In the News
I was born in California the year my refugee parents came to this country from Vietnam. After years of brutal war, my parents and sisters were forced to flee the only home they had ever known. A home, a country and a nation; their Vietnam that they will never be free to return to.
The long promised Orange County veterans cemetery is set to get a new look as veterans and elected officials at every level of government are clamoring for the project to break ground at Gypsum Canyon in Anaheim.
The cemetery already has over $65 million pledged to it from a combination of county, state and federal funds, but with a price tag of $130 million it’s a much more expensive cemetery than normal, according to the California Department of Veterans Affairs.
California’s Democratic representatives are warning that the ongoing federal government shutdown is worsening a health care emergency for millions of residents, with community clinics, hospitals, and patients bracing for funding cuts and coverage losses.
I joined the Army when I was 18 years old. I marched into a recruiter’s office and enlisted because I wanted to give back to the country that had given so much to my refugee family.
The Army changed my life. Serving gave me the foundation to go to college, raise a family, and eventually be elected to represent Southern California in Congress. Every dollar in my Army paycheck made a difference. I grew up on food stamps, Medi-Cal, and Section 8 housing. A steady paycheck that supported me while I was serving my country was a dream come true.
The government shutdown is now in its third week, and unlike most other federal employees, members of the military received a paycheck Wednesday after President Donald Trump redirected money from the Pentagon’s research and development budget.
On social media last week, the president directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th,” adding, “We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.”
Eight days into the government shutdown endangering health care and raising costs on Californians, U.S. Representatives Derek Tran (CA-45), a U.S. Army veteran, and Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) sent a letter to Speaker Johnson, calling on him to bring Republican lawmakers back to work in Washington to ensure U.S.
The City of Fullerton is proud to announce it has been awarded two highly competitive federal grants totaling over $3.1 million to enhance fire and emergency medical services for the community.
The City received official notification of a $2,836,716 SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Grant award from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This funding will support the hiring of 12 new firefighters, enabling the City to re-staff Engine 6 as a Paramedic unit and relocate the ladder truck to Station 1, where the majority of truck responses occur.
Orange County’s congressional delegation requested more than $190 million in federal funding for 2026 to improve road infrastructure, build new fire stations, enhance parks and increase public safety, among other local projects.
Reps. Derek Tran, D-Calif., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., have introduced a bipartisan bill that would reauthorize the due diligence program for the Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, and Small Business Technology Transfer, or STTR, initiatives through fiscal year 2030.
Rep. Derek Tran was picked to co-lead congressional Democrats’ National Security Task Force, a personal assignment for the Army veteran.