My top priority in Congress is making sure our communities can access safe and clean drinking water. That’s why this week, I joined Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) to introduce the Removing Nitrate and Arsenic in Drinking Water Act. This bipartisan bill would give rural communities that rely on groundwater the resources they need to remove nitrates, arsenic, and other harmful chemicals from their water supply.

You can read more about our bill here.

I’m proud to announce that this week I was appointed by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) to serve as the Chairman of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

The Legislative Branch Subcommittee does critical work to ensure Congress is best equipped to meet the needs of the people we represent, and I look forward to leading this subcommittee in a bipartisan manner. I’m thankful to Chairman Cole for entrusting me with this role, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the appropriations committee to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used responsibly. Read more about the legislative branch subcommittee.

This week, the House passed my bill – H.R. 6011, the Right of Way Application and Transparency (ROWATA) Act. This commonsense bill would streamline the federal permitting process by requiring federal agencies to notify applicants about the status of their right-of-way application within 90 days. This bipartisan bill will allow us to better utilize our domestic energy resources, expand rural broadband, build roads, and ultimately create more jobs here at home. Read more.

My office is accepting submissions for the 2024 Congressional Art Competition! This annual competition is a great chance for Central Valley high school students to demonstrate their artistic skills and abilities. The winner of the challenge will have their artwork displayed for 1 year in the United States Capitol Building, as well as be invited to attend a winners’ reception in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2024. 

Students must be in high school (Grades 9-12) to participate. For more information and to find a full list of rules and regulations, click here.

Recently, I was in McFarland for a productive meeting with the Mayor, City Manager, and Police Chief. During our meeting, we discussed important upcoming projects, such as the city’s plans to build a new police station. We also discussed the funding I secured in this year’s appropriations bills that will improve public safety and infrastructure in McFarland.

I visited Chabad of Bakersfield to meet with Rabbi Schlanger and tour the Central Valley Holocaust Memorial. During our meeting, we got a chance to discuss the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza and the impact it's having on our Jewish communities in the Valley. I want to thank Rabbi Schlanger and all the staff for a productive and informative meeting. 

The tax deadline is almost here! If you haven’t filed yet, you have until next Monday to file your returns or request an extension. If you need help completing your taxes for this year, the IRS is offering tax assistance to those who need it.

The IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program helps taxpayers with low-to-moderate income prepare their tax returns for free. To learn more about the VITA program, you can click here or call a local partner below:

• Kern County VITA – 661-834-1820
• Kings County VITA – 559-582-4386
• Tulare County VITA – 559-732-4194

You can also file your taxes online by using myfreetaxes.com if you do not need assistance. 

¡La fecha límite para los impuestos ya casi está aquí! Si aún no lo ha presentado, tiene hasta el próximo lunes para presentar sus declaraciones o solicitar una extensión. Si necesita ayuda para completar sus impuestos de este año, el IRS ofrece asistencia fiscal a quienes la necesitan.

El programa de Asistencia Voluntaria para el Impuestos sobre Ingreso (VITA) del IRS ayuda a los contribuyentes con ingresos bajos a moderados a preparar sus declaraciones de impuestos de forma gratuita. Para obtener más información sobre el programa VITA, puede hacer clic aquí o llamar a uno de los socios locales a continuación:

• VITA del condado de Kern – 661-834-1820

• VITA del condado de Kings – 559-582-4386

• VITA del condado de Tulare – 559-732-4194

También puede presentar sus impuestos en línea utilizando myfreetaxes.com si no necesita ayuda.

Our question this week comes from Fernando in Bakersfield. He asks:

“Why is California paying the highest prices for gas? I’m retired and depend on my social security every month, pretty soon it’s going to reach over 5 dollars or more a gallon. I live in Kern County and see all these oil fields in Bakersfield east and west. Why is it so expensive?”

Thank you for your question, Fernando. This is something I hear about regularly from constituents and experience myself when I’m home in Hanford. With a gallon averaging $5.27 across our state, California has the highest gas prices in the nation – and it’s not even close. Governor Newsom argues the reason California gas prices are so high is because of the “big oil companies”. But these companies operate in many states across the U.S. – all of which are paying less for gas than California. Californians are paying more at the pump because of the misguided energy agenda coming out of Sacramento and Washington.

Californians are paying more than 77 cents per gallon in tax to California. To put that in perspective, our neighbors in Nevada pay just 23 cents per gallon in tax. California is also by far the most regulated and restrictive state in our country, which makes it difficult for new energy projects to get approvals and become operational. All of these factors are the reasons we are paying so much for gas in our state. 

I've led my colleagues in several requests to the Governor to suspend the gas tax to provide much-needed relief at the pump. We also need to streamline regulations to ensure projects that will increase the energy supply and lower costs for consumers are completed. I've introduced and supported several bills this Congress that would improve the slow, bureaucratic permitting process for new energy projects. Last year, the House passed H.R. 1 - the Lower Energy Costs Act, which would make critical reforms to our permitting process and increase our domestic energy supply. I’ll keep working with my colleagues to cut red tape, increase our energy production, and lower prices for Valley families.

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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