Congressman Jimmy Gomez, California Ways and Means Democrats Introduce the Opportunity Starts at Home Act

| Posted in Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) and California Ways and Means Democrats Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05), Congresswoman Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), and Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) introduced the Opportunity Starts at Home Act to provide permanent, supportive services for people at-risk…

Venture Beat: Detroit’s fight over policing and facial recognition is a microcosm of the nation

| Posted in In the News

At the federal level, Congressional representatives including Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) are bringing legislative pressure to bear on facial recognition. Just yesterday, the Boston City Council banned facial recognition, joining a few other locales in Massachusetts and California that have done the same. And today, members of…

CNET: Lawmakers propose indefinite nationwide ban on police use of facial recognition

| Posted in In the News

These concerns have pushed lawmakers to consider how a facial recognition moratorium would work. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a Democrat from California, has been looking into a bill that would impose a moratorium on facial recognition for at least two years, starting from January 2021. Merkley proposed the Ethical Use of Facial Recognition Act in February, which would put a moratorium on…

Business Insider: A Congressman misidentified by Amazon’s facial recognition software says the company’s decision to suspend police usage ‘raises more questions than answers’

| Posted in In the News

When the American Civil Liberties Union tested Amazon's controversial facial recognition technology on photos of Congress members in 2018, the software incorrectly matched 28 members with the mugshots of people who had been arrested for a crime, with the mis-identifications disproportionately affecting people of color. Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California was one of the ones affected. He…

Venture Beat: Boston bans facial recognition due to concern about racial bias

| Posted in In the News

Boston’s ban comes as lawmakers are facing increased pressure to reduce surveillance tactics and defund police agencies. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) told VentureBeat recently that facial recognition regulation is on the way from Congress with a moratorium on use by federal law enforcement. Privacy advocates are sometimes split on whether a temporary stay or moratorium on…

Eastsider LA: More federal money requested for L.A. River restoration

| Posted in In the News

Four Los Angeles area members of Congress sent a letter Monday to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to request more federal funding for the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Project and increase the corps' public-private partnership program funding. Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Grace Napolitano, Lucille Roybal-Allard and Jimmy Gomez authored the letter sent to the Army Corps of…

Gomez, Schiff, Napolitano, Roybal-Allard Seek Increased Army Corps Funding for Los Angeles River Restoration Project

| Posted in Press Releases

Los Angeles - Today, Reps. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Adam Schiff (CA-28), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requesting increased funding for the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Project and the Public-Private Partnership (P3) Pilot Program in the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2021 Work Plan. “We…

Congressman Jimmy Gomez on Supreme Court DACA Ruling

| Posted in Press Releases

Los Angeles – Today, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling to block President Donald Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California: “Today’s ruling represents a victory for our nation and the…

Herald Sun: Amazon Rekognition ban slammed for being ‘performative’

| Posted in In the News

Californian Congressman Jimmy Gomez has also claimed the company has been ignoring his questions about the software for years. While brands scramble to have their say on the Black Lives Matter movement (with many voicing support but seemingly few opening their wallets to help), Amazon made a brief announcement that it would stop letting police using its “Rekognition” software. But not…

MSNBC: Rep Gomez: DACA ruling 'keeps hope alive for another day'

| Posted in In the News

Congressman Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) joins Ayman Mohyeldin after the Supreme Court ruled that the President cannot shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Gomez argues that while this is a victory, real change cannot be implemented unless President Trump, who uses immigration as a "political hammer," is voted out of office. Watch