Originally published on January 9, 2025 by the San Mateo Daily Journal and written by Holly Rusch

San Mateo County’s two federal representatives have been appointed to exclusive house committees — sophomore U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, will sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee and rookie U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-San Jose, has been appointed to Financial Services. 

Mullin attributed his appointment to the committee — which covers a far-reaching breadth of topics, including health care, climate protections, telecommunications and consumer protections — in part due to the 15th District’s reputation as an economic powerhouse. 

“[We’re at] the epicenter of life sciences, home to technology like YouTube and Meta,” he said. “And we’re sort of an epicenter of climate challenges, as well, with sea-level rise and climate resilience being a core priority of mine.” 

As Mullin works to carve a niche for himself on the committee, he said economic equality and climate change preparedness will remain a focus for him. Both national-level issues, they’re also of particular importance to San Mateo County and the state of California. 

“With extreme weather, we don’t have to look any further than what’s happening tragically in the L.A. area,” Mullin said. “California is on the front of this climate challenge. We in San Mateo County are going to be dealing with sea-level rise right smack dab in the middle of the inundation zone.” 

Liccardo, who represents much of Silicon Valley in the 16th District, said his constituency’s relationship to financial technology, cryptocurrency and insurance issues will prove relevant on the Financial Services Committee. Primarily, however, he was interested in sitting on a committee with jurisdiction over housing, he said. 

“It was important for me to get on to a committee that had primary jurisdiction over housing, given the crisis that is felt throughout our region and in virtually every major metro in the country,” he said. “That was a primary motivation for me.” 

The Financial Services Committee monitors a variety of issues, including housing, insurance, securities and exchanges and the economy. 

When it comes to the hot-button issue of cryptocurrency regulation, Liccardo said he wasn’t interested in seeing legislators “putting our heads in the sand” and refusing to engage on the issue. 

“It’s important that we have a set of laws in place that ensure transparency for American investors in a way that doesn’t simply kill the industry,” he said. 

Both Mullin and Liccardo have been influenced by the long-standing presence of recently-retired U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo. Liccardo, who has taken Eshoo’s former seat, said her warmth and constituent focus made her a well-respected leader and was a style he hoped to emulate. 

“The way in which she could make anyone feel welcome in her presence and feel listened to — because she was quite sincere in wanting to listen and hear their concerns and respond to them,” he said. 

Mullin, who is taking Eshoo’s seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, also lauded her well-respected leadership and said her vacancy opened up a need for Northern California representation on the committee he is honored to fill. 

“I’ve seen the level of respect that my colleagues have for her,” he said. “When she gets up in the caucus to speak, people actually put their phones down and listen — believe it or not, that is a sign of deep respect and admiration.” 

Both Democratic representatives will also have their hands full — in committee work and policy-wise — balancing the fight against a conservative, Republican agenda while working to make actual progress on district-level issues. 

“I think while some of the big-ticket elements of the Trump agenda we’re going to stand up and fight, especially when it comes to California, I’ll always be looking for opportunities to work across the aisle,” Mullin said. “In the committee context, economic issues, nuts-and-bolts economic and consumer-oriented issues [are] where there’s at least an opportunity, I think, to find common ground.” 

Liccardo agreed that fighting everything to come out of the Trump administration would be “unproductive,” and said his focus as a freshman representative would be to find policy issues that aren’t currently being adequately tackled. 

“There hasn’t been a serious piece of housing legislation in Congress for many years, and it’s considered something of a policy backlog,” he said. “So those are the opportunities — this is an opportunity for me to get involved, find folks who might be willing to work together.”

Aside from housing issues, Liccardo also hopes to bolster the innovation economy, including through investment, and tackle regulatory matters. 

Mullin also sees bolstering the innovation economy as an area close to his district. Additionally, he will continue his work with the voting rights task force. 

“We’re always looking for ways to strengthen and reform democracy, [with] vote-by-mail, other election-related things,” he said. “That is definitely a passion interest of mine on the democracy front.”