U.S. Representative Panetta to Host at State of the Union Local Small Business Owner Who Recently Experienced Severe Storm Damage
Santa Cruz, CA – U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) announced that a local small business owner who experienced severe damage to his restaurant due to the recent storms will be his guest at the State of the Union address by President Joe Biden on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. Santa Cruz resident Chuck Hammers, who owns Pizza My Heart, a restaurant in Capitola, will attend the State of the Union at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. next week. Like many local small business owners in California's 19th Congressional District, Hammers and his restaurant in Capitola endured extensive damage due to the recent storms and tidal surge. During the recent tour of the numerous small businesses in Capitola by President Biden and Rep. Panetta, Hammers showed the leaders the full extent of the damage to his restaurant and discussed what it will take to recover and return to normal.
Rep. Panetta has helped lead the effort to ensure federal resources are made available to communities, families, and businesses in the 19th Congressional District and across California to recover from the storms. On January 15, President Joe Biden granted a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of California following an effort led by Rep. Panetta with the entire California delegation urging expedited action. Businesses in Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Clara counties are eligible for federal disaster assistance.
"The damage sustained by Chuck's businesses is an all-too-common story for small business owners in our communities following the recent storms, from Santa Cruz County to Monterey County and on down to northern San Luis Obispo County," said Rep. Panetta. "When President Biden came to survey the damage, he promised us that the federal government would stay on the ground for as long as it takes to get our communities back on our feet and back to normal. I continue to work to ensure that the federal government lives up to that obligation so that individuals and small businesses in the 19th Congressional District can repair and recover in a timely and efficient manner. Chuck's presence at the State of the Union is a symbol not of the damage and difficult times experienced by so many during the recent deluge, but rather it signifies the commitment of the federal government to work together to serve the public and our community's will to get our local small businesses back open so that they can continue serving their customers."
"I am extremely honored to be Rep. Panetta's guest to the State of the Union address," said Chuck Hammers, owner of Pizza My Heart. "Being born and raised in Salinas, I have found Jimmy Panetta to be amazingly responsive to his constituents. He personally reached out to me during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure our business and employees had the federal support we needed, and he was the first legislator to visit my restaurant in the storm damaged area in Capitola. I'm proud to be able to represent our communities and the victims of the recent floods, as we work to rebuild."
President Biden will address the nation during a joint session of Congress for his second State of the Union address on February 7, at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT.
###