This week, my office in Hanford was vandalized by anti-Israeli protestors. I strongly support Americans’ First Amendment right to peacefully protest, but violence and vandalism are never acceptable. In a democracy, harassment and intimidation is not how you make your voice heard. My team and I are always accessible for constituents by appointment, phone, email, or mail who want to share their opinion with us.

This vandalism will not change my position on supporting Israel’s right to defend itself. I will continue to support Israel’s efforts to eliminate Hamas terrorists so that citizens in Israel and Gaza can live in peace.

I’ve heard from many constituents following this incident, with many voicing their opposition to this kind of political protest. But I want to hear from you:

This week, I participated in a bipartisan panel discussion with some of my House colleagues to discuss how we’re working to find common ground to solve the challenges facing our nation. I have always been willing to work with anyone, whether they have an R or a D by their name, to get things done for the Central Valley. Thank you to Center Forward for hosting this panel and my colleagues Reps. Kuster, Joyce, and Gluesenkamp-Perez for a great discussion.

Since its implementation in 2020, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has governed trade between the North American nations and was negotiated to benefit all three countries. Unfortunately, American dairy farmers have not been treated fairly by Canada’s tariff rate quota (TRQ) system, and I’ve led several efforts with my colleagues to remove these trade barriers that hurt American dairy producers.

Last Friday, the second USMCA dispute panel set up to decide if our dairy industry was being unfairly treated sided with Canada, allowing them to continue their unfair trade practices. It is unacceptable that Canada is not being held accountable for its failure to meet its obligations to U.S. dairies. Our trade agreements only work if we enforce them, and I’ll continue working to protect fair market access for dairy farmers and manufacturers here in the Valley.

You can read more about my efforts to hold Canada accountable here.

While I’ve been in Washington, members of my team have been out across the Central Valley meeting with stakeholders and leaders in our community. Recently, my team attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Jose Arredondo Multi-Service Center for the Bakersfield Recovery Services (BRS). BRS provides comprehensive recovery and treatment services to the most vulnerable in our CA-22 community, and the new Multi-Service Center will help them provide critical services like food distribution, family reunification, and more. As a member of Congress, I'll continue supporting efforts to get help to those who need it most.  

Our question this week comes from Steven in Hanford. He asks:

"With all the chaos this year in Congress, what is the status of the Farm Bill?"

Thank you for your question, Steven. For those who might not know - the Farm Bill is a package of legislation that governs a wide range of agriculture, forestry, and nutrition programs, and is typically reauthorized every five years, While the 2018 Farm Bill expired at the end of September this year, funding for many Farm Bill programs – like nutrition assistance and crop insurance – were not impacted by this date. Earlier this month, Congress passed a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill to give us more time to work on a full five-year Farm Bill. 

This extension allows the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to continue working through drafting text that aligns with the needs of producers, rural communities, and food-insecure families. Earlier this year, I hosted House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson and other bipartisan members of the committee at the World Ag Expo for a Farm Bill Listening Session. This event gave Central Valley producers, growers, and food banks the opportunity to share their input and ensure the Valley has a seat at the table for the final draft of the bill.

The timing of the Farm Bill, like all other major legislation this Congress, is largely tied to the outcome of appropriations and availability of Floor time. As a Farm Bill task force lead for the western region, I’ll continue working closely with Chairman Thompson to ensure the Central Valley has the resources we need to continue growing the food that feeds the nation and much of the world.

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.  

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