Pete Aguilar

Personal

Aguilar was born in Fontana, California and grew up in a working-class family in San Bernardino, California. He attended the University of Redlands, where he graduated with degrees in Government and Business Administration. He has lived in Redlands, California since 1997, with his wife Alisha. Together they have two sons.

Career

Aguilar began his career in public service in 2001 when California Governor Gray Davis appointed him Deputy Director of the Inland Empire Regional Office of the Governor, eventually becoming the Interim Director. In 2006, Aguilar became the youngest member of the Redlands City Council in the city's 126-year history when five council members, Democrat and Republican, picked him out of 11 candidates to fill an open seat. He was elected a year later, his first election. His fellow council members appointed him mayor in 2010 and again in 2012. As Mayor, Aguilar was regarded for his professionalism, leadership during difficult financial times, balancing the city budget while building financial reserves, road improvements, government transparency, and fair treatment of municipal employees. Aguilar served as mayor and councilman until December 2014.

Elections

California's 31st congressional district became more favorable for the Democratic Party as a result of redistricting following the 2010 Census. The Cook partisan voting index rates the district D+5. In January 2012, Aguilar announced he would run for the seat held by incumbent Republican Gary Miller. Although the top Democratic vote-getter, with 22.6% of the vote, he finished behind Miller and Robert Dutton, the California State Senate Republican Leader. Because of California's open primary, both Republicans advanced to the November general election. In March 2013, Aguilar announced he would run again for election from California's 31st congressional district. In the June 2014 primary, Aguilar finished second, qualifying for the November general election where he defeated Republican Paul Chabot with 51.4% of the vote. Aguilar defeated Chabot again in the 2016 general election with 56.1% of the vote.

Legislation

Aguilar's time in Congress has focused on immigration, job creation, unfair trade practices, gun control, national security, LGBT issues, veteran affairs, drug prevention, student loan debt, and environmental protection. Aguilar has supported legislation to attract individuals in the cybersecurity field to join the military; prevent discrimination against LGBT people by government contractors; provide funding for homeless veterans; and provide funding for research into opioid addiction. He has introduced the Grace Period Alleviation (GPA) Act, which would give college graduates an optional grace period before beginning to repay certain types of loans. With Senator Dianne Feinstein and Republican Congressman Paul Cook, Aguilar introduced legislation to protect the habitat along the Santa Ana River. Aguilar has vowed to fight the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and to protect women's reproductive rights. In addition, he has worked closely with law enforcement and local, state and federal officials and agencies to help communities recover costs incurred from the emergency response to the 2015 San Bernardino attack, which took place in Aguilar's district, and helped secure additional funding for survivors of the attack.

During the Obama Administration, Aguilar supported expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for undocumented children and creating the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. Aguilar introduced the Academic Success Centers and Education Networks for Dreamers (ASCEND) Act, which would establish grants for college and university programs and services to benefit undocumented students. While Aguilar voted in favor of legislation that would effectively halt the resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq to the United States, citing national security concerns, he subsequently criticized President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order as "xenophobic" and said it sent a message of "hate and bigotry to the rest of the world." Aguilar criticized President Trump and his staff for citing the 2015 San Bernardino attack in defending the President's executive order.

Aguilar released a job-creation initiative for his district that includes cutting taxes on small businesses, investing in infrastructure, expanding job-training programs, expanding Pell Grants, increasing the minimum wage, and equal pay for women. He has introduced a number of bills into Congress focusing on small businesses, including legislation to provide tax credits to small businesses for on-the-job training expenses, tax credits for small business for full-time newly hired employees, legislation to make it easier for small businesses to repay loans, and legislation making it easier for small businesses to advertise job openings. Aguilar annually hosts a jobs fair that connects job-seekers with employers in his district. In 2017, he introduced a bill that would provide active-duty service members and reservists access to training for commercial drivers’ licenses granted by the FAST Act.

Aguilar introduced the Displaced Jobs Relief Act, which increases authorization of funds for the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms program (TAA-F) to help businesses that have been negatively impacted by trade. He has urged the United States International Trade Commission to find that imported steel subsidized by Korea, Mexico and Turkey creates unfair competition and hurts steel manufacturers in his congressional district.

Aguilar has advocated for reforms to curb gun violence by closing loopholes that terrorists have used to obtain guns and banning assault weapons. Following the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, Aguilar participated in the 2016 United States House of Representatives sit-in to show support for gun-safety legislation.

Committee assignments

Caucus membership