Rep. Steel Challenger Makes False Claims About Congresswoman’s Bills Signed into Law

Despite Accusations of Ineffectiveness, Records Show Congresswoman Michelle Steel's Legislative Achievements and Commitment to Community.

Longshot Congressional challenger Kim Nguyen sent an email to supporters last week making false claims that Congresswoman Michelle Steel is the least effective member of Orange County’s congressional delegation.

Steel, who is serving her second term in Congress, has actually had several bills signed into law by President Biden after just a few years in Congress, many of which had bipartisan support. For example, records show the congresswoman has gathered broad support for successful bills such as the Access to Baby Formula Act, Supply Chain Task Force, and many others.

In addition to these bills, Steel also delivered $15.5 million in federal funding to repair Orange County’s beaches, which have been waiting nearly 15 years to be completed. In total, Steel has introduced nearly two dozen bills, co-sponsored over two hundred, and has had 14 of those bills become law. Nguyen’s Friday email told prospective donors that “Michelle Steel has put MAGA extremism ahead of what’s right for our community, passing ZERO bills during the last session of Congress.” In contrast to Nguyen’s forceful statement, one of Steel’s biggest initiatives has been to stand against AAPI hate - with the Senate resolution of her bill passing last session. “Many of my constituents are first-generation Americans like me. They came to this country, fleeing Communism and persecution or looking for a better life, and they found freedom here,” Steel told readers in a recent op-ed for the OC Register. “Unfortunately, in direct contrast to those principles, our country has witnessed a sharp increase in hate crimes and incidents since the COVID-19 pandemic targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, (AAPI) in recent years.” By introducing her resolution, she made it clear that Congress should condemn racism in any form against AAPI communities, and call on federal law enforcement to both cooperate with state and local officials and also bring the perpetrators to justice.

Despite Nguyen’s assertions, critics say that this may just be an attempt by Nguyen to gather donations in a campaign that hasn’t made much progress since being announced in January. The OC Register’s opinion desk recently wrote that there’s “no sign Kim Bernice Nguyen can actually unseat Michelle Steel.”