Wishing you a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!

A Message of Gratitude
Thanksgiving is a beautiful, all-American holiday, when our nation gives thanks for the blessings that have been bestowed upon our great country.  During this extraordinarily challenging year, communities have stepped up with empathy and compassion to forge strength, unity and hope in the Bay Area and beyond.

This Thanksgiving, we have much to be grateful for: the vaccine and with it, the ability to gather in-person with loved ones; another round of the historic Biden Child Tax Credit for families; the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed into law; and the Build Back Better Act passed in the House, which will be transformative for families and workers. 

As we prepare to celebrate with our loved ones, I want to express my deep gratitude for the honor of representing you in the Congress.  Best wishes for a restful, hopeful and happy Thanksgiving!

Preparing a Safe and Healthy Thanksgiving Meal
To ensure a happy and healthy Thanksgiving Day, check out tips from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on ways to safely cook your turkey!

Robust Investments in Bay Area Infrastructure
Yesterday, Representatives Anna Eshoo, Barbara Lee, Jackie Speier, Mark DeSaulnier and I joined union members at the United Association Local 38 Joseph P. Mazzola Training Center to celebrate and highlight the robust investments for California and the San Francisco Bay Area made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

For decades, infrastructure in California has suffered from a systemic lack of investment.  For the Bay Area and California, the investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be monumental.  Over the next five years, California and the Bay Area will benefit from:

• $25.3 billion for California highways and $4.2 billion for California bridge repairs and replacements.
• $10.3 billion over five years to help improve Muni, BART and other California transit agencies providing essential transit services public transportation options – the single largest investment in public transit in history. 
• More than $8 billion for water needs in the Western United States, during a time of critical drought.
• $5 billion nationally for Safe Streets for All, which San Francisco can apply for funding towards its Vision Zero initiative to prevent traffic deaths.
• $3.5 billion over five years to improve California drinking and wastewater infrastructure.
• $3.3 billion nationally to prevent wildfires with wildfire mitigation, hazardous fuels reduction and prescribed burns on federal lands, as well as better pay for federal firefighters and more permanent firefighting positions.
• $1.5 billion for infrastructure development at California airports like SFO over five years.

These investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will create good paying union jobs and improve the quality of life for children, women and families in the Bay Area – and do so in a way that promotes equity and justice, delivering progress for working families.

Recognizing the Leadership of the San Francisco Interfaith Council
On Tuesday, it was a joy to be with faith leaders, family and friends for the San Francisco Interfaith Council’s Prayer Service – coming together in gratitude as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday.  For more than three decades, the Interfaith Council has turned faith into action: offering shelter, sanctuary and support to those in need.

We also honored the Interfaith Council’s founder and former chair Rita Semel, who turned 100 years old last week!  Rita has been a visionary, inspiring and tenacious leader, who has long torn down barriers to peace and justice and brought our communities together.  It was a great privilege to present to her a statement for the Congressional Record recognizing her lifetime of leadership and service.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi presents San Francisco Interfaith Council founder and past chair Rita Semel with a Congressional Record statement celebrating her 100th birthday. (Photo credit Bill Wilson)

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, Help Is Here!  Make sure you get your Rescue Plan benefits today.

Keeping Ahead of COVID in San Francisco 

The FDA has authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.  All vaccine sites in San Francisco and vaccination clinics at select SFUSD schools will be able to administer vaccines for these children:

• Tuesdays from 3:30-6:30 at Malcolm X Academy
• Wednesdays from 2:30-5:30 at Balboa High School
• Saturdays from 10:30-1:30 at McCoppin Elementary School
• Sundays from 10:30-1:30 at Sunset Elementary School

Adults 18 and over are authorized to receive a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine if 6 months have passed since their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine or if 2 months have passed since their Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  Schedule your COVID-19 booster shot in advance of the busy holiday season!  Learn about free COVID-19 testing options in San Francisco and access California’s digital vaccination portal. 

Also, flu season is here.  The San Francisco Department of Public Health strongly recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get a flu vaccine to safeguard their health, with the start of a flu season that overlaps with COVID-19 this year. 

A constituent who was missing their tax refund was at risk of defaulting on their mortgage.  My staff expeditiously contacted the Internal Revenue Service and were able to expedite the constituent’s tax refund of over $6,000. Caseworkers in my San Francisco office work to address any problems or concerns you may have with a federal government agency.  To submit a Casework Authorization Form, please visit my website.