The DeSaulnier Digest: Celebrating Black History Month

Throughout February, we celebrate Black History Month by recognizing the contributions of the African American community to our society, culture, and collective history. I am proud every month to represent and be a part of as diverse a community as Contra Costa. I hope you will take a look at our social media pages throughout the month as we spotlight African American leaders in Contra Costa who have contributed to the richness of our community.

Sincerely,

Mark DeSaulnier
Member of Congress

IN THE NEWS

As the pandemic has further revealed the critical need for mental health resources for students, Congressman DeSaulnier introduced an effort that would help more children get behavioral health services. Tune in to hear more about this bill be clicking here or on the image below.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Rep. DeSaulnier Votes to Promote American Competitiveness
To keep up Democrats' focus on the economy and American competitiveness, the House considered the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (America COMPETES) Act (H.R. 4521). This bold legislative package would make transformational new investments in research, innovation, and American manufacturing, while supporting strong labor standards and human rights. Congressman DeSaulnier was proud to support this provision, which passed by a vote of 222-to-210.

Congressman DeSaulnier Announces Legislation to Support Children's Mental Health
To increase children's access to mental health care services, Congressman DeSaulnier introduced the Early Childhood Mental Health Support Act (H.R. 6509), a bill to promote early interventions for children dealing with mental illness. Recognizing that early interventions are critical for positive mental health outcomes later in life, the bill would require the development of evidence-based mental, social-emotional, and behavioral health interventions for young children and provide grants to Head Start programs to implement these interventions. To learn more about this legislation and to hear what mental health advocates are saying, click here.

Congressman DeSaulnier Introduces Bill to Protect and Support Children with Disabilities
Early intervention and special education services are essential to setting children with disabilities on a path toward success. However, despite the increasing need for these services over the last several decades, programs to help children with disabilities are woefully underfunded. That's why Congressman DeSaulnier introduced the Funding Early Childhood is the Right IDEAAct (H.R. 6532), a bill to restore funding and ensure that every child, regardless of disability status, has an equal opportunity to obtain high quality early childhood services. Click here to read more about this legislation.

Congressman DeSaulnier Co-Leads Bill to Support Disabled Veterans
Disabled veterans who receive compensation for their service face having their disability pay withheld to recoup any amount of separation pay they receive. To end this unfair practice, Congressman DeSaulnier joined his colleagues, Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), in introducing the Restore Veterans' Compensation Act (H.R. 6543). This bill will help ensure that those who have served our nation honorably are adequately compensated for their sacrifice. Congressman DeSaulnier's earlier effort to make retiring service members aware of this compensation issue became law in 2016.

POST OF THE WEEK

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