Freshman Congressmember Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, is now the Co-Chair of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign. Porter said her desire to root out corruption in government and Warren's grassroots approach is what appeals to her.

“Elizabeth Warren’s commitment to anti-corruption and the way that she’s running her campaign, a grassroots campaign that is about talking to voters, listening to community, and building concrete plans in partnership with communities. I go to choose the next president. I’m proud to support Elizabeth Warren because I like her plans and I appreciate that she shows the respect for me as a voter to tell me exactly what she wants to do and how she’s going to get there,” Porter said.

Porter spoke to Inside the Issues in the midst of the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump. She said she was satisfied with what she had seen from the House at that time.

 

“This process has taken many months and there have been a lot of witnesses and a lot of different congressional hearings. What we’re seeing my colleagues in the house try to do is present this information in a very straightforward way, in a condensed way, and in a way that’s accessible to everyday Americans who are busy getting to and from work, taking care of their kids, paying their bills, but who also care a great deal about our country and about making sure we have a leader who obeys the constitution,” she said.

The Orange County representative has also been open about being a survivor of domestic violence. She said working on legislation to help prevent other people from being in that situation is important to her.

“Having seen first-hand what a difference it really makes to have appropriate training for law enforcement and appropriate resources to assist those families who are dealing with domestic violence just makes me a very passionate advocate for that issue,” she said.

She has worked to help pass a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in the House.

 

 

“I spoke in favor of that bill and I included an amendment to do a study on the role that having firearms in the home and how that may affect the situation and I think I just feel really strongly that this isn’t an issue that should be partisan,” she said. “I’m disappointed that the Violence Against Women Act is sitting, along with so much other bipartisan legislation, in the Senate awaiting Sen. Mitch McConnell to take it up and put it to a vote. I think my personal experience really gives me a sense that each passing day that that bill sits there has real consequences in people’s lives.”

She said the reality of domestic violence is that it affects families from all different background, nationalities and income levels.

“Part of the goal in sharing my personal experience, which was painful for me and for my children, is just to make sure that families understand this can happen in any family and there are resources that are available. It’s not anything that is a characteristic of a personality. The victims, are not weak or strong, they’re not white or black, they’re not young or old, they’re just people who are dealing with a painful situation and that’s really then lens that we should have on trying to help solve this problem,” she said.

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