack of access to preventive care, and lack of diversity in health professions to help reduce health disparities. It ensures accountability by requiring each federal health agency to develop and implement a plan to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities and improves data collection by collecting and reporting data on race, ethnicity and primary language. This legislation is supported by more than 80 national organizations. H.R. 3014 is pending consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

H.R. 3842 – Providing Resources to Improve Dual Language Education (PRIDE) Act
This legislation will improve dual language education and ensure that low-income communities have access to programs with the dual language model. Approximately one in every five students who enters school in the U.S. speaks a language other than English at home, the majority (80 percent) of whom are native Spanish speakers.  This bill will establish an infrastructure to support assessment, professional development, data collection, and multiculturalism. H.R. 3842 has been endorsed by the Los Angeles Unified School District and is pending consideration by the House Committee on Education and Labor.

H.R. 3980 - Families First Enforcement Act
This legislation will ensure immigrant raids conducted by ICE are humane and include protections for children. It requires ICE to afford access to State social service agencies to screen and interview detainees, ensures that when possible those who have been detained are within the jurisdiction of the local ICE field office, and addresses humanitarian needs of pregnant women, nursing mothers, caretakers of special needs children and sole caretakers of minor children. This bill is pending consideration by the House Judiciary Committee. Companion legislation (S. 2074) has been introduced by Senator John Kerry.

H.R. 4030 – Children’s Chemical Risk Reduction Act
Introduced with Rep. Darlene Hooley (OR-5)
This legislation will protect children’s health by banning the use of phthalates, a hazardous substance, in children’s products and toys.  Phthalates are found in children’s toys and products such as teething rings, bibs, bath and pool toys. This legislation will ban the sale, manufacturing or distribution of any toy or child-care product, or any toy or child-care item intended for use by a child younger than 3, if it can be placed in the child’s mouth.  It is pending consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Companion legislation (S. 2275) has been introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein and was included in the Senate passed version of legislation on consumer protection reforms.

H.R. 4129 - Homeless Access to Recovery Through Treatment (HART) Act
This legislation seeks to strengthen and expand substance abuse and mental health services to persons experiencing homelessness. It ensures that patients discharged from inpatient facilities are placed into stable and appropriate housing, improves planning of federally-funded behavioral health care safety net systems and increases access of homeless individuals who need mental health services to treatment programs.  It is pending consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

H.R. 4185 – Marisol Heredia Post Office Building
This bill will name the post office located at 4230 Maine Avenue in Baldwin Park, California in honor of U.S. Army Specialist Marisol Heredia. Specialist Heredia passed away at the age of 19 as a result of injuries suffered while serving in Iraq and is the first fallen servicewoman in Iraq from the San Gabriel Valley. This legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives on April 23, 2008 and is pending consideration by the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

H.R. 4450, Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act of 2007 (Childhood Cancer Survivorship Act)
Nearly 20,000 children under the age of 21 receive a diagnosis of cancer each year in the United States. While the successful treatment of childhood cancer has resulted in more than 270,000 childhood cancer survivors, more than two-thirds of childhood cancer survivors experience “late effects” of the disease or its treatment.  This bipartisan legislation will improve and expand the delivery of medical and psychosocial care to survivors of childhood cancer. It is supported by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, PADRES Contra El Cáncer, Children’s Cause for Cancer Advocacy, and City of Hope National Medical Center among others. H.R. 4450 is pending consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

H.R. 5132, Environmental Justice Renewable Act
This legislation will: strengthen the federal infrastructure to address environmental justice and codify the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council; expand existing grant programs and create new grant opportunities to help community-based groups and states address environmental justice; require the EPA to engage in additional outreach at the community level; and create the position of Environmental Justice Ombudsman to investigate the agency’s handling of environmental justice complaints. It is pending consideration by the House Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources Committees. Companion legislation has been introduced by Senator Hillary Clinton.

H.R. 5435, DTV Border Fix Act
This legislation will ensure residents along the U.S.-Mexico border continue to receive public safety announcements by allowing broadcasters within 50 miles of the border to continue analog broadcasts for five years after the February 2009 DTV transition. Companion legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Sen. Boxer passed the Senate by unanimous consent on April 24, 2008. H.R. 5435 is pending consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

H.R. 5698, Environmental Justice Enforcement Act
This legislation restores, reaffirms, and reconciles legal rights and remedies. Specifically, it restores a citizen’s ability to fight environmental injustices by establishing a private right of action under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This legislation is pending consideration by the House Judiciary Committee.Companion legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Bob Menendez.

H.Admt 763 to H.R. 3221, Climate, Adaptation and Developing Countries
This amendment would help provide a foundation to determine further U.S. engagement with developing countries on the issues of adaptation and mitigation of climate change, including responsible and appropriate levels of assistance. Unfortunately, developing nations which are most likely to be impacted by climate change often have weak or unstable domestic infrastructure which will magnify impacts of climate change and could increase security risks. This amendment passed the U.S. House on August 4, 2007 by voice vote. Similar language was included in the Fiscal Year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations bill which was signed into law on December 26, 2007.

H. Res. 37 – Honoring Dolores Huerta
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that all workers deserve fair treatment and safe working conditions. It honors Dolores Huerta for her commitment to the improvement of working conditions for farm worker families and the rights of women and children. It is pending action by the House Committee on Education and Labor.

H.RES. 100 – Condemning Murders of Women and Girls in Guatemala
This resolution expresses concern over the unsolved murders of more than 2,000 women in Guatemala since 2001 and encourages new efforts to address these crimes and prevent further killings. This resolution passed the U.S. House on May 1, 2007. A companion resolution passed the U.S. Senate in March, 2008.

H.Res. 642 –Sympathy and Support for Hurricanes Felix, Dean and Henriette
This resolution expresses sympathy and support to the people and governments of Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean in the aftermath of an unprecedented wave of natural disasters. Two category 5 storms, Hurricanes Dean and Felix, and Hurricane Henriette, struck causing widespread evacuations and floods, in already impoverished communities. H.Res. 642 passed the U.S. House on September 25, 2007 by a vote of 418 – 0.

H.Res. 1081 – Recognizing Relationship between Climate Change and Public Health
This resolution recognizes the relationship between the changes in the world’s climate and health concerns like disease, air pollution, water supplies and quality. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) determined that climate change contributes to the global burden of disease, premature death and other adverse health impacts due to extreme weather events. It is strongly supported by the American Public Health Association and is pending consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.