LOS ANGELES - Representative Xavier Becerra (CA - 30) concluded his annual series of summer town hall meetings this past Wednesday, August 14, at the Southwest Museum in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Los Angeles. Aside from Wednesday's meeting, Rep. Becerra also hosted town hall meetings in Echo Park at Elysian Heights Elementary on Saturday, August 10 and in Eagle Rock at Eagle Rock Elementary on Monday, August 12. Each gathering saw numerous issues addressed including Social Security, prescription drugs, last year's $1.7 trillion tax cut, corporate responsibility, Iraq and the Middle East conflict, among others.
Congressman Becerra has held town hall meetings in his district every year he has served in elected office since 1991. These three summer town hall meetings commenced with a presentation by Rep. Becerra updating constituents on recent legislation in Congress. Following his presentation and remarks, Rep. Becerra proceeded to a period of both written and spoken questions from audience members. All three meetings posted record attendance with over 300 interested attendees asking poignant, thought-provoking questions of Rep. Becerra.
Addressing the recent tax cuts, Rep. Becerra consistently emphasized the deficit effect of the legislation. "Last year's tax cut will lead to $5.8 trillion less revenue for the federal government over the next generation. We can't afford this budget binge of irresponsible tax policies based on unrealistic accounting."
Rep. Becerra further assessed current federal budget dynamics by outlining the declining surpluses in both Medicare and Social Security.
"Now, the Administration will spend at least part of the Social Security surplus, and the entire Medicare surplus, expending $2 trillion over the next decade."
To ensure that all of his constituents' needs were met, Rep. Becerra invited representatives from the City Council to address the city-specific questions that people had. Representatives from Councilmen Nick Pacheco's office, Eric Garcetti's office and Ed Reyes's office were in attendance.