ared Huffman represents California’s 2nd Congressional District which spans the North Coast of the state, from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, and includes Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, and Del Norte counties. He was first elected to Congress in November 2012 and currently serves on the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. In the 117th Congress, he chairs the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife, with jurisdiction over federal water projects, fisheries management, coastal zone and oceans policy, and wildlife and endangered species. Jared also founded the Congressional Freethought Caucus to promote sound public policy based on reason, science and moral values, while protecting the secular character of government and championing the value of freedom of thought worldwide.
The 2nd Congressional District of California is home to world-famous agricultural products, including some of the nation’s best wine grapes, pears and apples, as well as dairy and meats, which create jobs and feed our country.
The Farm Bill should improve food access and affordability, control the threat of food-borne illnesses, reduce environmental impacts, conserve scarce water resources, inform consumers about the products they buy, and support local, regional, and organic food systems.
I will keep working to strengthen our local farms and ranches, consumers, and communities. The 2nd District is also at the forefront of the legal cannabis industry. I support legalization for adults, regulation and taxation of this industry, while also supporting greater enforcement against illegal cannabis grows, which cause great environmental damage and perpetuate the black market.
I am working in Congress to reform federal law to allow responsible cannabis businesses to be treated as lawful enterprises in California and a growing number of other states that have legalized cannabis.
Antibiotics in Foods:
Our food system should be making Americans healthier, not putting us at greater risk. That’s why I’m a cosponsor of the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, which would limit the overuse of antibiotics on food animal farms.
Genetically-Engineered Foods:
I believe that everyone should know what is in their food, so that consumers can make informed choices. For example, some prefer to avoid GMO foods because they do not want to support the increased pesticides or herbicide use that generally accompanies GMO crops. That is why I am a cosponsor of the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act, to require that any foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients be labeled accordingly. I am also a lead cosponsor of the Prevention of Escapement of Genetically Altered Salmon in the United States (PEGASUS) Act, which aims to keep genetically-engineered salmon—which threaten our wild salmon populations—out of our oceans, rivers, and streams.
Surveillance
I believe we can keep our nation secure without over-broad authorities that allow intelligence agencies and others to violate Americans’ privacy and data security, and undermine Constitutional protections. I am a cosponsor of the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act to end the dragnet collection of Americans’ phone records and to provide more safeguards for warrantless surveillance under the FISA Amendments Act. I have also introduced legislation to reform U.S. national security laws and have voted to end the NSA’s indiscriminate surveillance of American citizens.
Voting Rights:
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was one of the most significant legislative achievements of the Civil Rights movement. All Americans must have equal access to the polls and an opportunity to have their voices heard.
As a member of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, I have worked in Congress to help restore protections undermined by the 2013 Supreme Court ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act. I am a cosponsor of the Voting Rights Advancement Act to protect all Americans’ right to vote, and of the Voting Rights Amendment Act, which would require, among other things, jurisdictions with a recent record of repeated Voting Rights Act violations to pre-clear election law changes. These and other important voting rights protections are included in H.R. 1, which I am cosponsoring in the 116th Congress.
H.R. 1, the For The People Act, is House Democrats’ transformative legislation to restore transparency, ethics, and unity to government, so that we can honor the public’s trust and put the power back in the hands of the people:
In March 2015 and again this year, I traveled with congressional colleagues to Selma, Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama for a civil rights pilgrimage focused on the historical struggle to win voting rights. These inspiring experiences only strengthened my commitment to securing the right to vote for all Americans.
Campaign Finance:
I believe the growing influence of money in politics, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, has compromised our political system and our democracy by allowing corporations and secret groups of donors to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence our elections.
I was a cosponsor of the Democracy for All Amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s disastrous 2010 Citizens’ United decision. I am a cosponsor of another solution, the Government by the People Act, which would amplify the voices of average Americans and help level the playing field.
I’m also a cosponsor of H.R. 1, which would reduce the role of big money in politics, advance fair elections by strengthening the Voting Rights Act, and restore ethics and integrity to Washington.
I am always eager to dig into local and regional issues affecting this great congressional district. Much of my work in Washington is driven by specific cases and projects that my constituents face, from river restoration to rural broadband needs.
Town halls are an important time for me to hear constituent concerns, answer questions and share my policy perspectives. The response to the dozens of town halls we’ve held over the past two years alone has been remarkable – more than 14,000 constituents have participated, with additional participants joining us online. My constituents also share their concerns and priorities with me by mail, email and fax – sometimes more than 4,0000 pieces of correspondence per week, which is more than double most congressional offices! The people of the 2nd district are engaged and participating in the political process like never before.
Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to stay informed about my upcoming community events on the North Coast.
THE BUDGET:
Congress has a responsibility to help bolster our economic recovery, and the federal budget should support investments in transportation infrastructure, research and development, and education that create jobs here at home. That’s why I have supported the Democratic budget proposals that create millions of new jobs by investing in infrastructure, providing businesses with tax credits for creating jobs, supporting our schools and institutions of higher-education, and establishing a Veterans Jobs Corps. I oppose budgets that slash Medicare, hurt job creation, tank funding for education and infrastructure investments, and undermine clean water and clean air protections.
JOBS AND WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS:
Many working families – on the North Coast and throughout the nation — still feel they cannot get ahead. Wages are stagnant while the costs of prescription drugs, college and housing continue to grow. It's no wonder many people feel frustrated and left behind.
We know many of the things that can help middle class families meet these challenges: keeping health care affordable, making sure more workers are covered by overtime protections, and providing paid family leave and child care; however, those tools alone are not enough to combat the broader economic changes that are hurting working families. We also need to ensure that our trade policies support workers, and we need to do more to provide the tools people need to succeed in the 21st century global economy.
TRADE:
Trade agreements must promote strong protections for American consumers, workers, public health, and the environment.
I opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) which would have established a new free trade agreement involving a number of countries around the Pacific Ocean, from Mexico to Japan, and Canada to Peru. I was particularly concerned with the weak environmental standards in the agreement.
TARIFFS:
Former President Trump’s reckless trade wars threatened economic growth, hurting individual families and businesses across the country. Of course we need to confront trade abuses by China and other countries. But we must do that thoughtfully, and working with allies, rather than spontaneously invoking tariffs and declaring trade wars on Twitter. We must also be smarter about the fights we pick. The former President’s first act in this trade war was to slap 30% tariffs on all imported solar panel products – even on American-produced components. The clean energy industry is an American success story, and these tariffs will harm our clean energy economy, costing tens of thousands of American jobs. To reverse this reckless decision, I joined several colleagues in introducing the bipartisan Protecting American Solar Jobs Act.
America’s future depends on a strong investment in education. Preparing our students to compete in the global economy requires proper funding and resources, a safe learning environment, and a committed local community.
K-12:
We must work on a bipartisan basis to make sure important programs like Head Start receive proper funding, maintain civil rights protections for students, support priorities like environmental education and high-speed broadband infrastructure while also assisting rural schools that have lost property tax revenue due to nearby federal property.
Our students deserve safe, modern schools and libraries with the necessary broadband internet connections to improve collaboration and access cutting-edge educational materials. That’s why I previously introduced the Investing for Tomorrow’s Schools Act, which will give school districts and public libraries the tools to maintain high-performing facilities that reduce energy use and give our children the best opportunity to succeed.
Special Education:
More than 6.5 million children are eligible for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The federal government has committed to contributing 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure for each special education student, but we have never met this funding target.
That’s why I introduced the IDEA Full Funding Act, a bipartisan bill that would require regular increases in special education funding. This bill will help ensure students with disabilities receive the support and resources they need to help them prepare for further education, employment, and independent living.
I also previously introduced the IDEA High Cost Pool Funding Act to support states that set up funding “pools” to help reimburse local schools for special educational services that are three times or more the average per-pupil expenditure. This legislation builds on the historic civil rights law by authorizing additional federal funding to help keep IDEA’s promise that every child with disabilities would have the opportunity to reach his or her full potential.
Higher Education:
Today, a college education is more important than ever, and we need to ensure that higher education is affordable and accessible for all American students. That is why I am a cosponsor of a number of bills to help students achieve a higher education, including the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, which empowers millions of students and graduates to refinance their college loans to lower rates. I’m also a cosponsor of the Pathways to an Affordable Education Act, which will make college more affordable by increasing the individual maximum Pell grant, indexes the grant for inflation, and restores year-round Pell grants to allow students to take summer and intersession classes. In recognition of World Refugee Day, I authored a new bill, the To Offer Refugees College Help (TORCH) Act, which would expand affordable access to a college education for refugees, people who have been granted political asylum, and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders who assisted U.S. armed forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.
I also introduced the International & National Service Promotion to Ignite Renewed Engagement (INSPIRE) Act, which would take steps to unleash the renewed civic engagement of a half a million dedicated individuals to service at home and across the world, while also mobilizing Americans in becoming more active citizens through expanded service opportunities, especially in rural America.
Climate Change:
Addressing climate change is the greatest imperative of our time. The stakes are enormous for our environment, our economy, and our planet. Confronting climate change will require major investments in infrastructure, new technologies, high quality jobs, and energy independence. Pursuing these projects will not only make progress on climate change, they will also make our country stronger, healthier, and more prosperous. I am a member of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, and an original cosponsor of the Green New Deal resolution.
Thankfully, California has already taken bold steps to combat climate change, proving that climate leadership and economic prosperity can go hand in hand. I have worked on these issues since my time in the state legislature and am committed to advancing many of our proven California strategies at the federal level and doing even more
Science says that we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground to protect the planet for future generations, which is why I introduced the ‘Keep It in the Ground Act’ to reduce carbon emissions and break our nation’s addiction to fossil fuels by permanently barring new fossil fuel leases on all federal public lands and in federal waters.
I have helped lead the congressional response to President Trump’s reckless decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and roll back President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. The Paris Agreement and the Clean Power Plan call for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. Along with Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, I introduced the “Still-In Resolution,” a bipartisan House Concurrent Resolution to reaffirm that Congress remains committed to the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. Along with Congressman Frank Pallone, I led the congressional effort to defend the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan in court, filing a bipartisan “friend of the court” brief with 208 current and former members of Congress and Senators.
Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency:
Increasing investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources is a critical tool in the fight against climate change, which is why I introduced the Home Improvement Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill to help homeowners make investments in their homes and save money on electricity costs by improving and modernizing the Title I Home and Property Improvement Loan Program, one of America’s oldest tools for assisting homeowners to remodel and upgrade their homes. This bill is a win for homeowners, our local economies, and our environment. By spurring homeowners to invest in efficiency upgrades, photovoltaic panels, house weatherization, and new HVAC systems, we can help homeowners save money on energy bills and fight climate change at the same time.
I have introduced the Gas Tax Replacement Act, which would replace the gas tax with a new carbon tax applied to surface transportation fuels, based on a life-cycle assessment of carbon emissions. The new tax would provide critical funds to the Highway Trust Fund while encouraging advancement in clean energy and reducing carbon.
Congress must act to address the gun violence epidemic in this country. I am an original cosponsor of Rep. Mike Thompson’s H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, to require a background check for every firearm sale.
Although, we’re fortunate that California has strict gun safety laws, I have continued working to minimize federal loopholes and pass commonsense regulations to protect law-abiding citizens in California and throughout the nation. As a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, I have worked to strengthen gun safety laws, including as a cosponsor of the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act, bipartisan legislation to expand the federal background check system, as well as legislation to end Congress’s 20 year ban on federal gun violence research.
In 2016, I joined my Democratic colleagues, led by iconic civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis, in a sit-in on the House floor to urge an immediate vote on gun safety legislation that has been stalled for years. Read more about this historic effort HERE.
While the Affordable Care Act did not solve all of America’s unique health care challenges, the law made health care far more accessible and affordable for millions of Americans, including thousands right here on the North Coast.
The mission to bring about universal health care cannot stop with the Affordable Care Act, which is why I am a cosponsor of the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act. It is time for the United States to join the standard set by all other industrialized countries and create a universal, single-payer healthcare system. Medicare is a strong, successful healthcare program that delivers quality services. Giving all Americans the option to participate in Medicare would expand access to affordable healthcare.
Medicare is already one of the most successful programs in our nation’s history, and the more people who participate, the better it will be for everyone. I am also an original cosponsor of the Choose Medicare Act in the 115th Congress to make Medicare available to all Americans by offering individuals the opportunity to enroll and allowing businesses of all sizes to purchase coverage for their employees. This bill would help lower drug costs, let millions of Americans buy into first-rate and reasonably-priced health care, and give businesses a new health insurance option for their employees.
We must strengthen programs that reduce hunger and improve nutrition for American families, including food stamps (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Summer Food Service Program, and federal assistance for local food banks. Nearly 75% of SNAP recipients are families with children, and more than a quarter of SNAP recipients are households with seniors or people with disabilities. I took the SNAP Challenge during my first year in Congress and lived off of $4.50 a day for food—to demonstrate the modest benefit SNAP recipients get, and underscore that we shouldn’t be reducing any part of America’s food safety net.
Food security is essential to the development and academic success of our nation’s children. That is why I am a cosponsor of the Summer Meals Act, which would expand access to meals during the summer, holidays, and weekends, and why I am calling for increased funding for our federal school meals programs, which – even with the $0.06 increase from the 2010 authorization of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act –remain woefully inadequate.
America’s immigration system is broken.
Comprehensive immigration reform will jump start our economy, lower our deficit, and create jobs. According to estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in 2014, fixing our broken immigration system will reduce the federal deficit by about $200 billion while increasing our gross domestic product by 3.3% over the next 10 years. Currently, more than 11 million undocumented people live and work in the United States, many of whom have lived here their entire lives. We owe it to millions of Americans and aspiring citizens to consider this issue seriously and produce a solution.
I support DREAMers. They have been raised here, attend our schools, graduate from our universities, and serve in our military. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program protected these young people. They deserve to have a chance to earn their way to citizenship, and Former President Trump’s decision to terminate DACA was a cruel, broken promise. That’s why I invited Alex DeLeon, a participant in the DACA program, to the 2019 State of the Union Address as my guest. Her story is like that of so many other young, talented, inspiring DREAMers, a stark reminder that Trump’s cruel actions have impacted millions of people, and that we must keep fighting for solutions to our broken immigration system.
Trump created a humanitarian crisis by his “zero tolerance” policy of separating parents from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border, part of a broader anti-immigration agenda that makes legal immigration more difficult and puts DREAMers in jeopardy. I have consistently opposed these lateral policies and actions and will continue to do so.
Our seniors work hard all their lives and pay into Social Security and Medicare; when they retire, they deserve to retire with dignity. They should never have to worry about getting the earned benefits they paid for during their working years. I intend to make sure we keep our promise to our seniors, by making sure Social Security and Medicare continue to provide the financial and health protections for a secure and healthy retirement and continue to assist our most vulnerable.
Strengthening Social Security and Retirement Savings:
To ensure the long term solvency of the Trust Fund and to improve the Social Security benefits, I am a cosponsor of the Social Security 2100 Act to strengthen our retirement system for current and future seniors. The bill would improve benefits, implement a more accurate cost of living formula known as CPI-E, and provide a tax cut for over 10 million beneficiaries. The legislation is fully funded and is estimated by the independent analysis of the Social Security Administration’s Chief Actuary to keep the system solvent beyond the next 75 years.
I also previously introduced the American Savings Account Act, which would ensure that every American worker has additional options available to save for a strong and secure retirement. Currently, 68 million American workers do not have access to a retirement savings plan through their employer. And more than half of American households age 55 and older have no personal retirement savings.
The American Savings Account Act would create a new American Savings Account (ASA), a personal, tax advantaged retirement savings plan modeled after the high-quality Thrift Savings Plan offered to federal workers since 1986 and make it available to every private sector American worker currently without access to an employer-sponsored savings plan such as a 401(k) or 403(b) plan. Under this plan, every American would be auto-enrolled in a portable retirement savings plan that they could tailor to meet their savings preferences and needs.
Too many Americans are being left behind by the digital divide that persists in rural America and Native American territories. That’s why I previously introduced the New Deal Rural Broadband Act of 2017, an ambitious plan to connect every American home, business, and school to high-speed, reliable broadband internet that is based on Roosevelt’s New Deal rural electrification model. The legislation would expand access to broadband internet in rural communities in my North Coast congressional district and across the nation through increased investments in broadband infrastructure, improved programs to support tribal communities in broadband development, and the establishment of a new Office of Rural Broadband Initiatives to better coordinate all Federal rural broadband deployment programs.
I also have worked to close the digital divide through the introduction of the Public Lands Telecommunications Act, which aims to expand 21st century broadband infrastructure to every home, school, and business on the North Coast by providing agencies like the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest service with the resources to partner with industry and community leaders to achieve this goal.
Many of these proposed broadband improvements were included in the 2018 Farm Bill, including:
Local and Independent Television Protections Against Media Monopolies:
In the 115th Congress, I introduced the Local and Independent Television Protection Act, which would protect local television markets across the country from corporate consolidation by permanently ending the so-called “UHF discount,” an obsolete FCC loophole that the Trump administration has attempted to revive to benefit right-wing media conglomerates by dramatically reducing competition among local TV stations across the country.
Net Neutrality:
The Trump administration has repeatedly attacked the net neutrality protections that ensure a free and open Internet, culminating in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vote in December 2017 to dismantle the Obama administration’s net neutrality rules. I am a cosponsor of the Save the Internet Act legislation to reject the FCC’s order, and restore net neutrality protections that ensure a free and open internet.
As a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I work to promote investment in public transportation and the economic vibrancy of rural communities.
I advanced a number of North Coast priorities in the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which passed the House of Representatives. This legislation will improve rural air service for small community airports like the California Redwood Coast - Humboldt County Airport and increase the equitable treatment of forestry and fire protection pilots.
The development of new transportation systems and the protection and enhancement of existing infrastructure are integral components to a successful and stable economy. I worked diligently to defend the SMART Rail Project in Northern California and to maintain the accessibility and functionality of the Petaluma River for commerce and navigation—a fight that continues on as we work to secure funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for chronically underfunded shallow dredging projects in the North Bay and other parts of the district.
I have worked throughout my career on California water policy, serving as the Chair of the Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee in Sacramento, and on the board of the Marin Municipal Water Board before that. California’s water story is one of feast or famine, with the state experiencing devastating floods following years of drought. This is made worse by a changing climate, which has reduced clean drinking water supplies, put pressure on food producers, driving iconic fish and wildlife to the brink of extinction, and threatened our tourism and recreation industries.
Water Infrastructure and Drought Resilience
As the chair of the Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee in the 116th Congress, I am working to provide a range of short- and long-term solutions to stretch water supplies and build new clean water infrastructure. In 2015, I introduced comprehensive drought response legislation, a range of short- and long-term solutions to stretch water supplies and build new clean water infrastructure, creating jobs without undermining environmental protections, preempting state laws, or redirecting impacts from one drought-stricken area to another.
Modernizing the Army Corps’ Work at our Ports, Harbors, Reservoirs, and Waterways:
I have led the effort in Congress to bring Army Corps reservoir operations in line with modern science, to help save water, and to support communities through extreme weather events. The Army Corps of Engineers operates many of its reservoirs—critical for the water supply of cities and towns throughout the country, including in Sonoma County—on outdated and obsolete water control manuals, some of which are as much as 60 years old. In the 115th Congress, I authored two key provisions in the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 2018, jump-starting a long-overdue feasibility study for raising Coyote Valley Dam, and moving ahead with much-needed reservoir operation modernization at Lake Mendocino.
Fisheries:
I have led efforts to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, our country’s most important fisheries law, in a way that includes constructive bipartisan ideas while building on what is already working to make our nation’s fisheries more sustainable. I will continue to work to improve sustainable management, allow for appropriate flexibility, modernize aspects of fisheries management, and ensure science-based limits.
River Restoration and Protection:
I am the co-chair of the House Wild Salmon Caucus and work to ensure the North Coast’s rivers are healthy enough to uphold all the values they represent, including fishing, tribal trust responsibilities, endangered species and other fish and wildlife, power generation, and recreation.
In the 115th Congress, I helped protect the iconic Smith River by securing a twenty-year ban on new mining projects in an ecologically and economically critical region in Southwest Oregon, which includes the Smith River headwaters. The people of Del Norte County, the Elk Valley and Tolowa Dee-ni' tribes, and thousands of other Californians and Oregonians who cherish the Smith River have united in working to secure two decades of protection for this spectacular landscape and its wildlife for future generations.
One of the most important river restoration projects throughout the nation is the ongoing effort to remove the four dams on the Klamath River, which will rebuild the river’s salmon runs. I am working to ensure this historic project meets the vision of North Coast tribes, fishing groups, conservation organizations, and my downstream constituents who will benefit greatly from a revitalized, free-flowing Klamath River.
Public Lands:
My first piece of legislation in Congress was H.R. 1411, the California Coastal National Monument Expansion Act, which advanced the efforts of the local community to add the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands on the Mendocino Coast to the California Coastal National Monument (CCNM). In 2013, the House of Representatives unanimously passed my bill and demonstrated important bipartisan support for protecting this beautiful stretch of coastline. In 2014, President Obama used his executive authority and brought the land into permanent protection as a National Monument.
It is fitting that President Obama followed in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt in using the Antiquities Act—the same law used to protect the Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty—to protect this jewel of the Mendocino Coast for future generations. Thousands of new visitors each year will travel to see this gateway to the Coastal National Monument. As they enjoy some of the best ocean views in Northern California, they will also provide a significant boost to Mendocino County’s biggest source of employment – the local tourism industry.
I have also authored historic legislation to protect many of the spectacular wild places and pristine streams within California’s 2nd Congressional District. The Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act would restore national forest land and fish habitat, stimulate local economies through forest stewardship programs, enhance recreational opportunities including through trails and visitor centers, and reduce fire danger. The bill would also designate 379 miles of new Wild and Scenic Rivers and mandates federal agencies to create management plans for the 101 miles of existing rivers.
California San Francisco Bay Delta:
The San Francisco Bay Delta is the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas, sustaining countless migratory birds and an economically vital salmon fishery, recreational opportunities, and improved quality of life for residents and tourists alike. Unfortunately, centuries of development, pollution, and water diversions have constricted the amount of water that flows naturally through the Bay-Delta and starved its wetlands and rivers. Current environmental standards are protecting an ecosystem on life support and are insufficient for a full and vibrant recovery.
Dating back to my time in the state legislature, where I played a leading role in crafting and passing a historic package of water reforms in 2009, I have fought to forge consensus around effective science-based environmental and clean water protections so that we can meet California’s water needs without sacrificing the salmon industry or the environmental values that make California great.
Easing the Tax Burden on Homeowners Making Water-Efficient Choices:
I am the author of the Water Conservation Rebate Tax Parity Act, a bipartisan common-sense fix to the tax code to ensure that homeowners and businesses are not taxed for improving their water footprint.
Improving Water Quality & Efficiency on Farms:
Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a USDA initiative to help farming and conservation work hand in hand. In the 115th Congress, I introduced the Farmers CARE Act to strengthen the EQIP program and improve water and air quality, soil and wildlife habitat while supporting and improving agricultural operations.
It is past time to heed the lessons of Prohibition and decriminalize cannabis at the federal level. After decades of focusing enormous resources on criminalization, the national conversation about marijuana has finally begun to change. The federal criminalization of marijuana has done more damage than good – ruining lives through mass incarceration (which disproportionately impacts communities of color), establishing a huge, dysfunctional black-market economy and straining limited federal enforcement and judicial resources. I am a cosponsor of several bills to decriminalize cannabis, provide access to banking services, and protect states like California that are now regulating marijuana for adult recreational use.
As we move toward more rational marijuana policies at the national level, it’s important that we address the immediate threats to our environment and public safety posed by trespass growing operations and other harmful practices. Throughout my district and increasingly throughout the United States, we’re seeing trespass marijuana grows threatening endangered wildlife, contaminating fragile salmon streams, and making forests unsafe for work and recreation. That’s why I introduced the Protecting Lands Against Narcotics Trafficking Act to establish new penalties for environmental damages caused by the illegal cultivation of marijuana on public lands.
In the 115th Congress, I introduced the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act. This legislation would restore lands impaired by illegal marijuana growing operations. This bill incorporates community input from public listening sessions and stakeholder meetings on the North Coast.
As a member of the Congressional Native American Caucus, I proudly represent a district rich with indigenous diversity. There are more than 25 federally-recognized tribes in California’s 2nd District, more than any other single congressional district outside of the state of Alaska. These Tribes include:
Living up to the promises the United States has made to Native Americans may not be easy, but it is necessary. I am working with my colleagues on the Natural Resources Committee to help improve tribal access to health care, justice, housing, education, and sustainable economic growth. That also includes standing up to President Trump when he ignores tribal interests to expedite the Dakota Access Pipeline or to undermine the Bears Ears National Monument.
Many tribes still retain fishery and water rights, including on some of California’s most productive salmon strongholds. It is imperative that we continue to honor our trust responsibilities to Native American Tribes and work together to make sure that our rivers, streams, and native fish populations remain healthy for future generations.