House lawmakers form Calif. coastal issues caucus

August 20, 2021

Thirteen Democratic lawmakers have joined the Congressional California Coastal Caucus: Reps. Ted Lieu, Jared Huffman, Julia Brownley, Eric Swalwell, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Alan Lowenthal, Jimmy Panetta, Mike Levin, Ro Khanna, Jackie Speier, Salud Carbajal, Barbara Lee and Anna Eshoo.

Brownley and Lieu will serve as co-chairs. The group in a statement said it wants to focus on federal policy as it affects the Golden State's 840 miles of coastline, "including issues relating to the environment and economy."

More than 26 million people live in California's coastal counties, the highest coastal population in the nation, Lieu said. Much of the coast faces the prospect of sea-level rise, which already is causing erosion of cliffs and the collapse of beachfront homes in some locations (Climatewire, July 12, 2017). Many beach cities dependent on tourism have sand trucked in to replace the amounts lost from higher tides.

"From rising oceans, which threaten local community infrastructure, to ocean acidification and pollution, which threaten our local fisheries and tourism industries, Congress must tackle coastal policy head-on," Brownley said in a statement.

Her district in Ventura County has 42 miles of coastline. She said, "The Coastal Caucus will provide us an opportunity to work together — across the various committees that we each sit on — to advance policy that will protect our coastlines for future generations.”

Lieu and Huffman announced the caucus following a tour of the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, in Marin County north of San Francisco. They joined a roundtable discussion on the importance of the ocean in the fight against climate change. It also included Jeff Boehm, CEO of the Marine Mammal Center.

"The ocean is critically important to the people I represent ... as it provides work, food, and enjoyment," Lieu said in a statement. "Tragically, our oceans, marine life, beaches, and coastlines are in grave danger due to the existential threat of climate change. Now is the time for bold action."

 


By:  Anne Mulkern
Source: E&E News