U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin visited Burlingame Wednesday to update constituents on the work he is doing on Capitol Hill and to answer questions or concerns from the community.
The town hall event was held at Burlingame’s Community Center Wednesday, Aug. 31. Around 100 people attended and questions ranged from women’s health rights to environmental policies.
Mullin’s first bill, the Weatherization Resilience and Adaptation Program provides financial assistance to low-income homeowners and affordable housing providers to adapt their respective properties to be more resilient to extreme weather and disasters, driven by climate change. He will soon introduced a bill that could modernize the federal poverty line.
“These programs leave too many low-income families out because of an outdated methodology that calculates the poverty line and does not take into account housing, health care and child care,” Mullin, D-South San Francisco, said.
Climate change, the economy, transportation, street improvements and storm resilience are all in focus for Mullin, who requested federal support for Caltrain’s electrification project and has taken the lead in requesting the Federal Highway Administration to allow the repurposing of underused land such as parking lots in its right-of-way, allowing for more transit-oriented development.
He requested funds to update San Francisco International Airport terminal and the San Carlos Airport, plant drought tolerant landscaping in Millbrae, and funds for the Bayfront canal management in Redwood City. Mullin said he requested money for the Bayshore Highway Streetscape project, which aims to create wider sidewalks, shorter crosswalks and public parklets in Burlingame. He asked for funds for the Coyote Point Recreation Area. He noted all of those requests don’t mean those funds are guaranteed, he added that he will fight as hard as he can to get them.
Mullin also collaborated with the U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, in the midst of the winter storms urging President Joe Biden to declare emergency designations. He said it opened the door to Federal Emergency Management Agency money for community members severely affected by the storms.
Mullin noted the Bay Area was never before known for wildfires as smoke from Northern California and Southern Oregon filled the air. Mullin said the state needs to lead the country in addressing climate issues by supporting the clean energy market.
“I want to do whatever I can to speed up clean energy projects,” Mullin said. “I want this area to be a hub of activity for clean energy development, addressing greenhouse gas emission and building resilience into the equation.”
Mullin was asked about his stance on several other issues. He said the Electoral College is outdated, gun laws save lives, and the state will be a safe haven for women’s reproductive freedoms. Asked about the fentanyl crisis, Mullin said there was a 94% increase in fatal adolescent overdoses from 2020-21. Mullin added the crisis is deeply concerning and will take all levels of government to attack the issue.
About the federal deficit, he said he has concern decisions are being made for the election cycle, “not generational decisions. We make expedient decisions, not decisions that will benefit future generations. Fiscally, I do not support corporate tax cuts and tax cuts for the wealthy,” Mullin said.
After the town hall, Mullin met with more than a dozen of his constituents. Nikki Donovan and Aran O’ Sullivan, both environmentalists, asked to meet with Mullin to discuss his climate policy.
“We know that Congressman Mullin has been really great in furthering climate resiliency programs but we are looking for a little more work done on climate mitigation programs,” said O’ Sullivan, who added he is mostly interested in a carbon tax.
Mullin said he has co-sponsored 227 bills and co-signed 210 bills during his time in Congress.
Note to readers: This article has been changed because it said Mullin introduced a bill that could modernize the federal poverty line. However, he plans to and hasn’t done that yet.