In the News
Jared Huffman: Tax Carbon Emissions, Rather than Gas, to Pay for Roads
Intent on funding transportation projects and fighting climate change, North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, has proposed a carbon tax on gasoline to replace the long-stagnant 18.4 cent-per-gallon federal excise tax that pumps more than $300 million a year into Bay Area highway and transit improvements. With some political momentum to boost the federal tax building at a time of low gas prices nationwide, Huffman’s bill — the Gas Tax Replacement Act of 2014 — would eliminate the … Continue Reading
January 14, 2015
Huffman Named to Key Posts in New Congress
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, announced Monday that he has been appointed to a powerful new committee within the House of Representatives and chosen to join the Democratic Caucus's leadership team as an assistant whip. Huffman has been named to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, an "authorizing committee" that decides how much funding ongoing government programs will receive. And Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, the House Minority Whip and second-ranking figure in the … Continue Reading
January 13, 2015
Huffman to Hold Town Hall on Veterans
U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman will be in Del Norte this week to meet with local veterans, youth, public officials and, if he’s lucky, steelhead trout. Huffman is hosting a town hall meeting on veterans’ health care and benefits 6:30-8 p.m. this Friday at the Veterans Memorial Hall, 810 H St. Representatives from the VA Roseburg Healthcare System, Veterans Benefits Administration and Del Norte County Veterans Service Office will be on hand to discuss issues relating to veterans health care … Continue Reading
January 12, 2015
Huffman named to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Congressman Jared Huffman said on Monday that being named to a panel in the U.S. House of Representatives last week will allow him to focus federal attention on the highways and byways of the North Coast. “I’m grateful to be named to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and thank House Leadership for placing this trust in me,” Huffman said in a news release. “I look forward to bringing fresh ideas to the table to ensure Congress invests in critically-needed updates to … Continue Reading
January 09, 2015
Jared Huffman to Serve on House Panel Overseeing Transportation, Infrastructure
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, was named Friday to a key House transportation committee, a position that the North Coast congressman said he hopes to use to advocate for federal funding for local projects, including commuter rail, highway widening and waterway dredging. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced Huffman’s appointment to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which has jurisdiction over the Department of Transportation, Army Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard and … Continue Reading
December 01, 2014
On Leadership; How Point Arena Scored a National Monument
Standing around the desk in the White House Oval Office, five Mendocino residents and two congressmen witnessed President Barack Obama sign the proclamation designating the Stornetta Point Arena Public Lands on the Mendocino Coast as a national monument. It was the culmination of years of effort by a diverse and committed local community and its wide swath of supporters. Leslie Dahlhoff, former Point Arena mayor; Merita Whatley, from the Point Arena Lighthouse; Scott Schneider, Visit … Continue Reading
November 28, 2014
Huffman votes against Keystone XL Pipeline
Willits area Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) spoke out against the Keystone XL Pipeline on Thursday, Nov. 13 on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives during debate on the bill to approve the pipeline. Huffman voted against H.R. 5682, which would deem approval of the pipeline's construction. Huffman's statement follows: "Mr. Speaker, we are considering yet another bill to force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline outside of the regular order required for all other … Continue Reading
November 26, 2014
Lighthouse will continue as aid to navigation
The Point Cabrillo light will continue to shine as a federal aid to navigation. While the news is seemingly great to locals and supporters, the light was never in danger of formally being decommissioned. In a Nov. 24 email, Dan Dewell, public information officer for Coast Guard District 11 in Alameda, said the Coast Guard's federal aids-to-navigation (ATON) specialists held public comment sessions about possible disestablishment of some aids in 2013, but Point Cabrillo light was not on … Continue Reading
November 21, 2014
Huffman seeks law to establish greenhouse gas analysis of proposed bills
Rep. Jared Huffman has introduced legislation that would keep an accounting of the carbon footprint that would result from passage of every bill considered by Congress. Huffman's bill, HR 5733, would require the Congressional Budget Office to estimate and report the projected carbon footprint — greenhouse gas emissions — stemming from all congressional legislation. "This bill would provide Congress and the American public with nonpartisan, objective information on how legislation would … Continue Reading
November 17, 2014
Editorial: A rare housing opportunity in Marin
The opportunity to turn 36 units of surplus military housing in Point Reyes Station into publicly controlled affordable housing is one local officials should seize. Rep. Jared Huffman, county officials, local community leaders and West Marin's Community Land Trust Association — or CLAM — are working toward that goal. The housing was built by the Coast Guard for its crews working at the nearby communications center. But those military households now live elsewhere, living on military … Continue Reading
November 10, 2014
Airport project breaks ground
Ceremonial dirt was turned at the Del Norte County Regional Airport Thursday to celebrate not just the real ground-breaking that will begin on the airport’s runway improvement project next week but also the many behind-the-scenes tasks completed over the past several years to create a shovel-ready project. “This is the first turning of the shovel for a physical project, but this project has been going on for a long time,” said David Finigan, chairman of the Border Coast Regional Airport … Continue Reading
November 07, 2014
Pot Farmers Steal Water Amid Epic Drought
by By Elyce Kirchner
The water that flows through California’s public lands and state parks is the life blood of the forests’ ecosystems. But in the midst of a water shortage, the Investigative Unit has found some criminals are disrupting nature’s course and stealing massive amounts of water meant for public lands. The Investigative Unit spoke with a rancher who noticed the water levels in his lake drop a dramatic six feet in just three weeks. “It was just so odd,” he told the Investigative Unit. The … Continue Reading
October 27, 2014
Editorial: Ranches are part of balance of Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore officials got a good idea of the level of public interest in its update of its park management plan. More than 3,000 comments were received during the six-week period when park officials invited people and groups to express their thoughts. Not surprisingly, many of the comments reflected the split between those who want to continue the park's agricultural heritage and those who want to see the ranchlands returned to wilderness. The plan was started in … Continue Reading
October 09, 2014
Huffman votes against training and equipping Syrian rebels
Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) released the following statement after voting against the McKeon Amendment to train and equip elements of the Syrian opposition against the terrorist organization ISIL: "Today I voted 'no' on the McKeon Amendment to arm and train so-called 'moderate' Syrian rebels as part of a broad new multi-year military intervention in Iraq and Syria outlined by President Obama last week. I also voted 'no' on the continuing resolution in which it was … Continue Reading
October 04, 2014
Congressman urges legal opinion on Trinity releases
A day after a federal judge ruled on reservoir releases for Klamath River salmon, North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman demanded immediate clarification of Humboldt County's water rights from federal officials. Humboldt County and the Hoopa Valley Tribe have been vying for consistent water releases for salmon in the Trinity and Klamath rivers since the death of more than 70,000 adult salmon in 2002. Westlands Water District and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority took the issue … Continue Reading
September 25, 2014
Obama seeks $900M for conservation program
The Obama administration is pulling out the stops to renew and expand a little-known program that uses offshore drilling revenue for conservation. The administration has pushed Congress to triple the amount of money available for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which officials use to acquire land, build recreation facilities and maintain parks. The program is likely to be renewed before it expires next year, given the strong bipartisan support for conservation, but President … Continue Reading
September 10, 2014
Land exchange bill gets hearing
On Tuesday the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation held a hearing on Congressman Jared Huffman’s Trinity Land Exchange Act (H.R. 3326), which would facilitate a land exchange between the Trinity Public Utilities District, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The bill would swap federal land adjacent to the Weaverville Airport for county land along the Trinity River. This hearing is the last step before a full committee vote on … Continue Reading
August 23, 2014
Huffman holds meeting to discuss Eureka mail center closure
Congressman Jared Huffman was joined by several local officials Friday at a packed town hall meeting at Eureka's Wharfinger Building to discuss what effect the closure of the city's mail processing center may have on vote-by-mail ballots, deliveries and jobs. "It's important to discuss what's happening," said Huffman, who represents the 2nd District. "The Postal Service was invited to be here well in advance. Unfortunately, I learned they declined, so I will do my best to outline their … Continue Reading
August 13, 2014
Huffman: Hoping for rain won’t save state’s salmon
Science students learn about the Water Cycle, where ocean water evaporates, condenses into clouds, precipitates into rain, and flows down streams and rivers back to the ocean. Here on the North Coast where the Klamath and Trinity Rivers are so vital to our economy and environment, we're becoming familiar with another kind of "Water Cycle" — one where the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation ignores a problem until it becomes a crisis, ignores the crisis until the verge of disaster, and then … Continue Reading
August 04, 2014
Effort builds for day to honor Rosie the Riveters
Since their return from meeting the president and vice president in Washington, D.C. in April, the six women who once worked at the World War II Kaiser shipyards have been busier than ever, with invitations for speaking engagements and parade appearances, in addition to the dozens of people who come to see them on Fridays at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park visitors center. Now, the woman who spearheaded the visit has embarked on another effort centered … Continue Reading