In the News
House Backs Huffman Bid to Limit Display of Confederate Flag in National Cemeteries
The House of Representatives on Thursday agreed to legislation by North Bay Rep. Jared Huffman to ban the use of federal funds to fly Confederate flags in 131 national cemeteries managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The legislation would not bar small individual flags from being placed on graves in the cemeteries. Rather, it would end the current practice in VA-run cemeteries of allowing the Confederate battle flag to fly from flagpoles at the facilities on two days each year: … Continue Reading
May 16, 2016
Reps. Huffman & McClintock Slam Inclusion of Zombie Coal Earmark in 2017 Defense Appropriations Bill
Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Tom McClintock (R-CA) slammed the House Appropriations Committee for reviving a “zombie” coal earmark in the newly released 2017 Defense Appropriations Bill. On a bipartisan basis, the House voted last year to approve a Huffman-McClintock amendment to ensure that the Defense Department would not need to spend money to unnecessarily ship Pennsylvania coal 3,000 miles to American bases in Germany. In drafting the fiscal year 2017 bill, however, the … Continue Reading
April 21, 2016
Four Mendocino County community health clinics to receive $5.5 million from federal government
Four Mendocino County community health clinics were awarded approximately $5.5 million in federal funds Thursday, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, announced. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration awarded more than $16 million in one-time discretionary funds to 11 health centers throughout the North Coast. The funding is expected to be used to support the ongoing work performed by the health centers, which provide primary and … Continue Reading
April 21, 2016
Two Marin health clinics will get promised federal money
Two of Marin’s federally qualified health clinics received confirmation Thursday they will receive their full year’s funding from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. Marin Community Clinics was notified it will receive an additional $1.55 million this year, and the Coastal Health Alliance received word it will get an additional $1.15 million. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, announced that the Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded more than $16 … Continue Reading
April 20, 2016
Huffman applauds Brown for emergency proclamation for roads
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman thanked Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday for signing a Proclamation of a State of Emergency due to damage to North Coast roads from winter rains. “I thank Gov. Brown for understanding the North Coast’s dire need for immediate assistance to restore this critical transportation artery and for taking the first step today by signing an emergency proclamation,” Huffman said in a release. “I will continue to work tirelessly with Caltrans and the federal … Continue Reading
April 16, 2016
House Votes To Remove Confederate Flag From VA Cemeteries
In a sign of just how quickly things can change on Capitol Hill, the House adopted an amendment on Thursday to remove Confederate flags from cemeteries run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Less than a year ago, it was a Confederate flag amendment that derailed the entire appropriations process in the House, with Republicans unwilling to vote on a proposal to remove even one Confederate flag image — found on the Mississippi state flag — from one hallway in the Capitol. On Thursday, … Continue Reading
April 16, 2016
Korean War vets receive medals recognizing their service
They might walk a little slower than they did 60-some years ago when their boots met the Korean Peninsula, but they move with the same resolve and determination. The names of more than 100 Korean War veterans were read Saturday in Eureka at a ceremony to remember the men and women who served during what some have called “The Forgotten War.” Bob Palmrose said he was pleasantly surprised when he was notified by mail that he would be receiving a medal bestowed by the South Korean … Continue Reading
April 15, 2016
Ukiah airport awarded $216,000 grant
The Ukiah Municipal Airport will receive $216,000 to help design the reconstruction of its runway as part of $1.7 million worth of Federal Aviation Administration grants allocated locally. Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) announced Friday that the FAA awarded more than $1.7 million to eight airports in Del Norte, Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino and Trinity counties. “Continued support for our small public airports helps to provide services and access to people living in our rural … Continue Reading
April 14, 2016
Democratic reps call for probe of deal over toxic-runoff cleanup
WASHINGTON — Northern California Democrats called for an investigation Thursday into a settlement agreement between the Obama administration and the Westlands Water District that would end a long-running dispute over toxic irrigation runoff that led to an environmental disaster at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in 1983. The agreement relieves the federal government of its obligation to provide an estimated $2.7 billion to drain selenium-polluted runoff from Westlands, a … Continue Reading
April 13, 2016
Army Corps announces $7.5M in funding for dredging
Millions of dollars from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will allow for dredging needed to correct unusually heavy winter shoaling that has nearly closed the entrance and channels of Humboldt Bay. The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District announced Wednesday that the Corps has allocated $7.5 million, which is $5 million more than the amount budgeted for annual dredging. “The cavalry is on their way,” Peter Mull, a civil engineer and project manager for the Corps, … Continue Reading
April 08, 2016
Regional dredging partnership taking shape
An unprecedented regional partnership to dredge several neglected river channels connecting to San Pablo Bay is now taking shape, offering new hope for removing the accumulating mud that increasingly chokes the Petaluma River. With Petaluma as the lead agency, the collaborative spanning Sonoma, Marin, Napa and Solano counties would bundle a number of dredging efforts together to lower overall costs while raising the project’s attractiveness for federal support, the city’s top public works … Continue Reading
April 06, 2016
Dam removal along Klamath River moves forward with agreement
KLAMATH, Calif. - A historic agreement to remove dams along the upper Klamath River was signed Wednesday in a event that was attended by various federal, state and tribal stakeholders. Representatives included Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, California Governor, Jerry Brown, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Congressman Jared Huffman, and Karuk and Yurok tribal leaders. The agreement will bring forth the largest river restoration and dam removal project in U.S. history. Three dams in … Continue Reading
April 06, 2016
Klamath River dam removal deal signed by top federal, state officials
KLAMATH RIVER — It was déjà vu for what could be the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. The governors of California and Oregon stood side-by-side with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to sign their commitment to remove four hydroelectric dams from the 236-mile Klamath River. But unlike the previous version of the agreement signed in 2010 that failed to gain traction in Congress, the new agreement signed Wednesday contained a new set of signatures, a new game plan, and a new … Continue Reading
April 05, 2016
Marin officials fight attempt to oust ranchers from National Seashore
Marin County officials are rallying to support ranchers in the fight against a lawsuit they think would end cattle and dairy operations in the Point Reyes National Seashore. Rep. Jared Huffman joined county supervisors in backing continued ranching activity in the national parkland, an enterprise federal officials promised could continue when families who had farmed the land for generations sold their holdings for inclusion in the park decades ago. After meeting in closed session, the … Continue Reading
March 29, 2016
Huffman Urges DOJ to Clarify Stance on Pot Advertising
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman is urging the Department of Justice to rebuff the U.S. Postal Service’s requests and publicly state that it won’t prosecute businesses who are mailing advertisements for marijuana but are acting in line with state law. Huffman joined seven of his colleagues in penning a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch urging her to “clarify” how the Department of Justice intends to respond to the USPS’ referring newspapers to her office for potential … Continue Reading
March 16, 2016
Thanks to Huffman for his support for care
A heartfelt thank you is deserved to Congressman Jared Huffman for attending the Coffee and Conversation with Congress event on March 7 at Novato’s LifeLong Medical Care Marin Adult Day Health Center, sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association. This was an opportunity for Rep. Huffman to meet with his constituents and talk about the challenges caregivers, patients and health care professionals face in dealing with this deadly disease. What was shared is staggering: • Alzheimer’s disease … Continue Reading
March 04, 2016
Bill aims to give crab industry $138 million in disaster relief
California commercial crab fishermen, many struggling to keep their businesses afloat amid an unprecedented season closure caused by a toxic algae bloom, could see more than $130 million in disaster relief under a last-ditch federal proposal to bail them out of financial doom. Bay Area Reps. Jackie Speier and Jared Huffman introduced the legislation this week, more than three months after commercial crabbing was shuttered by state officials due to dangerous levels of a neurotoxin found in … Continue Reading
March 03, 2016
Lawmakers Jared Huffman, Jackie Speier push to aid struggling crabbers
Coastal California Reps. Jared Huffman and Jackie Speier on Thursday introduced disaster relief legislation that they hope will deliver more than $130 million to the region’s sidelined crabbers and other business owners who have suffered economically from the extended and unprecedented closures of this year’s Dungeness and rock crab fisheries. The Crab Disaster Relief Bill of 2016 seeks $138.15 million, including $1 million for sampling and monitoring of domoic acid off the West Coast and … Continue Reading
March 02, 2016
Huffman backs legislation to end postal facilities’ closure
Legislation to end the closure and consolidation of mail-processing facilities — including Eureka’s — has been introduced by a bipartisan group of congressmen, including Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. U.S. Postal Service officials have developed plans to consolidate operations, affecting dozens of mail-processing centers. Lawmakers have called on the Postal Service to postpone the changes. Postal officials call the consolidation plans their “network rationalization” program, which … Continue Reading
February 29, 2016
After nearly 30 years, Petaluma floodwall project complete
It was a familiar exercise when former Petaluma city engineer Tom Hargis was going through security at the Pentagon in 2001, the latest visit between city officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over an extensive, collaborative project to fortify flood protection along the Petaluma River. Recounting the story at an event celebrating of the now-completed project, Hargis recalled how the effort hit an unexpected speed bump that day. “That was Sept. 11, when the third plane crashed … Continue Reading