In The News

U.S. Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove, on Aug. 26 spoke to the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce on various topics, including the city’s progress and bipartisan bills.

The special, congressional update luncheon marked Bera’s final speech to the chamber as Elk Grove’s congressional representative.

Bera, who has represented Elk Grove in Congress since 2013, is running in the election for the redrawn congressional District 6, which covers north Sacramento County.

Congressional District 7 was redrawn last year and now includes Elk Grove and Galt to the south, a portion of Sacramento to the north, Isleton to the southwest, and Rancho Murieta to the east.

This November, Elk Grove voters will decide whether U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, or Max Semenenko, a Republican from Citrus Heights, will represent them in Congress.

In his speech to the Elk Grove Chamber, Bera referred to the “remarkable” progress that Elk Grove has made in its growth and development during his 27 years as one of its residents. He praised Elk Grove’s schools, its bikeable and walkable communities, and its growth in jobs.

Bera specifically mentioned jobs at the recently opened Sky River Casino and the Kubota Tractor Corp. facility, which is on pace to open early next year.

With the potential that the Sacramento Zoo could relocate to and expand in Elk Grove, Bera briefly referred to those efforts, which could lead to the opening of a zoo in Elk Grove in 2027.

“I suspect we will have a zoo in our community sometime soon,” he said. “I’ll leave that up to you guys to talk about.”

Bera also shared his desire for more state jobs to relocate to Elk Grove.

“I still push the idea that with so many state workers that live in Elk Grove, we ought to take the dilapidated state office buildings around Capitol Park, move that and make Elk Grove the back office for the state of California, so folks don’t have to get on the freeway to drive all the way (to downtown Sacramento).”

Bera spoke about the current Congress as “incredibly productive,” in terms of passing the American Rescue Plan and having funding distributed to cities, counties and states to “come out of the pandemic.”

He also praised the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a bipartisan investment bill to increase federal spending by about $500 billion for infrastructure, including roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, airports and broadband, during the next decade.

“I don’t think people realize how big a deal that was,” Bera said. “That is a huge deal, as those dollars are starting to flow for us to build that infrastructure.”

As for the Inflation Reduction Act, Bera referred to that bill as a “big deal.”

“Finally, we have the ability in a limited way to negotiate drug prices,” he said. “That should be our ongoing job. Our job is to actually get the best deal on price for the people we represent: our citizens, our consumers.

“So, that’s huge to continue to almost get to universal coverage in access to care. So, there’s a lot, but that then, there’s a lot more to do. But the best part of it is a lot of these big bills were done in a bipartisan way (and is) going to bring a lot of investments to our region in terms of technology.”

Despite the existence of many local, statewide and nationwide challenges, Bera noted that he remains an optimist.

“At the end of the day is there any other country that you would rather be in?” he asked. “No, there isn’t.”

Bera added that the United States gains its strength through its “fabric of diversity.”

“I think it is this blend and fabric of different cultures, different religions, different traditions all woven together, which allows us to reinvent ourselves,” he said.