At the July 19, 2016 meeting of RB Sunrise Rotary, Scott Peters, the United States Representative for California’s 52^nd congressional district, spoke about serving in the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.  Representative Peters, a Democrat, in his third term in Congress, serves as a member of the House Armed Services Committee and sits on two subcommittees: Seapower & Projection Forces; and Intelligence, Emerging Threats, & Capabilities.  As a member of the Armed Services Committee, he is responsible for the oversight and legislation pertinent to our national defense.

 

Mr. Peters started out about talking about his focus in Congress was to get funding for scientific research, support for innovators in business, and everyone having access to education.

 

As a member of Congress, he worked to repeal the “Obamacare” 2.3% excise tax on medical devices that hurt small innovators.  It did not get repealed but was delayed by two years.  Mr. Peters supported a permanent R&D tax credit of $2,500 for students and succeeded in getting $2 billion in funding for the National Institute of Health, which in turn is $2 billion in funding for San Diego biotech businesses.  He also is dealing with the government’s wildfire funding program by getting additional funding to fight fires in the San Diego area.

 

As a member of the Armed Services Committee, he makes sure that the seven military installations in his district are being funding appropriately, including the Navy Seals of Coronado, Miramar Marine Corps Base jet hangars, and retrofitting of ship structures and building of new ships.