In the News
Dems introduce bill to block Alaska refuge drilling.
A group of House Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday that would block oil and natural gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The bill from Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and others would reverse Congress’s decision last year to approve drilling in a portion of ANWR, which was included as part of the Republican tax overhaul. The sponsors of the anti-drilling legislation warned that with the Trump administration hoping to hold an … Continue Reading
May 07, 2018
Exxon strikes back against Marin, others over climate change lawsuit.
Marin County and four other cities and counties seeking to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change damages have responded to a threatened lawsuit by ExxonMobil Corp. Last summer, Marin County, San Mateo County and the city of Imperial Beach sued 37 oil, gas and coal companies asserting the companies knew their fossil fuel products would cause sea level rise and coastal flooding but failed to reduce their greenhouse gas pollution. Since then the county of Santa Cruz and the … Continue Reading
May 01, 2018
Dem lawmakers launch 'Freethought' congressional caucus
Four Democratic congressmen on Monday launched a congressional caucus they said would center on fostering "science and reason-based solutions" and "defending the secular character of our government." California Reps. Jared Huffman (D) and Jerry McNerney (D) joined forces with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) to launch the Congressional Freethought Caucus. According to a release, the goals of the caucus include pushing “public policy formed on the basis of reason, … Continue Reading
April 27, 2018
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) Introduces 2018 “National Day of Reason” Resolution
Beginning in 2015, Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced a formal resolution in support of the National Day of Reason. His defeat in 2016, despite coming at the hands of another Democrat, put future versions of that legislation in peril. But fellow Californian Rep. Ted Lieu picked up where Honda left off, introducing similar legislation last year. And now, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), the only openly non-theistic legislator and chair of the newly formed Congressional Freethought Caucus, has … Continue Reading
April 24, 2018
PD Editorial: Help Americans hang up on robocallers
It used to be that annoying telemarketers mostly rang at dinnertime. If you weren’t home, you missed the call. Now, people carry their phones everywhere, and the telemarketers have become scammers with advanced tools to reach them. There’s seemingly no escape, but a new bill in Congress aims to give people a fighting chance. We know, #FirstWorldProblems. But those calls aren’t just irritating, they’re also dangerous to anyone who, in a moment of weakness, engages with a scammer. It’s a … Continue Reading
April 11, 2018
More than $200 million for statewide disaster relief, Thompson, Huffman announce
California was awarded $212 million in federal funding through the Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) program to provide long-term recovery from the devastating fires of 2017, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02) announced. Thompson advocated to the administration and Congressional leadership to help secure disaster relief funding through the Bipartisan Budget Act, his office staff said. “Our district was hit hard by the fires of … Continue Reading
April 04, 2018
Huffman’s public land proposal offers benefits
Trinity County. I expect the “wilderness ad hoc committee” established by the Board of Supervisors March 6 will find as much. Included in this public lands proposal is direction to the USFS and other federal agencies to consult with collaborative groups to prioritize specific conservation and restoration projects on existing federal public lands within the South Fork of the Trinity and Mad River watersheds, which include federal lands within a 700,000-acre area. Stewardship contracts will … Continue Reading
March 27, 2018
Marin message to White House: no ‘drilling off our coast’
Rep. Jared Huffman and two other members of Congress on Tuesday kicked off a discussion on offshore oil drilling with a clear message to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke regarding the Trump administration’s plan for California. “We’re going to make sure that there’s not one drop of oil from new drilling off our coast,” Huffman, D-San Rafael, said to a standing-room-only crowd of more than 200 at the Bay Model Visitor Center in Sausalito. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, organized the forum … Continue Reading
March 18, 2018
Rep. Jared Huffman holds North Bay student-led summit on gun violence
SAN RAFAEL — Congressman Jared Huffman challenged hundreds of North Bay teens Sunday at a summit on school safety and gun violence protection to maintain their momentum pushing for stricter gun laws. The summit came days after thousands of North Bay students walked out of school and joined a nationwide protest against gun violence in the aftermath of last month’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Emma González, a survivor of the mass shooting, had … Continue Reading
March 07, 2018
On the Road with Jared Travels in the Trump Era with Congressman Huffman
"Yes, I have seen it and I'm calling this story 'Covfefe in the Car with my Congressman," I tell Huffman, a riff off the Donald Trump neologism that emerged from the president's Tweeting fingers last year. The congressman lets out a short laugh and I ease my less than interesting Honda CRV out of a parking lot at Casa Grande High School campus, where the North Coast pol had just addressed a jam-packed auditorium filled with Petaluma upperclassmen. The subject was seriously unfunny: gun … Continue Reading
March 05, 2018
Huffman joins House group backing Trump impeachment
Democratic congressman, who has joined as co-sponsor of articles of impeachment against Trump. Huffman, a vocal critic of Trump for many months, said, “Now it’s becoming so compelling and imperative that it feels like the right time (to sign on).” Members of the Marin County Republican Party, however, said Huffman’s move was “grandstand play” and a “waste of time and taxpayers’ money” because the GOP-controlled U.S. House will never bring the resolution forward for a vote. “It’s … Continue Reading
March 01, 2018
Marin students mobilize against gun violence
When students in Katherine Sanford’s sixth- and seventh-grade social studies class at Lagunitas Middle School sent individual emails Feb. 15 to Rep. Jared Huffman, they had no idea he would respond two weeks later with an in-person visit. “It was the day after the Parkland shootings,” Sanford recounted Thursday about the origin of the emails, as more than 125 fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders filed in for Huffman’s appearance in the school gymnasium off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard … Continue Reading
February 27, 2018
Huffman co-sponsors articles of impeachment against Trump
North Coast U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman signed on as a co-sponsor of articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, stating his oath to defend the U.S. Constitution compels him to “provide checks and balances on executive power.” “While we do not have the bipartisan votes needed to advance an impeachment proceeding right now, I think it’s important to call out the impeachable offenses that are taking place and to convey to President Trump and the American people that no one is above … Continue Reading
February 24, 2018
Congressman Huffman visits
Congressman Jared Huffman stopped in Crescent City Friday afternoon to discuss state and local topics with residents. Billed “Coffee with your Congressman,” the town hall style meeting in the wastewater treatment facility conference room gave people a chance to simply present concerns, opinions and some ideas. Huffman heard questions and concerns ranging from promoting local tourism and Last Chance Grade to partisan division in politics. Gasoline taxes, offshore energy, veterans’ health … Continue Reading
February 15, 2018
Rep. Jared Huffman calls for DOJ to investigate ‘hush money’ to adult actress
A group of lawmakers including Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA) called for the Department of Justice Wednesday to investigate the “hush money” paid to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, better known as “Stormy Daniels,” by Donald Trump’s personal attorney in October 2016. According to information made public Wednesday by Huffman’s office, a letter signed by Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Hank Johnson Jr. (D-GA), and Jerry McNerney (D-CA) urges Deputy Attorney General Rod … Continue Reading
January 30, 2018
Huffman, Schutt offer different reactions to Trump’s speech
John Schutt, chairman of the Humboldt County Republican Central Committee, and California 2nd District Rep. Jared Huffman both shared their thoughts with the Times-Standard Tuesday following President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address. Schutt said he initially found it interesting that Trump’s State of the Union address “was the third longest in history” and he was pleased that the speech touched on issues of great importance to Californians. Schutt said that he works with … Continue Reading
January 18, 2018
Huffman letter protests Trump’s offshore oil drilling plan
Rep. Jared Huffman and two other members of Congress have taken the lead in a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke protesting the Trump administration’s offshore oil drilling plan. “There are going to be waves of litigation over this,” said Huffman, D-San Rafael. The Trump administration this month announced a proposal to allow drilling in most U.S. continental-shelf waters, including areas of the Atlantic and the Arctic. At the time, Zinke specified 47 potential areas where … Continue Reading
January 08, 2018
Trump moves to expand offshore drilling
The Trump administration moved Thursday to vastly expand offshore drilling with a plan that would open up federal waters off California for the first time in more than three decades. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the plan, saying that responsible development of offshore energy resources would boost jobs and economic security while providing billions of dollars to fund conservation along U.S. coastlines. The five-year plan would open 90 percent of the nation’s offshore reserves … Continue Reading
December 16, 2017
Lawmakers ask Interior Department to recover ‘misspent’ funds
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) has sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, urging him to recover $84.8 million in taxpayer money that was identified in a recent inspector general report detailing how the funds were misspent, according to information released Friday by Huffman’s office. The funds were to benefit a select few California water districts participating in the “WaterFix” planning process, according to a report titled “The Bureau of Reclamation Was Not Transparent in … Continue Reading
November 18, 2017
North Bay congressmen outraged that Trump hasn’t funded fire relief
Stunned that a White House request for $44 billion in disaster relief funds didn’t include a penny for fire victims in Northern California, two North Bay congressmen delivered a strong rebuke to President Trump on Saturday. “These are Americans in a time of need, and the administration is supposed to be helping, not playing political games,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena. He and a fellow Democrat, Rep. Jared Huffman of San Rafael, are increasing the pressure on the White House to … Continue Reading