In the News
U.S. Congress tackles severe drought in the West
by Emily Hayes
WASHINGTON - Despite above-average snowpack, Southwest Colorado remains in a severe drought. U.S. House lawmakers from several Western states, including Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Boulder, are considering a bill that increases the scope of federal grants to combat water scarcity. Access to water is "quite literally a lifeline" that depends on access to strong funding for research and solutions, Neguse said in a House Natural Resources hearing Tuesday. The bill gives state governments, Native … Continue Reading
January 30, 2020
Democrats Reluctant To Impeach Other Trump Officials
by Matt Fuller
WASHINGTON ? With the Senate preparing to acquit President Donald Trump, you might think Democrats would try to keep the focus on the Ukraine scandal by impeaching other administration officials involved in the scheme. But even the most liberal House Democrats have reservations about that sort of strategy. "We have one impeachment going on right now, and it's for the president of the United States," Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told … Continue Reading
January 30, 2020
Listen up, Congress: Here’s how to support Louisiana’s working waterfronts and local seafood
by RYAN PREWITT AND LANCE NACIO
People come from all over the world to experience New Orleans' distinct culinary traditions. As a chef and a fisherman, we work every day to bring Louisiana's heritage to life. One of us catches wild, local fish, shrimp and other species straight from the Gulf waters, and the other prepares fresh seafood for patrons. Louisiana is our home, and our craft and livelihood depend on productive fisheries and healthy ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico. Showcasing Gulf seafood can be difficult when … Continue Reading
January 29, 2020
House panel OKs bill to undo Trump changes to Endangered Species Act
by Christopher Scragg
WASHINGTON - A House committee gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a bill that would reverse Trump administration changes to the Endangered Species Act, after a heated debate between members over which side had the best interest of the act at heart. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, sponsored the bill that he said is needed to overturn rules by the departments of the Interior and Commerce that undermine the protections of the act. But defenders like Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Prescott, say the … Continue Reading
January 28, 2020
Guest column: Keeping enough fish in the sea for tomorrow’s meal
by Kerry Heffernan
For restaurants like mine - in New Orleans and New York - serving fresh seafood every day is the backbone of our business. Being able to serve seafood caught by U.S. fishermen is the icing on the cake. The U.S. boasts some of the most sustainably managed wild fisheries in the world, making American seafood the preferred choice for chefs like myself, and increasingly for our customers. But this wasn't always the case. Until the mid-1990s, many U.S. fish were being caught at an unsustainable … Continue Reading
January 27, 2020
POLITICO Pro Q&A: Rep. Jared Huffman
by Anthony Adragna
Rep. Jared Huffman acknowledges his fellow Democrats are "not on the same page" on how aggressively to combat climate change and what specific policies to employ to address it, but he says Congress should pass whatever consensus measures it can as soon as possible rather than wait for a single omnibus climate bill that may not ever materialize. Huffman, a senior member of the Natural Resources and Climate Crisis committees, admits he wished other committees had waited for the Climate Crisis' … Continue Reading
January 26, 2020
House Republicans caught between Trump and young voters on climate change
by ZACK COLMAN, ANTHONY ADRAGNA and ERIC WOLFF
House Republicans know they face a growing vulnerability with young voters on climate change - but their attempts to craft a greener message are running headlong into their allegiance to President Donald Trump. Unlike Trump, the chamber's GOP lawmakers have largely stopped scoffing at the scientific evidence that human-caused global warming is contributing to intensifying wildfires and extreme weather. As the Democrats that control the House prepare to launch a broad legislative package of … Continue Reading
January 21, 2020
Federal cash should soon be in hand for Alaska fishermen, processors and towns hurt by the 2016 pink salmon failure
by Laine Welch
It's been a long time coming, but payments should soon be in hand for Alaska fishermen, processors and coastal communities hurt by the 2016 pink salmon run failure, the worst in 40 years. The funds are earmarked for Kodiak, Prince William Sound, Chignik, Lower Cook Inlet, South Alaska Peninsula, Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. Congress OK'd over $56 million in federal relief in 2017, but the authorization to cut the money loose languished on desks in D.C. for over two years. The … Continue Reading
January 18, 2020
US prescription drug spending tops $500 billion a year, looms over 2020 elections
by GUY KOVNER
With U.S. prescription drug spending exceeding $500 billion a year and growing three times faster than inflation, a cost-control plan by House Democrats remains stuck in the Republican-led Senate, establishing a major campaign issue in congressional and presidential races this year. The Lower Drug Costs Now Act, approved last month on a party-line vote, would save households, businesses and taxpayers billions of dollars, and slash prices on medicines for millions of Californians living with … Continue Reading
January 16, 2020
Prosecuting Trump: Pelosi picks Bay Area Rep. Zoe Lofgren for impeachment trial
by Dustin Gardiner
WASHINGTON - Rep. Zoe Lofgren of San Jose was already assured of a role in the nation's all-consuming political drama as she walked through a Capitol hallway Wednesday evening with six other House Democrats to deliver the impeachment case against President Trump to the Senate. Earlier in the day, Lofgren and her colleagues were named by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be the House's impeachment managers, the prosecutors who will try to persuade two-thirds of the Republican-controlled Senate that … Continue Reading
January 16, 2020
Trump to underline his support for school prayer as he courts evangelicals
by BIANCA QUILANTAN and JUAN PEREZ JR.
States will be required to report instances in which the right to pray has been denied in public schools under new guidance on religious freedom rolled out Thursday by the administration, as President Donald Trump works to bolster his backing among evangelicals following calls for his removal by a leading Christian magazine. Separately, the administration in a proposed rule is also moving to protect the rights of religious student groups at public universities, senior officials said on a call … Continue Reading
January 16, 2020
The Energy 202: Why FEMA is fighting for money set aside for California fire victims
by Dino Grandoni
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is supposed to step in to provide aid to Americans whose lives and livelihoods are upended by disaster. So why is FEMA itself instead asking for money from victims after historic wildfires torched California? Those who fled the fires are at a standoff with the agency that provided them relief over how to divide a pool of money set aside by the power utility that went bankrupt after the blazes. And if FEMA can't get the money from that bankruptcy fund, … Continue Reading
January 15, 2020
Congressmen Thompson, Huffman say Trump’s actions warrant his removal
by GUY KOVNER
Rep. Mike Thompson, who voted along with 226 of his House Democratic colleagues Wednesday to forward the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate, said there was no doubt in his mind the president had committed crimes justifying his removal from the nation's highest office. "Our founding fathers feared more than anything that a president could work with a foreign government to his benefit," said Thompson, a St. Helena resident who has served for two decades in … Continue Reading
January 14, 2020
FEMA Spent a Ton Fighting California’s Fires. Now It Wants Victims to Pay It Back.
by Marisa Endicott
When disasters strike and overwhelm cities and states, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is supposed to step in and help emergency response and recovery efforts. Unfortunately, FEMA is best known for its failures-dangerously slow response times, public relations scams, languishing aid-and it seems now the agency has hit another new low. FEMA, which is also notorious for coming up short on pledged financial support, is now going as far as to say disaster victims may have to pay it back. … Continue Reading
January 13, 2020
Experts fear Trump’s weakening of environmental policy could expose North Coast to drilling
by MARY CALLAHAN
A move by the Trump administration to roll back landmark environmental policy intended to ensure vigorous scrutiny of federal infrastructure projects has struck alarm in the hearts of California conservationists, particularly those striving to safeguard North Coast waters from offshore energy exploration and production. Proposed changes to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act would have sweeping effects nationwide, wherever there is federally built, funded or permitted … Continue Reading
January 13, 2020
House members file bill to expedite fishery disaster determination process
by Steve Bittenbender
A bipartisan group from Congress is looking to cap the time federal officials have to make a determination on fishery disaster requests. On Tuesday, 7 January, U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-California) and Steven Palazzo (R-Mississippi) introduced the "Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act," or Fishery FUNDD Act. The bill would give the U.S. Commerce Secretary 120 days from either the receipt of the request or the close of the fishery season to consider the … Continue Reading
January 10, 2020
Federal lawmakers tell FEMA to drop bid for billions out of PG&E’s settlement with wildfire victims
by JULIE JOHNSON
A group of federal lawmakers from California is urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency to drop its bid to get about one-quarter of the $13.5 billion trust PG&E is setting aside to pay wildfire victims, saying the move risks undermining a fund designed to help families still struggling to rebuild their lives. Addressed to FEMA acting administrator Peter Gaynor, the letter by North Bay Reps. Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman and signed by 36 of their colleagues questioned the agency's … Continue Reading
January 05, 2020
Flouting War Powers Act, Trump claims his tweets are sufficient notice to Congress that U.S. may strike Iran
by Felicia Sonmez
President Trump claimed Sunday that his tweets are sufficient notice to Congress of any possible U.S. military strike on Iran, in an apparent dismissal of his obligations under the War Powers Act of 1973. Trump's declaration, which comes two days after his administration launched a drone strike that killed top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, was met with disbelief and ridicule from congressional Democrats, who called on the president to respect the role of the legislative … Continue Reading
January 03, 2020
California members of Congress react to fatal attack on Iran general
Members of California's congressional delegation react to President Trump's authorization of the drone attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad Thursday: Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo: I fear that last night's strike constitutes the Trump Administration's biggest and most consequential foreign policy blunder to date. These killings will not be judged by their deserving targets, but by President Trump's overall strategy in the region, or lack thereof, and the ability to prevent … Continue Reading
January 03, 2020
Huffman: Congress needs to ‘provide a check on Trump unilaterally taking us to war’
by SONIA WARAICH
One of the United States' top foreign policy objectives in the Middle East is to contain Iran's influence in the region, but the recent move by President Donald Trump to order the killing of a top Iranian general is counter to those efforts and will likely give Iran a stronger foothold in the region, Rep. Jared Huffman told the Times-Standard Friday. "I don't think President Trump has thought through the first and second order implications of the events he set in motion," Huffman said by … Continue Reading