WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) joined House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (LA-01) and Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (NY-21) in their weekly press conference to highlight what he heard from constituents during the August district work period. During the district work period, Congressman Valadao had nearly 60 meetings with educators, agriculture industry leaders, local elected officials, nonprofits, and small business owners about the issues impacting their daily lives. Rep. Valadao highlighted the main concern he heard throughout these meetings, which was the skyrocketing cost of food and gas.

“Families across the Central Valley are struggling to put food on the table, keep their AC running, and put gas in their cars while the president is celebrating billions in new government spending,” said Congressman Valadao. “It’s out of touch with reality.” 

Watch his remarks here.

Remarks as prepared:

Good morning, thank you for being here today.

My Central Valley district is made up of a lot of rural communities, where most families already live paycheck to paycheck.

I spent the last month back home talking to a lot of different groups of people, and the biggest concern that kept coming up in these conversations was just how expensive it is to live.

Earlier this week I talked to farm workers whose main complaint was the cost of groceries and putting gas in the tank.

I met with farmers and growers who have been hit hard by the rising cost of diesel and the lack of parts to keep equipment running.

I hear from business owners across all different kinds of industries that want to invest in new technologies to create jobs in California, but they don’t have the reliable electricity needed to make it work.

It’s frustrating because we have resources right in our own backyard that can and should be used, and the energy we produce here is cleaner than anywhere else in the world.

But the Biden administration and Governor Newsom are making it nearly impossible to produce energy here in the U.S.

Biden has issued very few permits and Newsom is suing to prevent even those from going forward.

These permits being held up is having a direct impact on Kern County, where the oil industry funds our law enforcement, fire fighters, and public schools and is responsible for over 38,000 jobs.

People I talked to are really worried about the trickle down affect this energy crisis is going to have across our entire community.

The threat of rolling blackouts in California should be a warning to the rest of the country that democrat’s energy policies have created a crisis.  

Families across the Central Valley are struggling to put food on the table, keep their AC running, and put gas in their cars while the president is celebrating billions in new government spending.

It’s out of touch with reality and doesn’t do anything to make life better for my constituents in the Central Valley.

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