In the News
A ‘most partisan’ committee drops its gun ban
by David Jordan
Some members of the House Natural Resources Committee could be packing heat when they gather in the new session of Congress. The panel on Wednesday dropped a rule it adopted in 2021, when Democrats were in the majority, that expressly prohibited its members from bringing firearms into their hearing room. The committee, a common stage for passionate disagreement, sparred over firearm training and personal safety during an organizing session at which its assignment was to adopt rules for how … Continue Reading
January 31, 2023
PG&E Concedes, Plans to Bury Power Lines by Potter Valley Eagles’ Nest
by Sarah Reith
A Ponderosa pine tree in Potter Valley, and the decades-old bald eagle nest high in its branches, appear to be safe from PG&E crews that tried to remove them two years in a row due to their proximity to power lines. Now, after protesters from all over the state joined local activists and a nearby tribe to ensure that the tree remained standing, PG&E has declared that its “preferred solution” is to bury the lines. That would relieve the utility’s stated safety concerns … Continue Reading
January 31, 2023
House Democrats launch project to promote Biden laws
by Andres Picon
House Democrats are throwing their weight behind the Inflation Reduction Act and other major pieces of legislation passed during the first two years of the Biden administration. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday announced the creation of the Regional Leadership Council, a 12-member group charged with selling the climate law and other significant bills from the last Congress while working to support implementation. The group is coming together as House Republicans … Continue Reading
January 28, 2023
Jared Huffman expresses support for climate initiatives
by Jake Matson
In a series of news releases over the past week, U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) expressed support for a variety of different initiatives in the midst of a new congressional session. On Tuesday, Huffman joined Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in introducing a bill that would permanently ban offshore drilling as well as joining other California representatives in applauding $29 million in grants for road repair after storms ravaged the state throughout January. “Offshore … Continue Reading
January 27, 2023
U.S. Lawmakers Ask Kerry to Urge UAE to Replace Oil Boss as COP28 President
by Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Over two dozen U.S. representatives on Friday called on top U.S. climate envoy John Kerry to urge the United Arab Emirates to withdraw its appointment of the head of its state oil company as president of the COP28 climate summit it will host this year. The 27 Democratic members of Congress, led by California Congressman Jared Huffman, sent a letter to Kerry calling on him to persuade the future U.N. climate summit host to withdraw the appointment of Sultan Al Jaber, … Continue Reading
January 27, 2023
Tax deadline extended to May 15 for storm victims
by Carly Wipf
EUREKA, Calif. — Storm victims in many parts of California, including Humboldt and Mendocino counties, now have until May 15, 2023 to file tax returns and make payments. The Internal Revenue Service extended the deadline on Jan. 10, for Californians affected by this winter's severe weather. Depending on the severity of damage to their property, residents in federally declared disaster areas may also qualify for additional government aid, according to Rep. Jared … Continue Reading
January 27, 2023
Lawmakers call for more NEPA review of massive Gulf sale
by Niina H. Farah
House Democrats are joining calls from blue states and environmental groups for a federal court to uphold a more rigorous environmental review of the nation's largest offshore oil and gas lease sale. Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, as well as California Reps. Jared Huffman and Alan Lowenthal, urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to require a broader National Environmental Policy Act analysis of the climate impacts of Lease Sale 257 in the Gulf of … Continue Reading
January 26, 2023
House prepares votes on drilling, public lands, oil reserve
by Nico Portundo and Jeremy Dillon
The House will become a battleground as soon as Thursday for partisan Republican and Democratic energy legislation related to offshore drilling, public land development and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. House members have been submitting amendments to H.R. 21, a bill from House and Energy Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), which would limit SPR drawdowns until the Department of Energy develops a plan to increase oil production on federal lands. The bill is being … Continue Reading
January 26, 2023
GOP Rep. Cory Mills hands out dummy grenades to House members
by Amy Wang
Newly elected Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) passed out grenades Thursday to other members of Congress, along with a note on his office letterhead emphasizing that the ordnance was made in Florida. “I am honored to be a part of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees,” Mills wrote. “In that spirit, it is my pleasure to give you a 40mm grenade, made for a MK19 grenade launcher. These are manufactured in the Sunshine State and first developed in the Vietnam … Continue Reading
January 24, 2023
Rep. Huffman introduces bill aimed at banning offshore drilling on the West Coast
by Michael Patterson
EUREKA, Calif. — North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman introduced a bill on Tuesday that would effectively ban offshore oil and gas drilling on the West Coast. The West Coast Ocean Protection Act, introduced by Huffman and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is in response to what the legislators call an environmentally harmful industry. “Offshore drilling poses unacceptable risks, and the science and public opinion are clear: we should not put our oceans and fisheries, coastal … Continue Reading
January 24, 2023
Pete Buttigieg and Nancy Pelosi Join London Breed to Celebrate $400M Federal Grant for Golden Gate Bridge Upgrades
by Jay Barmann
"We know that the dollars in the federal government are hard to get, which is why this funding is significant," said SF Mayor London Breed at a Monday morning event at the Roundhouse Cafe at the Golden Gate Bridge, celebrating a major new grant from the Biden Administration. Breed, along with House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Marin), Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-SF/San Mateo), and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, … Continue Reading
January 19, 2023
Trump’s Interior Secretary Didn’t Violate Ethics Rules, Watchdog Finds
by Lisa Friedman
The inspector general for the Interior Department said on Thursday it had found no evidence that the former secretary, David Bernhardt, violated federal ethics or conflict-of-interest rules when the department made decisions that affected one of his former clients, a California water district. The Interior Department under Mr. Bernhardt made decisions that benefited Westlands Water District, which represents California farmers, including a deal to grant federal water rights in perpetuity to a … Continue Reading
January 16, 2023
Marin City highlights Black community during Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration
by Giuseppe Ricapito
The future advancement of Marin’s Black community was at the forefront of Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Marin City. The event, held at the namesake school Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, served as a solemn, but determined recounting of the challenges facing the county’s historically underserved community in the years to come. “A diverse group of people came out and came together,” said Kiyah Freeman, an eighth-grader at the … Continue Reading
January 12, 2023
Rep. Huffman joins bipartisan call to support Caltrans as winter storms damage roadways
by Carlos Holguin
Rep. Jared Huffman has joined 37 California lawmakers from across party lines in a letter that calls for Caltrans to receive expedited federal funding and support in the wake of the intense winter storm system that has flooded roads and caused significant infrastructural damage across the state. Read the full press release below: Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02), Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), and Representative … Continue Reading
January 11, 2023
SMART lands more funding for commuter line projects; Santa Rosa gets 4 electric buses
by Gary Quackenbush
Two North Bay public transportation projects will receive $4.8 million in federal transit and infrastructure funds, including $1.8 million for design work to extend the next Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit section 5 miles from Windsor to Healdsburg, and $3 million for the purchase of four all-electric buses for Santa Rosa Transit’s CityBus program. The total cost of the 5-mile rail line expansion from Windsor to Healdsburg is now estimated to be $160 million for the main … Continue Reading
January 06, 2023
Federal funding approved for the design of the SMART rail extension to Healdsburg
by SMART Press Release
SMART is pleased to share that on Friday, December 23, the United States Congress approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2023 which includes $1.8 million in federal funding for the design of the SMART Rail Extension to Healdsburg. This funding, which was nominated by U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman, is a strong step towards expanding commuter rail service and increasing climate-friendly transportation alternatives in the North Bay. “I’m incredibly pleased to … Continue Reading
January 05, 2023
Low-interest Federal Loans Available to Aid Quake Recovery
by Thadeus Greenson
At the urging of state and local officials, as well as North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman, the U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal disaster loans to businesses and residents affected by the Dec. 20 earthquake that rocked Humboldt County, and its continuing aftershocks."The SBA Disaster Loan process will make it easier for our local businesses and homeowners to rebuild damaged properties and ease the financial hardship on all of our impacted residents," … Continue Reading
January 04, 2023
Survey: Religiously, Congress Doesn't Reflect America
by Peter Smith
Religiously speaking, the incoming 118th Congress looks like America - that is, the America of decades past, rather than today. Congress is far more Christian, and religious overall, than today's general population. Even though nearly three in 10 Americans claim no religious affiliation - a rate that has steadily risen in recent years - only two of the 534 incoming members of Congress publicly identify as such. Those are among the conclusions of an analysis by Pew Research Center of the … Continue Reading
January 03, 2023
Biden administration allots $400 million for Golden Gate Bridge earthquake upgrades
by Will Houston
A decades-old project to fortify the Golden Gate Bridge to withstand major earthquakes is closer to the finish line after receiving $400 million from the Biden administration. The Federal Highway Administration announced at the end of December that it was allocating $400 million of the $1 trillion federal infrastructure package approved in 2021 to complete the third and final phase of the seismic upgrades on the bridge. Launched in the late 1990s, the project aims to allow the 2-mile span to … Continue Reading
December 27, 2022
Marin earns nearly $7 million in earmarks in new federal spending bill
by Richard Halstead
Marin stands to gain nearly $7 million in budget earmarks as part of a new federal spending bill. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which President Biden is poised to sign, contains earmarks that allow members of Congress to direct federal funds for specific projects to their states and districts. Specifically, the omnibus spending bill approved by Congress on Friday contains $6.95 million in earmarks for Marin projects. The single biggest beneficiary will be MCE, formerly known … Continue Reading