It was great to join the Delano Chamber of Commerce for a roundtable discussion. I spoke with small business owners in the area and local leaders about some of the key issues affecting the community and how I can best support them in Congress. Meetings like these are a great opportunity to hear directly from members of the community about the issues that are most important to them.

Recently, members of Team Valadao attended Thursday Night Market Place in Hanford to highlight a resolution I introduced to designate the first week in August as National Farmers Market Week. While there, my staff presented Main Street Hanford, the organizers of this weekly event, with a Congressional Certificate to recognize their support for farmers and local businesses.

Every year, Kings County holds the Brown Bag Professional Training series for county employees. At this year’s event, I spoke with employees about the challenges facing our community and updated them on my work in Washington to support the county. I addressed a range of issues that have an impact here in the Valley, including water access, permitting, childcare, and immigration. I appreciate Kings County for the opportunity to engage directly with our public servants.

I visited DaVita, a dialysis center in Hanford, which provides treatment for hundreds of kidney patients across several locations in the district. During my visit, I learned about the life-saving work performed daily at this facility. The staff shared some of the challenges both they and patients face and how I can support them through my work in Congress.

One of my highest privileges as a member of Congress is nominating students from the Central Valley to attend a United States Service Academy. Serving in our nation’s military is among the highest callings there is. I am excited to share that my office will be hosting a Service Academy Information Night on August 29th for middle and high school students from the Central Valley who are interested in attending a military academy. This event will be taking place at the Porterville Military Academy from 6-8pm. You can RSVP for this event here.

Trying to get an answer from a federal agency can often be a time-consuming and frustrating process. If you ever need help navigating a federal agency, you can visit my website here or call my Hanford office at (559) 460-6070. My team is ready to assist you!

Tratar de obtener una respuesta de una agencia federal a menudo puede ser un proceso frustrante y que requiere mucho tiempo. Si alguna vez necesita ayuda con una agencia federal, puede visitar mi sitio de web aquí o llamar a mi oficina de Hanford al (559) 460-6070. ¡Mi equipo está listo para ayudarte!

Our question this week comes from Steve in Bakersfield. She asks:

"Under which government program were the funds released to pay for the projects mentioned in your 8/16 newsletter?  I am pleased to see our tax dollars being used wisely"

Thank you for your question, Steve. As you may know, one of the most significant powers of the United States Congress is the “power of the purse” under the Constitution. This means that Congress controls federal spending and taxation. Every year we must pass appropriations bills to fund the government and allocate money to the different government departments and agencies.

Community Project Funding is a valuable tool that members of Congress can use in the appropriations process to direct some federal spending to specific projects taking place in the district. Each year my office receives requests from leaders and organizations throughout the community for federal funds to finance certain projects.

This year I secured $55 million for projects throughout the Central Valley. I highlighted a few of them in last week’s newsletter. Other projects being funded include $3.5 million to build a new regional access road in Porterville, $9 million to build a new homeless shelter in Bakersfield, and $622,000 to improve 911 dispatch equipment for the Wasco Police Department. For a complete list of community improvement projects that I have worked with local leaders to secure funding for, click here.

Community Project Funding is a great system because it allows those closest to the communities to determine where these existing grant dollars go, rather than bureaucrats in Washington.

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.

Did you know you can now sign up for texts from my office to stay up to date on my work in Washington D.C.? To sign up to receive updates from me directly to your phone, just text VALADAO to (559) 387-4346 and you will be automatically subscribed. You can also sign up for text alerts using this form here.  

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.