On Wednesday, the Bureau of Reclamation announced South-of-Delta water allocations for 2024 would now increase from 35% to 40%. A 5% increase is insufficient for our family farms and downstream communities who rely on meaningful allocations to grow the food that feeds the world. Recent storms, current reservoir capacity, and a healthy snowpack should give Reclamation the flexibility to significantly increase allocations and get CVP users the water they contract and pay for. I will continue urging transparency in Reclamation's decision-making and a significant increase in water allocations for South-of-Delta agriculture.

You can read my full statement on Reclamation's announcement here. 

Earlier this week, I was in Buttonwillow to meet with their School District Superintendent Heidi Witcher. During my visit, we toured the school and met with teachers, faculty, and students. We also discussed critical issues facing their district, such as ensuring adequate funding for special needs education and access to healthy school lunches.

Too many people graduate high school with limited knowledge of real-life money skills, like how to file taxes, make a budget, or take out a loan. That’s why this week, I introduced the Promoting Financial Literacy in Secondary Schools Act. This bill aims to fix this knowledge gap by making financial literacy education more widely available to high school students.

You can read more about my bill here.

April 24, 2024 marked Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day – a solemn reminder of the horrors committed against the Armenian people a century ago by the Ottoman Empire. In just eight years, more than 1.5 million Armenians were murdered or displaced, a tragedy that is still deeply felt by the Armenian community today. As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, I’m proud to stand with the Armenian people and recommit to ensuring a tragedy like this never happens again.

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.

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 Shaun in Avenal. He asks:

“After October 7th, the attack from Iran, and the wild antisemitism raging across colleges, Israel needs U.S. support now more than ever. What are you doing to help them?”  

Thank you for your question, Shaun. Israel is America's strongest ally in the Middle East, and continued U.S. support is critical to ensuring they're able to defend their right to exist. America must send a clear message that we support Israel and Jewish people here at home and abroad. During my time in Congress, I have always supported strengthening the relationship between our two nations. Since the horrific terrorist attacks carried out against innocent Israeli civilians on October 7th, I have proudly voted in favor of each bill to send aid to Israel put before the House of Representatives.  

Most recently, I voted for H.R. 8034, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which provided billions in aid for the Israeli government to replenish their Iron Dome missile defense system and for other critical military purposes. This aid is vital to ensuring Israel can defend itself from hostile nations like Iran and its terrorist proxies. I will continue to support our friend and ally as they fight to defend themselves, and I will always support Israel's right to exist. 

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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