Mental health mission: Why a California lawmaker visited a Mexican psychedelics clinic
American veterans are traveling to a Mexican city where there have been so many homicides that the State Department advises they reconsider. Their reason: to take experimental psychedelic drugs the vets hope will treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses they incurred after combat. Southern California Rep. Lou Correa wants to make sure the treatments are safe and whether it makes sense to offer them in the U.S. Correa, a Democrat, recently traveled to the Tijuana clinic … Continue Reading
November 08, 2023
Behind Hamas’s Bloody Gambit to Create a ‘Permanent’ State of War
Thousands have been killed in Gaza, with entire families wiped out. Israeli airstrikes have reduced Palestinian neighborhoods to expanses of rubble, while doctors treat screaming children in darkened hospitals with no anesthesia. Across the Middle East, fear has spread over the possible outbreak of a broader regional war. But in the bloody arithmetic of Hamas’s leaders, the carnage is not the regrettable outcome of a big miscalculation. Quite the opposite, they say: It is the necessary cost … Continue Reading
September 11, 2023
Rep. Lou Correa Says Biden’s Visits to India, Vietnam Are Key to Shaping US Relations in Indo-Pacific
Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) credited President Joe Biden with making the right call by attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit in India over the weekend, saying the president’s actions send a key message about the U.S. role in the Indo-Pacific region. “President Biden did the right thing by showing up and showing that we are leaders in the world today, leaders for peace, leaders for democracy, leaders for freedom. And so I’m glad President Biden was there,” Mr. Correa said in an interview with … Continue Reading
September 08, 2023
Congressional Art Competition showcases high school artists on Capitol Hill
Ethan Cheng, a senior at Crean Lutheran High School, was chosen as the winner for California’s 46th district, which is represented by Congressman Lou Correa. His piece, called “Companion,” was inspired by a popular movie that’s nearly 3 decades old and Cheng’s own experience on mission trips to places like Africa. “I just came back from a mission trip and then I also watched 'Shawshank Redemption.' And I think, just both events really inspired me. I just fell. I felt really touched by both … Continue Reading
August 27, 2023
A Time For Chicanos and Chicanas
In 2022, Lou Corea, a Chicano, who represents Anaheim, Santa Ana, Stanton, Fullerton, and Orange, introduced into the house a resolution declaring the month of August as Chicano Heritage Month. This year, he submitted a similar resolution. But this Correa titled it, Chicano-Chicana Heritage Month. “We have to make sure our sisters are recognized for their tremendous contribution. I want to make sure it doesn’t say just Chicano, that people don’t think they’re being overlooked,” said … Continue Reading
August 07, 2023
Rep. Lou Correa introduces resolution to create a Chicano Heritage Month
U.S. Congressman Lou Correa, who represents Southern California’s 46th district which includes cities such as Santa Ana, Anaheim, Orange, Stanton and Fullerton, has reintroduced a resolution recognizing August as Chicano/Chicana Heritage Month. Over 60 members of Congress have sponsored the resolution. Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually in September, but Correa's reintroduced resolution looks to place Mexican Americans in the front by highlighting their contributions a month … Continue Reading
August 04, 2023
A Chicano Heritage Month? Yes and here's why, this legislator says
Correa, a Democrat, sees nothing wrong with celebrating all the different Latino heritages in the United States but says there is a need to spotlight the historical and cultural significance of Mexican Americans, who account for 61% of U.S. Latinos. Correa, who represents a Southern California district that includes cities such as Santa Ana, Anaheim, Orange, Stanton and Fullerton, has reintroduced a proposed resolution recognizing August as Chicano/Chicana Heritage Month. More than 60 members … Continue Reading
August 02, 2023
Correa seeks to honor Mexican Americans with Chicano-Chicana Heritage Month
While September marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, one California lawmaker is starting the celebration with recognition of the most populous segement of American folks of Hispanic descent. Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., will file a resolution to establish August as Chicano-Chicana Heritage Month, which would recognize and celebrate the significant contributions of Mexican Americans, who make up 61.4% of Hispanics in the United States. “We are not a monolith. America, in my opinion, is a … Continue Reading
July 21, 2023
Immigrant Work Permits Pitched to Biden as Fix for Employers
Democratic lawmakers are calling on President Joe Biden to address workforce needs in the US by granting temporary status and work authorization to undocumented immigrants. Providing deportation protection and work permits to immigrants who’ve lived in the US for years, as well as newly arrived migrants, would help the US fill almost 10 million job openings, dozens of lawmakers argued Friday in a letter obtained by Bloomberg Government. The push for executive action is the next phase … Continue Reading
July 19, 2023
Why mainstreaming psychedelics isn't generating a fuss
What we're watching: Psychedelic research has long been conducted by private companies, but lawmakers now are pushing for more federal funding. "We're looking at essentially trying to figure out what this stuff is good for," Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.), co-chair of the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies Caucus, told Axios. One of the bipartisan caucus' goal is to have the Department of Veterans Affairs research how veterans can benefit from psychedelics, which Correa says are "a … Continue Reading
July 17, 2023
Blue Lotus, Four Horsemen, Hydra and Pelican Bones: How the US fights the fentanyl crisis
Rep. Lou Correa of California said he wanted to bring them up − and discuss them − in order to get a sense of how DHS is attacking the fentanyl crisis from various directions. "This is an excellent sign that we actually have people on the ground that understand the facts and are engaged in solving each and every aspect of the challenge in front of us, which is whether it's money laundering or it's the actual fentanyl trafficking," Correa said in an interview Friday. "Because the … Continue Reading
July 12, 2023
Orange County Leaders Discuss How Farm Bill Can Boost Agriculture, Food Programs
U.S. House Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) met with local leaders July 6 to discuss the upcoming Farm Reauthorization bill where parties sounded off on what they wish to see in the updated legislation, which determines how the nation’s agriculture and food programs are run and funded. The legislation, which has been around since the 1930s to regulate and fund farming and agricultural practices and programs across the country, also decides where key funding for such will be allocated … Continue Reading
July 08, 2023
Which Orange County members of Congress can you find on Threads?
Social media giant Meta launched Threads a day after the Fourth of July holiday, and the brand-new Twitter alternative app has already picked up steam, becoming the most rapidly downloaded app. More than 30 million people signed up within the first few hours of the launch, said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — and that includes many members of Orange County’s congressional delegation. Others, though, are still relying on more familiar platforms to communicate … Continue Reading
June 23, 2023
Congress Should Force VA To Study Medical Marijuana For Military Veterans After Years Of Inaction, Lawmaker Says At Hearing
A Democratic congressman says that it’s time for Congress to give the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) a mandate to study the benefits and risks of marijuana for military veterans. At a Member Day hearing before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Thursday, Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA) urged the panel to advance his bipartisan bill, the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act. Back when he was serving in the California legislature, Correa said veterans started approaching … Continue Reading
June 15, 2023
GOP Congressman Says Psychedelic Therapy With Ibogaine ‘Changed My Life’ As Lawmakers Push Military Research
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) is leading that bipartisan legislation, titled the “Douglas ‘Mike’ Day Psychedelic Therapy to Save Lives Act of 2023,” honoring a former Navy SEAL and Silver Star recipient who died in March. The congressman is also renewing his call for reform through a separate must-pass defense measure. The bill filing came about two months after Crenshaw led a letter to House Appropriations subcommittee leaders, urging them to instruct federal … Continue Reading
June 13, 2023
Can psychedelics cure? This New Yorker says ‘yes' – and is taking on Congress
Walters created the first-ever Psychedelics Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus last year in Congress. In March, Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA) and Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) re-launched the bi-partisan initiative for the 118th Congress to address the mental health crisis, particularly facing the U.S. veterans. "To hear a Navy seal tell you that they are contemplating suicide and that this treatment is the only thing that saved them. To have the spouses tell you the same thing as they teared up is … Continue Reading
May 06, 2023
Youth organizations expanding access to mental health services in Anaheim with $1 million in federal funds
Advocates and operators of youth development programs met with U.S. Rep. Lou Correa (CA-46) in Anaheim on Thursday to celebrate the procurement of $1 million in funding to improve children’s access to mental health services and after school activities. The money will help cover the cost of targeted counseling and support by organizations like Be Well OC for around 500 kids, said Anaheim Community Foundation executive director Janis Heckel. It will also help pay for larger … Continue Reading
May 05, 2023
Anaheim receives $1 million in federal funds to address youth mental health
Rep. Lou Correa unveiled a giant check for $1 million at the Downtown Anaheim Youth Center’s gymnasium on Thursday, May 4, where a few dozen energetic teenagers in blue shirts sat watching on the bleachers. The money, given to the Anaheim Community Foundation, will help the city expand mental health and wellness resources for thousands of youth across Anaheim, according to Correa’s office. Officials from various agencies included in the ACT (Accelerate Change Together) Anaheim … Continue Reading
April 30, 2023
Lou Correa: Title 42 is rightfully set to end. But are we prepared?
Our world is seeing a global refugee movement, much of it because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering effects, that has reached our country’s front door. Mexico and Canada are also feeling the effects, like many of our Latin American neighbors. As the world economy stumbles, our economy remains the world’s economic locomotive, generating strong economic output and record low unemployment; and because of this, we have a worker shortage. That’s why there is a record … Continue Reading
April 28, 2023
OC lawmakers commemorate Black April with congressional resolution
Reps. Michelle Steel and Lou Correa are commemorating the 48th anniversary of Black April with a bipartisan congressional resolution. Black April marks the fall of Saigon and South Vietnam on April 30, 1975 to North Vietnamese troops. Millions of Vietnamese fled in boats to escape the communist regime, many finding a home in Orange County and building Little Saigon. Black April is marked locally each year with somber events. The two OC lawmakers, who together chair the Vietnam Caucus in … Continue Reading