{"id":364810,"date":"2026-06-17T22:08:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/364810\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T22:08:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:08:35","slug":"three-san-diego-congressional-democrats-present-united-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/364810\/","title":{"rendered":"Three San Diego congressional Democrats present united front"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>(Left to right) Moderator Joey Safchik with representatives Mike Levin, Scott Peters and Sara Jacobs on June 15, 2026.. (Photo by Thomas Murphy\/Times of San Diego)<\/p>\n

Three members of San Diego\u2019s congressional delegation warned Monday that uncertainty over federal policy is driving up costs, straining healthcare systems and hurting the regional workforce.<\/p>\n

Reps. Mike Levin, Sara Jacobs and Scott Peters, all Democrats, came to the discussion \u2013 hosted by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce<\/a> and moderated by NBC 7\u2019s Joey Safchik<\/a> \u2013 with different priorities. Yet all repeatedly stressed that they must maintain a unified approach to issues affecting the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a unique, positive working relationship between all of us,\u201d Levin said. \u201cThat\u2019s very different than in other parts of the country where you may have members who are more adversarial with one another; we just don\u2019t have that here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Rep. Mike Levin. (Photo by Thomas Murphy\/Times of San Diego)<\/p>\n

The remaining members of the delegation, Democrat Juan Vargas and Republican Darrell Issa, did not attend the luncheon, at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla<\/a>. Worries over inflation and the rising cost of living ranked number one among the 400 people who came to hear the representatives speak.<\/p>\n

The group discussed a broad range of issues spanning the local economy, immigration policy and healthcare, criticizing President Donald Trump and the Republican congress for decisions that have left many San Diegans facing higher costs or uncertain futures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Small businesses account for 98%<\/a> of San Diego County firms and nearly 60%<\/a> of employment, according to Chamber President and CEO Chris Cate, who said questions surrounding tariffs have made planning difficult for owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness owners rely on forecasting where their profits and losses are going to go,\u201d Cate said. \u201cThey don\u2019t know if a certain tariff applies to them because small businesses don\u2019t understand if a social media post is law. This is impacting real San Diegans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Levin agreed, arguing that economic stability cannot exist without clear, predictable federal policies. He aims to reduce San Diego\u2019s high cost of living with the Democrats\u2019 Energy Bills Relief Act<\/a>, lowering energy and transportation costs for residents.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Rep. Sara Jacobs. (Photo by Thomas Murphy\/Times of San Diego)<\/p>\n

Levin added that residents are facing rising SDG&E bills following the company\u2019s $6 billion investment<\/a> in year-round wildfire protections. He said federal funds should be used to cover the cost, preferring a slight increase in federal taxes to rising rates for residents.<\/p>\n

Peters agreed with Levin, proposing that the state government also could cover parts of bills using general funds.<\/p>\n

Jacobs pointed to the conflict between Israel, Iran and the United States, saying that it pushed gas prices higher and heightened concerns among local military families.. She expressed hope that Monday\u2019s preliminary peace deal<\/a> between the US and Iran will last, calling for San Diego\u2019s service members to return home.<\/p>\n

Jacobs called out the cost of childcare as another economic drag for families, suggesting that universal childcare could reduce the burden.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She also noted America\u2019s \u201cobscene\u201d maternal mortality rate while opposing potential cuts to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid in President Trump\u2019s so-called \u201cBig, Beautiful Bill,\u201d<\/a> which the panelists referred to as the \u201cBig, Ugly Bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Rep. Scott Peters. (Photo by Thomas Murphy\/Times of San Diego)<\/p>\n

Levin and Peters joined in her opposition, viewing the cuts as a way to shift costs that will ultimately place a greater burden on the healthcare system. The cuts would leave 16 million<\/a> uninsured, according to the Congressional Budget Office<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jacobs argued that rising healthcare costs discourage preventive care, allowing manageable conditions to worsen and ultimately leading to more expensive emergency treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the uninsured population goes up, all of you in our healthcare system are stuck with more uncompensated care,\u201d Jacobs said.<\/p>\n

Healthcare staffing struggles came up during the panel\u2019s discussion of immigration. Jacobs said federal immigration law lacks a dedicated pathway for healthcare workers despite persistent nursing shortages<\/a> nationwide. The fastest option available is an employment-based visa<\/a>, or EB-3, that takes two to four years<\/a> to process.<\/p>\n

Immigration policy generated some of the panel\u2019s sharpest criticism of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cruel. It\u2019s unproductive. It\u2019s anti-San Diego,\u201d Peters said.<\/p>\n

Since January, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported over 16,000<\/a> immigrants from San Diego County, according to a letter from the agency released by Levin. The lawmakers questioned the administration\u2019s immigration enforcement strategy and called for greater oversight of ICE operations in a May response to the letter.<\/a><\/p>\n

Peters explained the failure of a bipartisan effort to limit ICE, focusing on warrants, agent identification and avoiding sensitive locations like schools and hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were ready to come to the table with a reasonable, good faith agreement, but then it went down to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue where it died,\u201d Peters said. \u201cThe president and Stephen Miller made a decision to use this reconciliation process to fund ICE for three years<\/a>, going around the oversight mechanisms there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bipartisan efforts continue with the Tijuana River pollution response<\/a>, which will require additional federal funding. About 100 million gallons of sewage need to be treated every day, according to Peters. The South Bay Treatment Plant<\/a> currently manages 25 million gallons per day, so a significant expansion is required.<\/p>\n

The lawmakers, including Reps. Issa and Vargas, are unified in securing that funding, said Peters.<\/p>\n

Housing affordability and homelessness emerged as concerns as well, though each lawmaker emphasized a different solution.<\/p>\n

Jacobs said only about 10% of service members are housed by the military, leaving the vast majority to compete in the region\u2019s expensive housing market. As a member of the Armed Services Committee<\/a>, Jacobs is pushing for more on-base housing to expand rental availability for the general public.<\/p>\n

Levin suggested expanding housing assistance programs traditionally reserved for veterans to include teachers, police officers and other essential workers who serve San Diego every day.<\/p>\n

Peters believes removing regulatory hurdles for development will increase the amount of housing available and improve affordability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be thinking of the opportunity that brings,\u201d he said. \u201cNot worrying about what can go wrong, but planning what can go right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite sharp disagreements in Washington, where Republicans control all three branches of government, Jacobs said the delegation remains focused on advancing areas of bipartisan agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want you all to think nothing is being done because of the big issues,\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cWe all are having to fight because there is so much disagreement. I think what we need to be doing in the triple minority, right now, is finding the areas where we can still move things forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Left to right) Moderator Joey Safchik with representatives Mike Levin, Scott Peters and Sara Jacobs on June 15,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[15924,74,76,75,2459,19815,15926],"class_list":["post-364810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-mike-levin","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-san-diego-regional-chamber-of-commerce","tag-sara-jacobs","tag-scott-peters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}