Political Quotes

“I share some news out of California just today where Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order for State officials to begin dismantling thousands of homeless encampments on State properties and also encouraging local jurisdictions to do the same thing. Mr. Speaker, this is in response to the Supreme Court's recent decision in the Grants Pass case. I asked the Supreme Court to do what it did in an amicus brief--that is to say, overturn a misguided Ninth Circuit decision and give our communities back the power to deal with homeless encampments and to have commonsense limits on the public spaces where they can be. It is important to note that Governor Newsom did not join me in those efforts. He did file his own brief, but he explicitly opposed overturning this lower court decision that has handcuffed our local communities' ability to deal with homelessness. I am glad to see now that the decision came out as it did and the Court sided with my view as opposed to his, he is seeing the benefits of the decision and is apparently ordering the State to deal with homeless encampments in as much as it can within its jurisdiction and encouraging local jurisdictions to do the same. I know that, in my district, we already have had communities that have done a very good job limiting homelessness within the constraints that they have, but this decision is going to provide a new set of tools to address the problem in a more comprehensive and compassionate way.…”