About
Congressman Robert Garcia is a career educator, who served two terms as the Mayor of Long Beach, California. Congressman Garcia is President of the Democratic Freshman Class, Ranking Member of the National Security, Border and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Oversight Committee, and is a proud member of the Congressional Progressive, Hispanic and Equality Caucuses.
Congressman Garcia believes in defending our democracy, leveling the playing field with progressive education policy, addressing the climate crisis, supporting working families with increasing wages, and fighting to expand and protect essential rights for women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community. In his first year in Congress, he has championed legislation to regulate ammunition sales to address our gun violence epidemic, shipping lane pollution reduction, pandemic preparedness, and defending international human rights.
Under his leadership as Mayor, Long Beach piloted programs like tuition-free community college and universal basic income for single working mothers. In his first year in Congress, he has championed progressive legislation to address our gun violence epidemic by regulating ammunition sales; to end pollution from ocean vessels which harms our communities, to promote urban density and affordable housing, to help the federal government fight pandemics, and to codify an ambassador to fight for global LGBTQ+ rights abroad.
Congressman Garcia has also been a leader in access to quality, affordable health care and was co-chair of Mayors for Medicare for All. Under Congressman Garcia's leadership, Long Beach was nationally recognized as a model city for its response to COVID-19 for containing the spread of the virus, providing a community-focused testing operation, and excelling at vaccine distribution. Garcia knows the pain the pandemic took on families, having lost his mother and stepfather to COVID.
Garcia was elected to represent California’s 42nd Congressional District, including Long Beach and Southeast Los Angeles, in November 2022.
He is proud to serve as the first openly LGBTQ foreign-born member of Congress. A self-admitted comic book nerd, Garcia credits comics with helping him learn to read and write English and has since channeled his love of popular culture into founding the Congressional Popular Arts Caucus, which celebrates the economic and cultural contributions of the popular arts.
Congressman Garcia immigrated from Peru to the United States as a young child and was raised in Southern California, and became a U.S. citizen in his 20's. He holds an M.A. from the University of Southern California and an Ed.D. in Higher Education from Cal State Long Beach, where he also earned his B.A. in Communications.