June is National Dairy Month! This week, I spoke on the House Floor to thank the hardworking dairy farmers in the Central Valley for their commitment to supplying our nation with the dairy products we all know and love.

80% of the more than 1.7 million California milk cows live in the Central Valley – with Tulare County alone housing nearly half a million cows. As Congress’ only dairy farmer, I know firsthand the challenges many of our family-owned dairies face. But like all our agricultural producers here in the Central Valley, our dairy producers continue to provide America with milk-based products, care for their animals, and support their communities.

You can watch my full speech here or below. 

This week, FEMA made a major announcement for those who are in need of disaster assistance due to the recent storms and flooding in the Valley. The deadline to apply for disaster relief has been extended: 

The new deadline to apply for FEMA disaster assistance is now JULY 20, 2023

If you are in Kern or Tulare County and were impacted by the storms and flooding earlier this year, you can apply for FEMA relief today at disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362.

You can also find a full list of disaster resources for individuals, farmers, and small business owners by visiting my website here.

Esta semana, FEMA hizo un importante anuncio para aquellos que necesitan asistencia por desastre debido a las recientes tormentas e inundaciones en el Valle. La fecha límite para solicitar ayuda por desastre se ha extendido:

La nueva fecha límite de FEMA para solicitar asistencia por desastre es el 20 de julio de 2023

Si se encuentra en el condado de Kern o Tulare y se vio afectado por las tormentas y las inundaciones a principios de este año, puede solicitar el alivio de FEMA hoy en disasterassistance.gov o llamar al 1-800-621-3362.

También puede encontrar una lista completa de recursos para desastres para individuos, agricultores y propietarios de pequeñas empresas visitando mi página web aquí.

This week, I had the opportunity to participate in the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) Fireside Chat here in Washington. For over 100 years, NMPF has been helping dairy producers educate lawmakers and the public about the importance of the dairy industry and dairy producer cooperatives.

It was great to meet with so many young dairy farmers to discuss the importance of the dairy industry to my work here in Congress. 

This week, my colleague Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) and I introduced a resolution designating the month of June as Portuguese National Heritage Month. Like many other Portuguese Americans, my parents emigrated from the Azores Islands of Portugal in search of more opportunities for their children here in the United States. Portuguese Americans have made incredible contributions to our communities here in the Central Valley and across the country, and I’m honored to recognize June as Portuguese National Heritage Month.

You can read more about our resolution here.

For years, the Chinese government has used unfair and one-sided trade practices that have had a tremendous impact on not only our farmers here in the Central Valley but across the country. That's why this week, I joined my colleague Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) to introduce the China Trade Cheating Restitution Act. This bipartisan legislation ensures domestic garlic, honey, and crawfish producers are paid the duties collected by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) for China’s unfair trading practices meant to drive U.S. producers out of the market.

This bipartisan legislation ensures producers receive the payments they are entitled to from the CBP and gives our farmers a fair chance to compete. I'll keep working with my colleagues to protect our Central Valley farmers. 

You can read more about our bill here. 

Are you planning a trip to Washington D.C. and looking to tour the White House? Tours of the White House are some of the most sought-after tours in the nation’s capital, and the White House Visitor Center only allows a limited number of guests to visit each day. While my team will do all it can to help arrange White House tours, we are unable to guarantee a tour for you and your group at this time. 

To give you the best chance at having a White House tour confirmed, please plan on submitting all White House tour requests at least 90 days in advance of your trip to Washington D.C. You can submit your requests by visiting my website here or by calling (202) 225-4695.

Finally, please know that all White House tours are administered at the sole discretion of the White House Visitor Center, and may be rescheduled, delayed, or canceled with or without cause and/or with or without notice. 

While we cannot guarantee tours of the White House, my office is always happy to help schedule a tour of the U.S. Capitol for those visiting Washington D.C. You can request a tour of the Capitol building here. 

Last week, I had the opportunity to travel to Oregon to participate in a Farm Bill Listening Session hosted by my friend Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer. We were also joined by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, Rep. Doug LaMalfa, and others to talk about the importance of the upcoming Farm Bill and the biggest issues facing agricultural producers across the country.

Hearing input directly from farmers across the country is how we’ll be able to deliver a Farm Bill that reflects the needs of our agricultural producers. I want to thank Rep. Chavez-DeRemer for hosting, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to develop a Farm Bill that delivers for Central Valley farmers and producers.

With COVID restrictions now fully lifted, Americans are traveling at unprecedented rates this summer. Because of this, my office is receiving an incredibly high influx of passport processing requests. We cannot guarantee you'll receive your passport by a certain date, but my team will do everything we can to help. 

For more information, you can visit my website here or call my office at (559) 460-6070. You can also visit the U.S. Department of State website to learn more about the process for receiving your passport. 

Do you have a question about my position on an issue? How the Congress operates? My thoughts on the news of the day?

Send your first name, town, and question to AskDavid@mail.house.gov and I might answer yours right here in one of my weekly newsletters. Make sure to subscribe to my weekly email updates to see if your question was answered!

If you want to share your opinion with me on issues of importance, you can always contact me on my website.

I'll be using this newsletter as a way to keep you updated on my work in Congress. Make sure to sign up for regular updates and follow my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with my work.