REPLACING:

Grace Napolitano (D) [i]

WORK HISTORY:

U.S. Department of Defense (Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness); U.S. House of Representatives (Member, CA-39); The Gilbert & Jacki Cisneros Foundation (President); Frito Lay (Operational Resource); United States Navy (Supply Officer) [ii] [iii] [iv]

Education:

MA, Brown University; MBA, Regis University; BA, The George Washington University; Diploma, Torrance High School [v] [vi]

Campaigned On:

Gun Violence Prevention; Securing Reproductive Rights; Anti-Corruption; An Economy that Works for the Middle Class; Healthcare; Protecting Our Communities from the Climate Crisis; Honoring Our Veterans; Invest in Our Children’s Future & Make Higher Education Affordable; Retirement Security; Comprehensive Immigration Reform & Protecting DREAMers; Disabilities; LGBTQ+ Rights; National Security & Terrorism; Animal Rights [vii]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Cisneros believes decisions regarding reproductive health “should stay between a woman and her doctor” and that every woman “should be able to access high-quality reproductive health care services, including contraception and fertility treatment.” [viii] While previously serving in Congress, Cisneros consistently fought for policies to expand reproductive rights and access to abortion services, including opposing the Hyde Amendment and supporting the full repeal of the Helms Amendment, which prohibited the use of U.S. foreign assistance funds to pay for an abortion as a method of family planning. [ix] [x] [xi] At the U.S. Department of Defense, he has worked to increase access to contraceptives and ensure that military personnel have access to essential reproductive healthcare services, “even if unavailable in the state where they were stationed.” [xii] He has pledged to be a leader on abortion rights in Congress and work to “ensure full coverage of and access to emergency contraception for all women” and to prevent employers and schools from denying basic healthcare services. [xiii]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

Cisneros fought to protect DREAMers and the DACA program and will continue to be “an outspoken advocate for DACA recipients” in Congress. [xiv] He supports comprehensive immigration reform that creates a “fair and inclusive” system that “addresses the larger issues,” including keeping families together, creating a pathway to citizenship, and increasing border security “in a responsible and humane manner.” [xv] According to his campaign website, one of his “proudest accomplishments” was helping to make it easier for non-citizens to serve in the U.S. military in order to be put on the pathway to citizenship. [xvi]

ECONOMY & JOBS:

Cisneros has advocated for increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, guaranteeing equal pay for women, ensuring retirement security, and bringing “good-paying manufacturing jobs back home.” [xvii]

TAXES:

Cisneros will fight to reduce taxes for working families and provide more tax credits for the middle class while eliminating “tax breaks for special interests and big corporations that send jobs overseas.” [xviii] In 2019, he joined several of his House colleagues in introducing a bipartisan bill that would increase the SALT deduction cap implemented by Trump’s Tax Cuts & Jobs Act. [xix]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

Cisneros co-sponsored several police reform and accountability bills while serving in the 116^th Congress, including the Law Enforcement Immersive Training Act of 2019, the George Floyd Law Enforcement Trust & Integrity Act of 2020, the Eric Garner Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act of 2019, and the End Racial Profiling Act. [xx] [xxi] [xxii] [xxiii] [xxiv] [xxv] [xxvi] Cisneros was also a co-sponsor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would mandate the use of body and dashboard cameras, ban chokeholds, end no-knock warrants, limit the transfer of military equipment to police departments, and reform qualified immunity, among other provisions.[xxvii] [xxviii] Additionally, Cisneros co-sponsored a 2020 resolution that would condemn all acts of police brutality, racial profiling, and the use of excessive and militarized force. [xxix] [xxx]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

Cisneros believes “urgent action” is needed to protect communities from the effects of climate change and has advocated for legislation that invests in clean energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and ensures future sustainability. [xxxi] He will continue to fight for investments in green energy infrastructure to create “millions of family-supporting and union jobs” and will push for “initiatives that promote a sustainable, fair, and globally competitive manufacturing industry,” including the Buy Clean & Buy America national standard. [xxxii] Cisneros also supports ending reliance on fossil fuels by investing in wind and solar energy production. [xxxiii]

FOREIGN POLICY:

Cisneros believes the U.S. should support emerging democracies and oppose repressive regimes. He supports Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression and believes the U.S. must continue to strengthen international partnerships and reaffirm its commitment to NATO.[xxxiv] In Congress, Cisneros will fight for legislation “that reinforces international alliances and addresses shared challenges, enabling burden-sharing, and upholding a rules-based global order.”[xxxv] He has said the U.S. should not pressure Israel for a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza and strongly condemned Iran’s October 2024 missile attack on Israel. [xxxvi] [xxxvii]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

According to his campaign website, Cisneros has been a “staunch proponent” of enabling the federal government in “taking a stand against the pharmaceutical giants.” He supports allowing the government to negotiate the price of prescription drugs and will fight “the excessive and unfair pricing of prescription medications for all Americans.” [xxxviii] In Congress, Cisneros defended the Affordable Care Act and fought to increase access and more affordable care for everyone. He believes it is “essential to protect and build upon” the ACA’s achievements. [xxxix] He also supports a public option that provides people the option of buying into Medicare and will work to implement measures to ensure data “is used effectively to bridge healthcare disparities and create a more equitable system.” [xl] Cisneros will work to protect the social safety net and oppose efforts to cut or privatize Medicare or Social Security.[xli]

DEMOCRACY:

Cisneros will support a Constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and has called for increased transparency and an end to “dark money” in politics by requiring full disclosure of contributors to political committees.[xlii] While serving in Congress, he co-sponsored the For the People Act of 2019, a bill that Cisneros has called “one of the largest anti-corruption bills of the modern era” that would address voter access, election integrity and security, political spending, and ethics for all three branches of the federal government. [xliii] [xliv] [xlv]

SOCIAL ISSUES:

According to his campaign website, Cisneros has been a “fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ and trans rights.” [xlvi] He co-sponsored the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in several sectors. [xlvii] [xlviii] Cisneros opposed President Trump’s attempt to ban transgender Americans from serving in the military and issued the policy that allows service members with HIV/AIDS to deploy and apply for commissioning programs. [xlix] He also was responsible for implementing the Pentagon’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts while overseeing the military’s personnel and readiness during the Biden administration.[l]