Meeting with U.S. Congresswoman Chu

Meow Meow Foundation (MMF) principals Doug Forbes and Elena Matyas met with U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu on August 27 to discuss the fact that California day camps are not licensed.

Chu said that she had been unaware of the issue prior to the drowning death of Roxie Forbes at Summerkids camp in Altadena. She said that MMF should work with county officials, including Los Angeles Supervisor Kathryn Barger, to explore a pilot program.

Forbes and Matyas are currently attempting to sponsor legislation that would license day camps statewide, not nationwide. California is one of only 12 other states that does not license day camps. The state does license resident camps, otherwise known as resident camps.

Forbes and Matyas asked Chu to share information about the drowning and the proposed bill with her former and current political allies in order to rally champions ahead of the next legislative session in January.

Chu was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in July 2009.  She represents the 27th Congressional District, which includes Pasadena and the west San Gabriel Valley of southern California.

She serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation pertaining to taxes, revenues, Social Security and Medicare. In that Committee, She is also a member of the Subcommittees on Health and Human Resources, giving her oversight over healthcare reform and crucial safety net programs. 

In 2011, Chu was elected Chair of the  Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, which advocates for the needs and concerns of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community across the nation. She helps lead the Tri-Caucus, a joint effort with the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

Chu was first elected to the Board of Education for the Garvey School District in 1985, after which she was elected to the Monterey Park City Council where she served as Mayor three times.  Chu was eventually elected to the State Assembly and then California’s elected tax board, known as the State Board of Equalization.  In 2009, she became the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress in history.