Norma Torres

Legislator Watch: Representative Norma Torres Votes Against Curtailing U.S. Involvement in Israel’s War on Lebanon

On June 30, Representative Norma Torres (D) broke rank with her fellow Democrats to side with the vast majority of Republicans in voting against Representative Rashida Tlaib's Lebanon War Powers Resolution which, if passed, would have ordered the president to withdraw all U.S. service members from hostilities in Lebanon.

The measure failed by a vote of 189 to 235.

In what amounts to a sea-change of sentiment, the majority of Democrats (187) voted in favor of the resolution, joined by two Republicans, Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. However, a small minority of Democrats, 22 in total, including Congresswoman Norma Torres, voted against it.

Just Foreign Policy, an anti-war group, lambasted the 22 Democrats who voted against the resolution.

“These 22 fringe House Democratic hawks revealed today that they don’t actually want the Iran War to end,” the group wrote in a post to social media. “By failing to end U.S. participation in the Israeli war in Lebanon, they are undermining a peace deal.”

Statements made by the resolution's author, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib:

“The United States is not a bystander to these war crimes. It’s an active participant.”

And:

“The Trump administration is assisting the Israeli government as it bombs children in Lebanon. In just 25 days, nearly 1000 more people have died while Congress lacks the courage to end U.S. participation in this invasion. We must pass the Lebanon War Powers Resolution today [June 30].”

And:

“More than 1.3 million people have already been forced to leave their homes or be killed, with the Israeli military telling them they will not be allowed to return. Eighty-one Lebanese neighborhoods have been violently depopulated and demolished—erased from the map entirely.”

Congresswoman Norma Torres represents California's 35th Congressional District, which, after the passage of Proposition 50, includes the cities of Bloomington, Chino, Chino Hills, Claremont, Corona, Eastvale, Fontana, Montclair, Norco, Ontario, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, and Upland.

According to Track AIPAC, Congresswoman Norma Torres has received $427,988 in lifetime contributions from the pro-Israel lobbies.

Note from the editor:

As a Democrat, I often hear Democrats complain about our current Congress, asking why it is not doing more to curtail the current presidential administration's use of executive power, particularly in matters of war. Let this vote serve as part of the explanation. Even members of the president's opposition party are, at times, voting in ways that align with the administration's foreign policy and military objectives.

The 4 other Democratic Congress members from California who voted against the resolution are Representative Adam Gray (Central Valley); Rep. Jimmy Panetta (Central Coast); Representative Brad Sherman (North LA County and Ventura); and Representative Juan Vargas (Southern San Diego County).

Legislator Watch is an accountability series by The Pomonan that combines public records, legislative votes, campaign finance data, and editorial analysis to examine the actions of elected officials. While grounded in verifiable public information, the opinions and conclusions expressed are those of The Pomonan Editorial Board.

Rep Norma Torres Votes to Give Trump Unchecked Power to Pursue His "Domestic Enemies"

On November 21, Pomona’s Congresswoman Norma Torres, a Democrat, sided with the House Republicans to pass an act that would allow the US secretary of treasury to revoke an non-profit organization’s tax-exempt status by labeling it as “terrorist-supporting.”

This Act, called the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, comes with few checks and balances, and the vast majority of Democrats are wondering why, in this political atmosphere, with a newly-elected president who has vowed to use his presidential powers to wreak vengeance against his “domestic enemies,” Democrats would support such an act.

In all fairness, Torres was not the only Democrat who voted in favor. However, she is one of a minority of fifteen who have won the dubious distinction of crossing party lines to favor an Act that would only make it easier for the President-elect to pursue his enemies. The other Democrats include: Colin Allred (Texas), Yadira D. Caraveo (Colorado), Ed Case (Hawaii), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (North Carolina), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Suzanne Marie Lee (Nevada), Jared Moskowitz (Florida), Jimmy Panetta (California), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), Brad Schneider (Illinois), Tom Suozzi (New York) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida).

Last week, the same bill failed to advance out of the House because it failed to garner the two-thirds majority needed to pass during a suspension of the lower chamber’s rules. It was subsequently sent back to committee and retooled for a simple majority vote. While 52 Democrats voted for the bill previously, enormous pressure was applied to get those who backed the bill last week to come out against it.

The bill was originally aimed at curtailing the legal actions of pro-Palestinian protesters, and is extremely problematic as it messes with citizens’ basic right to free speech as outlined in the First Amendment of the Constitution. It's also redundant. It is already illegal to provide material support to terrorist organizations.

While it is unlikely that President Joe Biden will sign this bill into law, the same cannot be said for President-elect Trump. The bill, if passed, would make it possible for his administration to place punishing sanctions on many activist organizations, certain universities along with any number of news outlets to raise or bank money. The Act would prevent sanctioned organizations from pursuing legal recourse to plead their case.

Pomonans, who voted overwhelmingly for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, should be wondering why their House representative Norma Torres, sided with the Republicans this round. Norma Torres, whose interest are you representing?

The Pomonan editorial board consists of opinion journalists whose perspectives are shaped by their expertise, research, discussions, and established principles. This board operates independently from the newsroom.