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The following are the prepared remarks of Congressman Alan Lowenthal at his appearance before the Eno Freight Working Group on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015, in Washington, D.C.

“Thank you Madam Speaker. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and salute her for her relentless championing of the rights of consumers in our country, as our Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee. I come to the floor on this legislation because it's something that runs deep in terms of our commitment and our responsibility to the consumers in our country.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced new enhancements to San Francisco’s 311 system to allow residents to more easily notify the City of homeless people in need of well-being checks so that Homeless Outreach Teams, Department of Public Health staff, and San Francisco Police can respond and assess the need for medical treatment or services more efficiently. Before these enhancements, constituents did not have a one-stop, seamless option to alert the City about homeless people who might be in distress.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced new enhancements to San Francisco’s 311 system to allow residents to more easily notify the City of homeless people in need of well-being checks so that Homeless Outreach Teams, Department of Public Health staff, and San Francisco Police can respond and assess the need for medical treatment or services more efficiently. Before these enhancements, constituents did not have a one-stop, seamless option to alert the City about homeless people who might be in distress.

U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R-Calif.) released the following statement after voting for passage of H.R. 3192, the Homebuyers Assistance Act, which would provide a temporary legal safe harbor for lenders making a good-faith effort to comply with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recently enacted TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule

Ahead of tomorrow’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing where drought legislation is on the agenda, Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09) today led 26 of his California, Oregon, Arizona, and Washington House Democrat colleagues in sending a letter to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell voicing their strong opposition to H.R. 2898, the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently settled with Arvin Community Services District (ACSD), located in Arvin, Calif., for arsenic violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. ACSD has agreed to provide residents with alternative water until they are found to be in compliance and will pay a penalty of $14,750

SunSpark Technology Inc., a U.S. firm with roots in China, has announced plans to open a solar panel manufacturing and assembly facility in Riverside, which is expected to create about 100 jobs.

Congressman Alan Lowenthal, along with all 17 of his Democratic colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC), has called on the HNRC Energy and Mineral Resource (EMR) subcommittee chairman to hold a hearing on the development of renewable energy resources on public lands.

Congresswoman Doris Matsui and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that Sacramento’s Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) is the recipient of a $30 million grant award to implement the Neighborhood Transformation Plan (NTP) for the River District and surrounding area. The funding from this grant will allow a complete replacement and redevelopment of the 218 distressed public housing units within the Twin Rivers Neighborhood.

Congressman Xavier Becerra (CA-34) announced that The Salvation Army and U.S. Veterans Initiative received more than $400,000 in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to help homeless veterans with special needs including women, chronically mentally ill, frail elderly, terminally ill, and individuals who have the care of minor dependents.

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) today announced a $2 million Emergency Relief (ER) grant for the repair or reconstruction of federal-aid highways and roads on federal lands that have suffered serious damage as a result of the Valley Fire. The funds come from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHA).

U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (CA-15) led a bipartisan group of California Members of Congress in sending a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz requesting funding for critical upgrades at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL). Upgrades include creating a permanent Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and fixing aging electrical systems, which would also benefit Sandia National Laboratory.

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) today announced a $387,097 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant for Sonoma County Regional Parks to construct a section of the Coastal Prairie Trail in Bodega Bay, California, part of the proposed 1,200-mile California Coastal Trail from Mexico to Oregon. This .63 mile section of trail will connect State Parks, County parks, shops, restaurants, and overlooks along Bodega Bay’s Highway 1 corridor.

U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) announced today that 89-year old homeless advocate and Morgan Hill resident Maria Skoczylas will attend Pope Francis’s September 24th address to Congress as Lofgren’s invited guest.

Department of Business Oversight (DBO) Commissioner Jan Lynn Owen today called on state-chartered banks and credit unions to be leaders in efforts to help communities recover in four fire-damaged counties

U.S. Representatives Pete Aguilar (D-San Bernardino), Ken Calvert (R-Corona), and Paul Cook (R-Apple Valley) will award the Congressional Badge of Bravery to four San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies during a ceremony on Tuesday, September 22. Three of the deputies will be recognized for their actions during the Christopher Dorner manhunt in 2013. A fourth deputy will be honored for rescuing occupants of a Victorville apartment who were trapped during a fire

Yesterday, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), Ranking Member of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, wrote a letter urging Congress to enhance American national security by adopting provisions requiring the use of American ships and crews whenever the U.S. exports crude oil. The House of Representatives is currently considering H.R.702, which would lift the longstanding ban on exports of American crude oil. Under current law, exports of North Slope Alaskan oil are exempted from the ban under certain circumstances.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee with Supervisor Mark Farrell introduced legislation at the Board of Supervisors to make changes to the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance to speed up production of affordable housing in San Francisco for low and middle income families. The legislation, part of the Mayor’s Blueprint to 10,000 announced last week that sets forth a blueprint to provide more than 10,000 permanently affordable homes to families and residents by 2020, will help the City better meet the needs of low and middle income families who need housing