Press Releases
Torres Adds Appropriations Provision Reinstating White House Pandemic Office
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) added a provision and funding to the must-pass FY 21 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill to reinstate the National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefence, which coordinated the United States' response to pandemics until President Trump disbanded it in 2018. Rep. Torres released the following statement: "Of all the fateful decisions President Trump has made that endangered … Continue Reading
July 15, 2020
Torres Focuses on I.E. Expansion in Transportation, Housing Appropriations
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) passed multiple provisions to boost housing and transportation development in the Inland Empire as part of the must-pass FY21 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill. Rep. Torres sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for allocating all federal spending. "The Inland Empire is both a rapidly expanding community and the beating heart of commerce for the entire western … Continue Reading
July 14, 2020
Torres: Justice is in the Public’s Hands
CHINO, CA - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA35) today urged the public for any information to help bring the murderer(s) of Spc. Enrique Roman-Martinez to justice. The call comes as her office asked the U.S. Army for a full update on its investigation after its delayed notice of the murder for Roman-Martinez's family, who received official word only after seeing it in the news. Originally from Chino, California, 21-year-old Spc. Roman-Martinez was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne … Continue Reading
July 13, 2020
Torres Announces $150K+ to Expand COVID Testing Amidst Statewide Shortage
MONTCLAIR - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today announced a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant totaling $152,612 for Health Service Alliance in Montclair to expand coronavirus test capacity and purchase much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE). The grant comes at a crucial moment as California faces a statewide test shortage. "Our capacity to test for coronavirus is vital to combatting this disease," … Continue Reading
July 09, 2020
Torres Delivers Support for Rule of Law, Accountability in N. Triangle
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35), a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the only Central American serving in Congress, today included multiple provisions in the must-pass FY21 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill to fight corruption, protect vulnerable populations and root out corrupt actors in the Northern Triangle. Rep. Torres' provisions include: Anti-Corruption Funding: $45 million for anti-corruption and rule of law efforts in Guatemala, … Continue Reading
July 09, 2020
Torres Swings Back as Trump Attacks Free Speech on Social Media
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today announced that legislation she authored to halt President Trump's executive order (E.O. 3925) targeting free speech on social media platforms is included in the FY21 appropriations bill covering the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Both agencies are critical to implementing E.O. 3925. Torres' provision would block the agencies from using any funds to carry out the executive order.First … Continue Reading
July 09, 2020
Rep. Torres Calls on Coronavirus Taskforce to Ensure Tests for Inland Empire
POMONA - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) is urging the Federal Coronavirus Taskforce to ensure coronavirus tests are available for anyone who needs one. The request comes after Inland Empire residents contacted Rep. Torres to raise alarms about their coronavirus test appointments being cancelled due to a state-wide test shortage. As positive cases and hospitalizations continue to rise at an alarming rate, Rep. Torres released the following statement: "President Trump has said time and … Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Torres Leads Effort to Protect ONT from Abrupt Federal Fee Hikes
POMONA - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today led a bipartisan group of 14 lawmakers in demanding answers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) about an abrupt new fee structure impacting approximately 60 airports across the United States - including Ontario International Airport (ONT) - with significant cost increases at a time when they are already suffering great losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.The airports impacted by CBP's User Fee program rely on CBP for necessary … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Torres Announces $9.6+ Million in Federal Funding for Inland Empire
POMONA - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today announced more than $9.6 million in federal funding for the Inland Empire included in the California State Budget released by Governor Newson on Monday. The funds, which passed as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, are spread across California's 35th Congressional District: City Funding Amount Chino $1,100,370.86 Ontario … Continue Reading
July 01, 2020
Congresswoman & Military Mother to Trump: Inaction on Russian Bounties is a Betrayal
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35), who is the mother to an Air Force Veteran, today condemned President Trump for refusing to act on information that Russia was paying bounties for the lives of American service members in Afghanistan. Instead, Trump continued to curry favor with the autocrat as he paid blood money for American lives.Congresswoman Torres released the following statement:"The only word for a president who won't stand up to an autocrat is a coward," Rep. … Continue Reading
June 29, 2020
Torres: Choice is Safe Today, But We Can’t Put Our Guard Down
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35), Vice Chair of the Congressional Pro Choice Caucus, reacted today to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June Medical Services v. Russo, which challenged a 2014 Louisiana state law requiring doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.In a five-to-four decision, the Supreme Court agreed that such requirements, which would have shut Louisiana clinics down, unduly burdens women's access to abortion.Rep. Torres … Continue Reading
June 25, 2020
Torres Helps Shape, Pass Police Reform Legislation
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today voted in favor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, legislation to address systemic racism in law enforcement and protect black and brown communities from discriminatory police practices. Torres, who spent 17.5 years as a 911 dispatcher for the Los Angeles Police Department, provided recommendations to her colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee as they developed the legislation. Rep. Torres' input led to: A … Continue Reading
June 25, 2020
Torres Introduces Legislation to Defund Trump’s Social Media E.O.
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) introduced the Defund Executive Orders that Suppress Free Speech Act this week - legislation to halt the implementation of Executive Order 13925. The order, signed by President Trump on May 29, 2020, would direct various federal agencies to reinterpret a key federal statute that fosters free speech on the Internet. Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, online platforms are shielded from lawsuits for the content users post … Continue Reading
June 24, 2020
Torres to DOJ: Release FBI Report on White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today led 27 lawmakers in requesting the Department of Justice (DOJ) release the full contents of a 2006 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intelligence assessment entitled, "White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement," provide an updated status of such infiltration, and share how the DOJ and FBI have addressed the issue since the initial release of the assessment.The lawmakers write, in part:"[A]larm bells have spanned several … Continue Reading
June 19, 2020
Torres: DREAMers Are Americans in Every Way
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35), who came to the U.S. from Guatemala at the age of five, released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling to block the Trump's administration's attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects nearly 800,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation, including 17,500 eligible recipients in California's 35th Congressional District: "To all the Dreamers … Continue Reading
June 16, 2020
Torres Offers Amendments to Justice in Policing Act
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee this week proposing numerous amendments to the Justice in Policing Act of 2020. The legislation comes amidst weeks of protests across the country following the deaths of two unarmed black Americans, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, at the hands of police officers.Among other changes, Torres calls for: The national police misconduct registry to account for officers that resign before a … Continue Reading
June 09, 2020
Torres Announces $80M to Support Homeless & At-Risk Inland Empire Residents
ONTARIO, CA—Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, today announced nearly $80 million in new Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) funding to support homeless Americans and individuals at risk of becoming homeless because of hardships such as job loss, wage reduction, or illness due to COVID-19.The funds are authorized as part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) final … Continue Reading
June 09, 2020
Torres Announces $650K Grant for Scholarships to Disadvantaged Graduate Students
POMONA, CA—Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is awarding a $649,950 grant to Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona. The Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) program will fund scholarships to graduate students with traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. "While the Inland Empire has some of the brightest minds around, not everyone starts off on equal footing in life," Representative Torres said. … Continue Reading
June 08, 2020
Torres: No Place in US for Corrupt Guatemalan Officials
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35), the only Central American serving in Congress, released the following statement today as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Gustavo Adolfo Alejos Cámbara, former chief of staff to former Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom, is prohibited from entering the United States due to his involvement in corrupt acts that undermined the rule of law in Guatemala.Rep. Torres, who was born in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States to … Continue Reading
June 08, 2020
Torres Signs onto Justice in Policing Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today became an original co-sponsor of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, legislation to address systemic racism in law enforcement and protect black and brown communities from discriminatory police practices.Congresswoman Torres, who spent 17.5 years as a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Los Angeles Police Department, released the following statement:"It is time for transformational change in America," Rep. Torres said. "George Floyd is far … Continue Reading