U.S. House of RepresentativesCandidate for District 16

As a council member of Saratoga, I led the Water Oversight Committee efforts to combat the San Jose Water Company from unnecessary rate increases - find the summary here. As your congressman, I will continue to protect the people of Silicon Valley from artificially high water rates. We must build a future plan to address the growing population needs of the Bay Area. An infrastructure plan has to be in place.

Rishi Kumar is committed to address the water challenges of California, particularly Silicon Valley. It is very important that Silicon Valley has a sustainable urban community given that the American economy hinges upon Silicon Valley’s success

Currently, California lacks the tools to enforce sturdy oversight and management over the use of water. Many of the submitted plans ever since the introduction of the 1983 Urban Water Management Planning Act have neglected the importance of supply and demand. Their approach also lacks incentives for conservation. Regulation should be as narrowly tailored as possible as centralized water policies can easily overlook the intricate, regionalized needs of the state. Submitting plans to the California Department of Water Resources should be required instead of voluntary. The plans should permit “local entities to control extractions from the groundwater basin.” This will help us directly tackle the continuous droughts that affect the safety of Californians. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, we must implement “water adequacy screening for new development” which would ensure housing growth simultaneously. For long-term water planning, we must implement sustainable policies and look to new sources of water supply such as “underground storage, recycling, and desalination.” We must also improve California’s groundwater management as some parts of the state struggle with full groundwater utilization, leading to problems of overdraft (averaging between 1 and 2 million acre-feet per year, according to the Water Education Foundation) that are associated with higher energy costs, toxicity, and land subsidence. This can be accomplished by reauthorizing the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in order to distinguish between surface water and private property rights as well as to require details about how much water an individual can pump.

Here are the projects that I am advocating

• Finish retrofitting and expand capacity of the Anderson Dam
• Expand Los Vaqueros Reservoir under Contra Costa Water District’s Proposal
• Expand Pachecho Reservoir from 5,500 to 140,000 acre feet
• Accelerate the Temperance Flat Project on the San Joaquin River
• California should reignite project discussions regarding the damming of rivers, which would result in more than 1,000 reservoirs. California should re-evaluate the benefits of boosting water flows for fish and creating recreational opportunities such as boating
• Call for the active collaboration of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Santa Clara Valley Water District, and East Bay Municipal Utility District to come up with a master plan to ensure the future sustainability of Silicon Valley
• Push the Santa Clara Valley Water district to build a new Pacheco Pass reservoir in collaboration with the San Benito County Water District

The Biden administration should extend Title 42: Migrants attempted to cross the U.S.-Mexico border at the highest level in two decades as the U.S. prepares for even larger numbers with the expected lifting of Title 42.

Immigrants are the strength of this country. It sickens me to see the human rights violations committed against them at the southern border, the atrocities of detention camps, and the cruel separation of families that follows deportation. Hearing of unconsented medical procedures upon migrant women in ICE detention centers is shocking! I will do everything in my power to prevent such abominations from occurring in our country. First and foremost, I will fight to protect immigrant rights in our justice system, and help ingrain them into our economy under a legal and equitable standing.

To make immigration more effective, I will strive to address any ongoing issues with our H-1B visa program and to restore it to its original intent: protecting all workers from systemic abuses by profit-driven companies and increasing the pool of talented and high-skilled foreign workers that will further America’s economic success.

We also need to help immigrants take essential steps towards becoming permanent residents. Immigrants are beneficial both socially and economically to America; we need immigration visa reform, including HR 1044, that will increase opportunities for qualified individuals to achieve permanent residency and citizenship in a timely manner.

We are seeing the impact climate change is having here in California through recurring wildfires and droughts.

We have a chance to grow our economy and create thousands of new jobs by harnessing the power of green and alternative energy. I support the Green New Deal approach to reduce greenhouse gas production.  Congress must play a critical role in supporting these industries and maintain our competitive edge in the global economy, ensuring that windmill manufacturers, solar panel makers, and biofuel producers have the support they need to grow. We have to wean the United States off of fossil fuels and curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions across our planet.

 ☆Decarbonization of the economy

Clean energy is not enough. We need to explore aggressive options to restore our planet to a livable climate. Humans have been increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and deforestation. CO2 levels have gone from 317 ppm (parts per million) in 1955 to 412 ppm today and rising continuously, predicted to reach 450 ppm by 2040. We are heading to a point of no return. We need fast intervention and focused investment that is “cheapter, faster, better” to reduce the CO2 levels. The planet cannot wait! We should consider options such as direct air capture systems that will operate with high levels of efficiency and outpace trees to reduce  atmospheric levels of CO2. We cannot rely upon just planting trees and depending on their slow carbon absorption alone. The state of the climate is dire! We have been handing out trillions of dollars during the pandemic, but our climate demands an immediate focus. We should consider various options such as ocean photosynthesis in algae or seaweed, which is how nature removed CO2 from the environment before the ice ages. As your congressional representative, I will not only support resolutions such as H.Con.Res 52 and H.Con.Res. 137, but also demand action that will ensure a large-scale mobilization to halt and reverse the increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere. 

 ☆Federal jobs guarantee and public investment
We all know that government spending stimulates the economy, spending creates growth,  and results in tax revenue that pays for the original spending. The federal government must invest in green tech and climate friendly infrastructure. This will create jobs for millions of Americans and put them into professions creating a revitalized economy that can operate without pollution or fossil fuels.

☆Food sustainability: The 2023 farm bill
The nation’s food supply is a national security issue and should be part of the federal government’s agenda. Americans could clearly feel the financial stress of increased grocery bills during the COVID-19 pandemic. If elected, I will be a strong proponent of indoor agriculture, aquaculture, regenerative agriculture, and vertical farming.

☆ In summary, we must promote and create jobs in a clean-tech economy. Clean air, chemical free food, and water standards are a basic necessity for America. We need government investment in policies and projects that would change the way we design buildings, travel, and eat.