Long Beach City College students got to ask U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff questions on Tuesday, May 26, as the federal legislator continued his statewide tour of community colleges.
Community colleges are an engine of upward mobility and do so much for higher education, Schiff said. That is one of the reasons why he is touring them, he added, to ensure there are resources for the community college system and to learn about more of the issues that are at the forefront of students’ minds, such as housing, affordability and access to higher education.
More than 30 students and staffers attended the roundtable discussion, which took place in the multipurpose room of LBCC’s aquatic center. Members of the Board of Trustees, including President Uduak-Joe Ntuk, Trustees Vivian Malauulu, Ennette Morton, Virginia Baxter, and student Trustee Elepise Leiataua, were also present. LBCC Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz facilitated the conversation between students and the senator.
Sen. Adam Schiff and his wife, Eve Schiff, spoke and toured the Century Villages at Cabrillo in Long Beach with Mayor Rex Richardson on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Sen. Adam Schiff spoke with Long Beach City College students on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
(L-R) Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and Sen. Adam Schiff toured the Century Villages at Cabrillo in Long Beach on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Sen. Adam Schiff spoke with Long Beach City College students on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Staff members of the Century Villages at Cabrillo in Long Beach gave a tour to Mayor Rex Richardson, Sen. Adam Schiff and his wife, Eve, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Sen. Adam Schiff spoke with Long Beach City College students on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Sen. Adam Schiff spoke with Long Beach City College students on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Show Caption
1 of 7
Sen. Adam Schiff and his wife, Eve Schiff, spoke and toured the Century Villages at Cabrillo in Long Beach with Mayor Rex Richardson on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Some of the themes that emerged from the conversation included students’ need for housing, affordability and mental health services. Students also asked about the environmental impacts of artificial intelligence and data centers, and which policies Schiff was working to address. They also expressed concerns about issues affecting minority groups, such as the LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities.
To address housing and homelessness, Schiff, who isn’t up for reelection until 20230, spoke about the Housing BOOM Act that he introduced in December, which would help address the root causes of housing affordability, including lack of supply, rising rents and increasingly out-of-reach pathways to homeownership for Americans.
“We also need local governments to be able to approve housing more quickly,” Schiff said. “We can’t have endless delays before you can actually build something, so it has to be a partnership where local government and state government make it easier to build.
“Then the federal government has its role to play,” he added, “and I think that’s primarily in providing grant funding and tax credits to make a pencil out for people to build things that are affordable. But these are two twin challenges — lack of affordable housing and homelessness — that I hear more about than any other issue as I travel up and down the state, and for good reason.”
LBCC is one of the California community colleges addressing student housing and homelessness. It is working to build more units of housing for its students, Muñoz said, with 430 units set to open in the fall on the corner of Lew Davis Street and Clark Avenue, along with 30 additional units in North Long Beach.
Schiff also spoke about affordability in California, including vis-a-vis medicine and health care for constituents. He shared his support for the Medicare for All plan, a proposed single-payer, tax-funded national health insurance system. The senator also spoke about gas prices.
“The cost of gas is through the roof right now, in significant part because of the president’s ill-conceived and, I think, illegal war in Iran,” Schiff said. “If we bring that war to an end, I think it will help bring down the cost of gas.
“A lot of families can’t afford to fill up the tank; they can’t afford to go to work, if they’re in an industry that requires transportation,” he added. “They can’t afford the transportation if they’re buying goods. The goods are much more expensive, and so I have been introducing resolutions to bring the Iran War to an end. There is an act called the War Powers Act that we passed in Congress after Vietnam that gives members of Congress a privileged right to compel a vote on a war. I have compelled votes to end the war and come close to seeing those passed, and I’ll continue to do it.”
After the senator answered the students’ questions, he also encouraged them to pursue their passions and to come back to LBCC one day to talk to future students about what they have achieved.
“I thought it was fascinating to see just how diverse the questions were; it was on everything from cost of living to homelessness issues, and LGBT issues,” Schiff said after the event. “One of the things I love about these visits is you get a sense of what’s on students’ minds, and these young people, and folks who are not so young, are really going to be the wave of the future for us.”
It was interesting, Schiff added, to hear about students’ lived experiences, whether it was someone who has been homeless or faced other challenges while still attending community college to get their higher education.
“It’s really important that we take that information back to Washington,” he said, “and translate it into policy ideas.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Schiff also toured the Century Villages at Cabrillo – Long Beach’s affordable housing community that serves families and veterans – with Mayor Rex Richardson.
Staff members gave the officials a tour of the campus, and highlighted The Cove, a 90-unit affordable housing development for veterans – including those who are homeless – at the Century Villages at Cabrillo that opened in 2024.
“I want to see what we’re doing here in Long Beach, what can help in terms of housing and homelessness,” Schiff said prior to the visit. “This is a huge challenge all over California, but particularly in high-cost-of-living places. I’ll be interested to see how Long Beach has been attacking that problem, and some of the innovative ways they’re trying to create housing in Long Beach that’s affordable for people.”