Mark James DeSaulnier (/dəˈsoʊnieɪ/ də-SOH-nee-ay;[2] born March 31, 1952) is an American politician who has served as a U.S. representative from California since 2015.

[4] After his father, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge, became involved in a scandal in the early 1970s, DeSaulnier relocated to California, settling in Concord.

[citation needed] As a member of the Air Resources Board, DeSaulnier supported strong environmental regulations, including cleaner-burning gasoline, lower-emission vehicles (LEVs), the identification of diesel exhaust as a toxic air contaminant, dioxin monitoring in the Bay Area, the banning of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) in gasoline, the identification of secondhand smoke as a carcinogen, the reduction of emissions from dairy farms, the phase-out of rice straw in the central valley, and the reduction of emissions from cruise ships.

[citation needed] In the June 2006 Democratic primary, DeSaulnier won 52% of the vote against Pittsburg School Board Trustee Laura Canciamilla and two other opponents.

DeSaulnier won the general election against Republican Arne Simonsen and Libertarian Cory Nott with 66% of the vote.

His bills addressed truancy among schoolchildren, preschool access, suicide prevention, childhood obesity, reducing air pollution, smoke-free workplaces, and opportunities for at-risk youth.

[15] For the Live Earth concert in July 2007, DeSaulnier delivered the Democratic weekly radio address on steps people can take to reduce their carbon footprint.

He received 98% of the vote in the June Democratic primary election against write-in candidates; former Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla initially was to challenge DeSaulnier, but dropped out of the race.

He supported Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 3 to propose to California voters the question whether to call a convention to reform the state constitution.

[18] In September 2009, DeSaulnier amended SB 88 to attempt to restrict local governments' ability to shed pension programs through bankruptcy protection.

[23] In 2009, DeSaulnier announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in the special election in California's 10th congressional district after the resignation of Ellen Tauscher, who endorsed him.

[28][29] DeSaulnier and Representative David Cicilline introduced legislation to create a pathway for local newspapers to operate as nonprofits.

They attributed the loss of local ad revenue to the shift in media consumption habits: "As consumers have turned to online platforms like Facebook and Google to read the news, advertisers have followed, taking away a vital source of revenue local publications need to maintain their staffing levels.

The bill grants local news companies a 48-month safe harbor from anti-trust laws to negotiate with prominent online platforms for ad profits to address the shortage of journalists.

2860), a bill to establish a task force of experts at the Federal Trade Commission to determine the impact of bots on social media, public discourse, and elections.

[32] In January 2023 DeSaulnier introduced the "Breaking the Gridlock Act", a low-profile piece of legislation intended to serve as a vehicle for a discharge petition to increase the country's debt limit in the event of a congressional deadlock on the issue.