[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8297-H8299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





               HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH: VALLEY LUCHADORES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardenas) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Evelyn Cortez-Diaz 
as a Valley Luchadora, Valley Fighter.
  Evelyn is a civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience in 
the water industry, water conservation, water quality, pipeline design 
and construction, environmental compliance, recycled water, water 
rights, groundwater remediation and groundwater planning.
  She is the highest-ranking Latina at the Los Angeles Department of 
Water and Power, which is the largest municipal water and power utility 
in the United States.
  She is also the first Latina and second woman to be appointed 
Director of Water Engineering and Technical Services.
  In her role, Evelyn leads a team of over 400 engineers and technical 
professionals to safely retreat, store, and transport water for the 4 
million people of the City of Los Angeles and the thousands of 
businesses that they serve.

                              {time}  1745

  At LADWP, Evelyn helped launch the Society of Women Engineers and the 
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers chapter to support its 
employees and inspire the next generation of engineers and STEM 
professionals.
  She immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador when she was 12 years old 
and was placed in remedial English classes to become fluent in English.
  At a young age, she knew she wanted to help make the world a better 
place. She aspired to protect the environment and decided to focus her 
studies on water resources and environmental engineering.
  After she graduated high school as 10th in her class with a 4.3 GPA, 
she earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering at the 
University of California, Los Angeles.
  In 2015, she published her book, which chronicles her family's 
immigration story and journey to U.S. citizenship.
  Evelyn Cortez-Davis, thank you for sharing your story and for your 
commitment to conservation and our environment and to all the people of 
Los Angeles. It is my honor to recognize you as a distinguished 
community leader and luchadora this Hispanic Heritage Month.


                    Honoring Margaret ``Mar'' Diego

  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Margaret ``Mar'' 
Diego as a Valley Luchadora.
  Mar is the co-owner and operator of Dough Girl, a small business 
pizzeria located in Sylmar. She grew up in San Fernando Gardens, a low-
income housing project in my district.
  Her business, Dough Girl, is much more than a local valley pizzeria. 
Mar is a proud employer of formerly homeless and incarcerated 
individuals, two demographics of people who traditionally struggle to 
find stable employment and who are often ignored and tossed aside.
  A formerly incarcerated person herself, Mar understands the obstacles 
people face as they work to rebuild their lives after serving their 
time in the system. Through her restaurant, she continues to pay it 
forward and makes a positive impact in her community.
  Mar can often be found on the street, finding and hiring employees on 
the spot. She gives people a second chance and a job, training to help 
them succeed and be productive members of the community.
  Most importantly, she gives them the opportunity to rebuild their 
lives. She has made her restaurant a positive rehabilitation-oriented 
space.
  Upon her own release from prison, Mar attended the prestigious Cordon 
Bleu culinary arts school and continued to blossom from there. She has 
a one-of-a-kind inspirational story and has traveled the world, 
visiting 16 countries on her culinary journey.
  She received notable praise and appeared on television with well-
known celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck and Roy Choi.
  Her restaurant, Dough Girl, has given her the chance to elevate and 
formally showcase her culinary skills and positively benefit her 
community.
  Mar is an inspirational chef and philanthropist who envisions her 
restaurant as a home for amazing food and a place where people develop 
vital life skills. She continues her work and is developing a 
curriculum centered around the teaching of essential life, culinary, 
and entrepreneurial skills.
  Thank you, Mar, for your commitment to paving the way forward, making 
a positive impact in our community, and uplifting others to give them a 
second chance.
  Thank you for being a caring and loving person. It is my honor to 
recognize you as a distinguished community leader and luchadora during 
this Hispanic Heritage Month.


                    Honoring Veronica Padilla-Campos

  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Veronica Padilla-
Campos as a Valley Luchadora.
  Veronica continues to serve the community she grew up in and has been 
fighting for environmental justice in the San Fernando Valley for the 
past 25 years.
  She grew up in Sun Valley and is a daughter of hardworking parents. 
Her dad was a gardener, and her mom worked at a local factory.
  A graduate of UCLA, she has experience in the private, public, and 
not-for-profit sectors, including environmental consulting, GIS 
mapping, and work for the Los Angeles Housing Department.
  Throughout the last decade, Veronica has played a crucial role at 
Pacoima Beautiful, a grassroots environmental justice organization in 
my district that provides education, impacts local policy, and supports 
local arts and culture to promote a healthy and sustainable San 
Fernando Valley.
  She joined Pacoima Beautiful as deputy director in 2010 and has 
served as executive director since 2013. During her leadership, she has 
spearheaded environmental cleanup and safety campaigns in some of the 
poorest and hardest-impacted areas of Los Angeles County.
  Previously, she helped lead ICON CDC, a community-based, not-for-
profit organization that serves small business owners and 
entrepreneurs, and serves on the North Valley Area Planning Commission 
for the city of Los Angeles.
  In 2020, Veronica joined the South Coast Air Quality Management 
District as a board member, after being appointed by the speaker of the 
California State Assembly.
  In her role as board member, she continues her commitment to building 
people power and improving the lives and voices of her community. She 
creates equitable, healthy, and safe neighborhoods every single day by 
her commitment to the community and the wonderful work that she does.
  Thank you, Veronica, for your countless years of public service. It 
is my honor to recognize you as a distinguished community leader and 
luchadora during Hispanic Heritage Month.


                        Honoring Corinne Sanchez

  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Valley Luchadora 
Corinne Sanchez for her decades of service in our community.
  Corinne is the daughter of a World War II veteran of the Pacific 
front in Burma and a mother who worked at the Santa Fe Railroad.

  Corinne attended Long Beach State University, where she became a 
student leader and was involved in the creation of the Chicano/Chicana 
studies program and social justice organizations. There were only three 
Chicanas that started the United Mexican American Students, UMAS, in 
1967 at Long Beach State University, and Corinne was one of them.
  Corinne is a lifelong trailblazer. Upon her graduation, she worked 
for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and then went on to travel 
throughout the Midwestern and Southwestern U.S. to promote the creation 
of Chicano studies departments in universities and colleges.
  She then began her work for El Proyecto del Barrio, a not-for-profit, 
community-based organization that provides health and human services to 
communities with underserved populations. As president and CEO, Corinne 
oversees expanded services in comprehensive primary healthcare, 
employment, childcare, and perinatal social services.
  After realizing her dream of becoming an attorney, she, alongside 
eight

[[Page H8298]]

other women, founded and served as president of the Latina Lawyers Bar 
Association to help advocate and educate for the advancement of Latinas 
in law.
  Corinne has always been a strong leader in the community. She has 
held numerous roles in various commissions and associations for many 
years.
  In more than three decades of service, Corinne has never forgotten 
her roots. She has worked to make the community a better place for 
thousands of underserved families and individuals.
  Her advancements are a testament to how hard work, inspiration, and 
perseverance can make a difference in helping people realize the power 
of their dreams.
  Thank you, Corinne. It is my honor to recognize you as a 
distinguished leader and luchadora this Hispanic Heritage Month.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  September 29, 2022, from page H8297, in the third column, to 
page H8298, in the first column, the following appeared: HONORING 
CORRINE SANCHEZ Corrine attended Long Beach State . . . Beach 
State University, and Corrine was one of them. She then began her 
work for El Proyecto del Barrio, a not-for-profit, community-based 
organization that provides health and human services to 
communities with underserved populations. As president and CEO, 
Corrine . . . Corrine has always been a strong . . . In more than 
three decades of service, Corrine has never forgotten her . . . 
Thank you, Corrine.
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: HONORING CORINNE 
SANCHEZ Corinne attended Long Beach State . . . Beach State 
University, and Corinne was one of them. She then began her work 
for El Proyecto del Barrio, a not-for-profit, community-based 
organization that provides health and human services to 
communities with underserved populations. As president and CEO, 
Corinne . . . Corinne has always been a strong . . . In more than 
three decades of service, Corinne has never forgotten her . . . 
Thank you, Corinne.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


                        Honoring Kristy Sandoval

  Mr. CRDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Kristy Sandoval as a 
Valley Luchadora.
  Kristy is a Los Angeles-based, self-taught artist from Pacoima whose 
murals have put the city of L.A.'s art on the map.
  She grew up in Pacoima and studied at the Academy of Art University 
in San Francisco, where her community and personal experiences 
influenced her work.
  In the last 15 years, she has painted more than 50 murals. Her art, 
including pieces titled ``Decolonized'' and ``A Womyn's Place is in the 
Struggle,'' brings awareness to social justice issues and focuses on 
female empowerment.
  Kristy, along with other artists, helped kick-start the 
transformation of a corridor in the Northeast San Fernando Valley known 
as the Mural Mile, a 3-mile stretch of Van Nuys Boulevard that has 
nearly three dozen murals.
  These murals brought Kristy international recognition, and she was 
the first female participant at the Mural Istanbul Festival in 2015.
  She received the Phenomenal Woman Award in 2016 from the Department 
of Gender and Women's Studies at California State University, 
Northridge, and has presented her work and spoken at various 
universities, museums, organizations, and events and in the media.
  In 2017, she worked with Amnesty International through their Art for 
Amnesty campaign, creating art pieces representing individual political 
prisoner cases from around the world.
  Kristy believes in the healing power of art and continues to paint 
murals, direct and develop arts programming, and much more.
  Her contribution to the Mural Mile has changed the face and 
reputation of Pacoima from a place that people would avoid visiting to 
a neighborhood where sold-out mural tours stroll down the streets. Her 
art shows our neighborhood as the beautiful, unique place that it 
always has been and truly is.
  Thank you, Kristy, for your transformative artwork. It is my honor to 
recognize you as a distinguished community leader and luchadora during 
this Hispanic Heritage Month.


                          Honoring Danny Trejo

  Mr. CRDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Danny Trejo as a 
Valley Luchador.
  Danny is one of the best-known actors in film, a community leader, a 
champion of the arts, and a dear friend of mine.
  His prolific career in the entertainment industry came from hard work 
and an atypical road to success. Danny's path has led him on an 
incredible journey, rising from serving time in prison to a Hollywood 
star and to a real-life hero when he rescued a baby who was trapped in 
the child seat of an SUV that collided with another vehicle in Sylmar 
just a few years ago.
  Danny grew up in an environment where crime and drugs were common. He 
ended up involved in drug dealing and robbery. It is well known that 
Danny was sent to prison for these crimes. He survived prison riots, 
solitary confinement, and a terrifying brush with death row.

  Throughout the 1960s, Danny was a regular in the California prison 
system until he was released on parole in 1969. It was then that he 
decided to change his life for the better.
  After coming out of incarceration, he worked odd jobs in 
construction, gardening, sales, and labor while spending his evenings 
in recovery meetings and mentoring kids to keep them from making the 
same mistakes he did.
  Danny was introduced to the acting world as an extra but was 
exclusively cast as an imposing gang member for years before he grew 
into the leading actor we all know and love today.
  His very real background story has made him one of Hollywood's most 
recognizable character actors. He has grown into a professional actor 
working alongside and with the likes of Al Pacino, Nicolas Cage, and 
the filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, all while inspiring young people with 
his story.
  Danny Trejo's transformation from juvenile delinquent to Hollywood 
star is an impressive example of personal growth and improvement that 
gives hope and inspiration to everyone.
  Danny's extraordinary success continues in his businesses. He founded 
a restaurant chain in honor of his mother and created his own brand.
  Danny has never forgotten who he is and the impact he makes in our 
neighborhood. He continues to be accessible in the community and 
frequently volunteers his time, and he is a regular at the annual 
Pacoima Christmas Parade.
  Thank you, Danny, for your contributions to the arts and continued 
commitment to community service. It is my honor to recognize you as a 
distinguished leader and luchador during this Hispanic Heritage Month.

                              {time}  1800


                          People Over Politics

  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because I am so proud of what 
Democrats have accomplished and delivered for working families across 
our great country.
  Since the beginning of the 117th Congress, since January of last 
year, Democrats have taken action on legislation that puts people over 
politics. We are lowering costs, creating better-paying jobs, and 
making a real positive difference in the lives of every hardworking 
American.
  In the northeast San Fernando Valley alone, we have created 30,000 
new good-paying jobs and countless workforce training opportunities for 
our community.
  We know that additional jobs will come to our neighborhoods with the 
recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science 
Act.
  Soon, we will begin to see more of our family, friends, and neighbors 
become plumbers, pipefitters, electrical workers, steelworkers, 
laborers, electricians, and engineers, and so much more.
  These investments will help us fight the climate crisis, rebuild our 
roads and sidewalks and grow our clean energy economy.
  But that is not all. In just one year, we have helped 13,000 
entrepreneurs, many of them women and people of color, in the northeast 
San Fernando Valley build their small businesses from the ground up. 
That means 13,000 new, local mom-and-pop shops serving our community, 
employing our neighbors, and helping grow our economy.
  This is all thanks to our partnership with President Biden. Since he 
took office, we have created 10 million jobs across the country, 
dropping the unemployment rate to 3.7 percent, the lowest rate in 50 
years. We are seeing the best economy for American workers in decades, 
with people getting higher wages, better benefits, and better jobs 
across the country.
  While we are seeing progress in the fight against inflation, we know 
that there is much more work to do. The good news is we are finally 
starting to see gas prices drop after Putin's price hike.
  Families across the country will soon start to get some additional 
relief with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which lowers 
the cost of prescription drugs, makes health insurance more affordable, 
provides credits for electric vehicles, and more.
  From day one of the 117th Congress, we have successfully worked day 
in and day out to fulfill our promise to the American people. I am so 
proud of our work, and I look forward to continuing to help families in 
the northeast San Fernando Valley prosper now and into the future.


                  Inflation Reduction Act Climate Wins

  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the profound, 
positive impact that the Inflation Reduction Act will have on all 
communities

[[Page H8299]]

across the Nation, including my district, the northeast San Fernando 
Valley.
  Anyone can see that the climate crisis has already taken a huge toll 
on communities like mine. From poor air quality, droughts, and extreme 
heat to the constant threat of wildfires, my district has known the 
realities of climate change all too well and for far too long.
  But our experiences are not isolated. Over the past 5 years alone, 
the United States has experienced over 90 climate disasters. As we 
witness the destruction caused by Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian, it 
is clear now more than ever that aggressive action to fight climate 
change is necessary.
  Last month, we delivered the single biggest climate investment in 
U.S. history by passing the Inflation Reduction Act. That is a big 
deal, especially for communities like mine.
  Growing up, I remember not being able to play outside because the air 
quality was so, so bad back then. For many of us, it was normal to have 
someone in our family or a friend have serious respiratory problems 
like asthma. The fact is that our children deserve to live in a 
community that is safe and free of toxic pollutants.
  Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, we are going to be on track to 
reduce emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030, a necessary step to 
clean our air and prevent the worst effects of climate change.
  One of the ways we are going to be able to do this is by electrifying 
our heavy-duty vehicles and school buses, an investment that I am so 
proud to have led with our United States Senator from California, Alex 
Padilla.
  We are also lowering costs for hardworking American families by 
making rebates and tax credits available to electrify home appliances, 
install rooftop solar, electrify air-conditioning and heaters, and make 
electric vehicles more affordable.
  We are putting environmental justice communities first and investing 
$60 billion to reduce pollution to make clean energy more accessible 
and to provide a better quality of life in lower income neighborhoods 
across the United States of America.
  The best part is we are making polluters pay so that communities like 
ours don't have to continue to bear the brunt of climate change.
  The Inflation Reduction Act is a transformative law and will do so 
much good for families in the San Fernando Valley. It ensures that all 
people, regardless of ZIP Code, can access cost-saving solutions that 
will help us fight the climate crisis together. It means that our 
friends, family, and neighbors will be able to breathe clean air and 
drink clean water.
  This is just the beginning of the work that we are going to continue 
to do. We will continue to fight to make sure we keep climate action 
front and center in the job that we do for all the people of this great 
country.


                        My Life Has Been Blessed

  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment of personal 
privilege to say thank you to the community that I was born and raised 
in and for which I have the honor to be a United States Congressman.
  I would like to also recognize that I am so, so blessed to have been 
raised by my two parents, Andres and Maria Cardenas, who came here as 
immigrants from Mexico. They never dreamed that any one of their 11 
children could have such an honor.

  They taught me and my brothers and sisters simple values that have 
served all of us well and that serve me well to have the honor of being 
a United States Congressman and serve the northeast San Fernando 
Valley.
  I also want to thank my constituents for having the confidence in me 
to represent them here in Washington, and I pray every day that I do 
the job that they have sent me to do, to make their lives better and to 
help them live a good and clean life.
  I also want to take a moment of personal privilege to say how blessed 
I feel to have such a beautiful, amazing family. My wife Norma, who has 
been so supportive; our four children, Vanessa, Cristian, Andres, and 
Alina; my son-in-law, Brian; and our amazing, beautiful grandchildren, 
Joaquin and Jimena. These are blessings that I have been so, so honored 
to have in my life.
  I am so, so fortunate and blessed. To be able to speak on this floor, 
to be a Member of Congress is so humbling. I thank you, Mr. Speaker, 
for giving me the opportunity to express how much I care about the 
leaders of my community and how grateful we are for them and for the 
honor to be a Member of this prestigious and amazing body, the House of 
Representatives of the United States of America.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________