U.S. Government: Elected Officials

Congresswoman Katie Porter represents the 47th Congressional District in Orange County, California.

In Washington, Congresswoman Porter has remained committed to putting families first and speaking truth to power. As a member of the House Oversight Committee, she’s asked tough questions of bank CEOs and administration officials to hold them accountable to the American people. She’s a proud member of the House Natural Resources Committee, where she works tirelessly to protect our beaches and public lands, call out Big Oil taking advantage of taxpayers, and keep families safe from wildfires and other natural disasters. A member of the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, she is a leading voice on keeping our economy strong, stable, and globally competitive by cracking down on corporate greed, boosting competition, and investing in smart, family-friendly policies.

Eager to invite families into the conversations happening in the halls of Congress, Rep. Porter has developed a reputation for her use of visual aids during Congressional hearings. She brought out a whiteboard while grilling the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, over how an entry-level employee at his bank couldn’t make ends meet. She also used her signature whiteboard to break down potential cost barriers to COVID-19 tests, which helped her secure a commitment from the Trump Administration to make testing free for every American.

Porter’s congressional questioning has helped push Congress towards real, concrete solutions. She received widespread praise after using her whiteboard to debunk propaganda spread by Big Pharma on why the industry charges so much for drugs. Porter’s legislation to crack down on Big Pharma’s unfair price hikes was then signed into law, and it is in effect as of January 1, 2023. She has also authored new laws to boost accountability in government, raise fees on polluters, improve mental health coverage, make health care more affordable, and honor an Orange County hero.

As a single working mom, Rep. Porter knows firsthand about the challenges that families face. She’s introduced bipartisan legislation that would more than double the amount families can set aside pre-tax to help pay for preschool, summer day camp, before or after school programs, and child or adult daycare. She’s continued to press for restoring more of the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, which has hit California’s middle-class families especially hard.

Rep. Porter believes our democracy and government should reflect the people of America and serve their needs, not special interests or corporate donors. As a progressive, she’s a leader in the fight to protect taxpayers and crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse. In Congress, she’s a key voice for ending political corruption, increasing government transparency, and holding leaders of both parties accountable. She’s matched her commitment to transparency with concrete action by hosting regular town halls and publicly posting a list of meetings she takes.

Before coming to Congress, Rep. Porter spent nearly two decades taking on the special interests that dominate American politics and drown out the voices of working families—and winning. A lifelong consumer advocate, she taught bankruptcy law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. As California’s independent watchdog against the banks, she oversaw big banks that had cheated Orange County homeowners to get them to follow through on their promise to help families get back on their feet. As a consumer finance expert, Congresswoman Porter also helped Congress pass the original Credit CARD Act in 2009, which enacted federal protections from abusive credit card fees.

Rep. Porter is a single mom of three school-aged kids. She lives with her family in Irvine, California.

Congresswoman Young Kim is proud to represent California’s 40th District, which includes parts of Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

An immigrant, small business owner, community leader, mother and grandmother, Young is proud to be one of the first Korean American women ever to serve in Congress and help all Americans have the chance to achieve their dream just like she did.

As an immigrant to the United States, Young has dedicated her life to giving back to her community. She started her public service as Director of Community Relations and Asian Affairs for former Congressman Ed Royce, where she was a key liaison to the district and advisor on issues pertaining to the Asian-American community and foreign policy.

Prior to serving in Congress, Young was the first ever Korean American Republican woman to serve in the California State Assembly. As an Assemblywoman, Young fought to grow jobs, support small businesses, ensure public safety, promote educational opportunities, support veterans and protect victims of domestic violence.

Young is a small business owner, a long-time community leader and has been actively involved in numerous organizations throughout the 40th District and in Orange County. She and her husband Charles are the proud parents of four grown children – Christine, Kelly, Alvin and Hannah.

Congressman Lou Correa is a longtime Orange County resident, with deep local roots. To this day, he lives only three miles from his childhood neighborhood in Anaheim. He is the son of working-class parents whose hard work gave him a chance at success. Lou has spent his career fighting to protect the American Dream, and ensure anyone can reach the middle class, just as he did.

When Lou was young, his mother cleaned hotel rooms across from Disneyland, and his father held a manufacturing job at a paper mill. Through hard work, Lou’s parents gave him access to better education than they had, and a path to the middle class.

Lou credits his success to his education and the Anaheim public school system where he attended Benjamin Franklin Elementary, Fremont Junior High, and Anaheim High School. Lou graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a degree in Economics. Always striving for more, Lou returned to college and earned his Juris Doctor (JD), and Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

After college, Lou used his education to become a banker, attorney, and licensed real estate broker. His time in the private sector prepared him to compromise and find real solutions to everyday problems.

In 1996, Lou ran for the California State Assembly. Lou lost that election, but he returned in 1998 and won, becoming a voice for the middle class families in Orange County.

Over the next decade, Lou would serve Orange County on the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the California State Senate.

In Washington, Congressman Correa continues his fight to give everyone access to the same the opportunity he had. Congressman Correa is committed to working across party lines to strengthen the middle class and give everyone a shot at the American Dream by investing in education, healthcare, and our fading infrastructure.

Congressman Correa has worked to support public health and safety services, mental health care, and health and safety programs for children. He has championed affordable higher education and taxpayer equity while protecting taxpayers by fighting “waste, fraud, and abuse.” Since entering office, Congressman Correa has introduced legislation to protect the legal rights of immigrants, care for veterans, and fight against the wasteful spending of taxpayer money.

Lou lives in Santa Ana with his wife of 27 years, Esther Correa, and their four children. Lou is a member of Christ Cathedral Catholic Church.