I, like many of you, have been devastated by the stories and pictures coming out of Israel following the Hamas terrorist attack that began Saturday. Hamas terrorists are targeting innocent Israeli civilians – kidnapping seniors, beheading babies, and raping women. This is pure evil, and Israel has every right to defend itself against these atrocities.

I am heartbroken at the loss of American lives and hundreds of Israeli citizens at the hands of Iran-backed terrorists. Israel is one of our strongest allies and the only democracy in the Middle East.  It is critical that the United States stands with our ally Israel during this conflict. Our top priority must be ensuring the safety of all U.S. citizens in Israel. If you or someone you know needs help getting out of Israel, please contact my office at (559) 460-6070. The U.S. State Department has released the following guidance: 

• U.S. citizens trying to get in touch with the U.S. Embassy in Israel should fill out this form: https://cacms.state.gov/s/crisis-intakeor… call 1-833-890-9595 or 1-606-641-0131
• For the latest updates, please monitor messages to U.S. citizens from the U.S. Embassy in Israel: https://il.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/security-and-travel-information/…
• U.S. citizens in Israel should enroll their contact information in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP): https://step.state.gov/step/

As many of you know, eight House Republicans joined with all House Democrats last week to remove Speaker McCarthy from his office. Since then, Congress has been paralyzed since we cannot conduct the usual business of the House until a new Speaker is elected. The situation has evolved throughout the week, but at the time of writing this newsletter the House Republican Conference has yet to elect a new Speaker. I will continue to update you on my social media accounts as this situation unfolds. Like many of you, I’m extremely frustrated that a minority of Republicans and all Democrats voted to bring our government to a halt. I’ll continue working with my colleagues to find a path forward so we can get back to work. 

This week, the Social Security Administration announced seniors will receive a 3.2% increase in their benefits next year. Unfortunately, this cost-of-living adjustment is still not enough to keep up with inflation. Our seniors on a fixed income are often hit hardest by rising prices caused by President Biden’s economy. I’ll continue working to support policies that bring inflation down and strengthen social security for our seniors and future generations. If you’re a senior who needs assistance with the Social Security Administration, my team is here to assist you. You can always reach out to my casework team by calling 559-460-6070 or submit a casework request here. 

This week, we celebrated National Farmer’s Day. The farmers of the Central Valley are the ones who feed the world, and I am honored to represent them in the United States Congress.  This week, we also learned that Tulare County was the #1 ag-producing county in the nation for 2022, with Kern County not far behind at #3 - a true testament to the hard work and resilience of our local ag community. To all those who help put food on our tables and clothes on our backs – thank you for all you do!

While I’ve been in Washington, my team has been out around the Valley meeting with members of our community. Recently, my team met with the Friant Water Authority at the Friant-Kern Canal to get an update on construction progress.  Access to reliable, clean water is critical for our Central Valley communities. Improving our water infrastructure is essential to delivering water to the farmers and communities who rely on the canal.

Members of my team also recently attended the Kern County Veterans Stand Down event in Bakersfield. This yearly event provides veterans with access to critical resources all in one convenient location. This year's event specifically focused on housing and homelessness for our military veterans. Thank you to the organizers and all those who helped make this great event possible for our veterans!

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

“I’m very concerned that we are giving Iran six billion dollars as Hamas is attacking Israel. What is going to be done to make sure this money doesn’t go to terrorist groups?”

Thank you for your question, Jenny. I too am incredibly concerned about the decision from the Biden Administration to unfreeze six billion in Iranian funds that were being held in South Korea. That money was being withheld under the U.S. sanctions against the Iranian government, as they have continually used profits from state oil sales to sponsor terrorism across the Middle East and the globe. To be clear, these funds are Iran’s – the U.S. is not giving six billion in taxpayer dollars to them.

Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. While it’s still unclear just how involved the Iranians were in supporting the current attacks against Israel, the Iranian government has enabled Hamas and Hezbollah by giving them weapons, training, and financial support for years. The United States should not be easing our sanctions on Iran until they permanently end their support and sponsorship of radicalized terrorist organizations.

I join the bipartisan group of lawmakers calling for the Biden Administration to halt the transfer of these funds back to Iran and will continue to work with my colleagues to combat the extremism being funded by the Iranian government. 

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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