This week, the Bureau of Reclamation announced their initial water allocations for Central Valley Project (CVP) contractors. Their announcement allocates 15% for South-of-Delta agricultural repayment and water service contractors – an allocation I find disappointing. After three years of extreme drought, our state had enough rainwater last year to supply farms, communities, and homes for years. Sadly, much of that water was wasted because of lack of storage, and now Valley farmers and families are paying the price.

Central Valley users deserve the water they contract and pay for. I’ve strongly urged Reclamation to increase water allocations as the year progresses and will continue to do so.

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

Many of our rural communities across the Central Valley have historically been overlooked for critical economic investments, and it's past time we even the playing field. That's why this week, I joined Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR) to introduce the Rural Partnership and Prosperity Act. This bipartisan legislation would create new federal grant programs for rural communities to expand economic and community development. 

You can read more about our bill here. 

I’m excited to announce that the annual Congressional Art Competition is back. Each year, high school students around the country showcase their artistic abilities for a chance to have their work displayed in the U.S. Capitol.

All students must submit their artwork and a student release form by 5:00 pm PST on Friday, May 3^rd.

Students must be in High School (grades 9-12) to participate in the competition. You can find all additional rules and regulations relating to the competition, as well as a pre-submission checklist, here. 

To submit artwork, students should send a high-resolution photo (jpeg format) and their student release form to Olivia Speno at olivia.speno@mail.house.gov. For questions about rules or submissions, visit my website here or call (202) 225-4695. 

We must ensure hospitals in our most rural communities have the resources they need to provide high-quality care for Central Valley residents. That’s why recently, I joined Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-03) to introduce the Reinforcing Essential Health Systems for Communities Act. This bill will help to clearly identify the hospitals serving our most vulnerable communities, allowing critical federal resources to be more easily directed toward them.

You can read more about our bill here.

This week, we celebrated National FFA Week! Future Farmers of America is a great organization with dozens of programs across the Valley, helping to train and prepare our next generation of agriculture leaders. I know the future of our ag communities across Californians in good hands in large part thanks to the vital work of FFA.

With Spring fast approaching, now is the perfect time to check if your passport has expired and submit your renewals (if needed). The State Department has experienced significant delays in processing passport requests over the last few years, so it’s important to submit your renewal well before your planned travel dates.

Routine passport processing takes 6-8 weeks on average, with expedited processing taking between 2-3 weeks. For more information about applying for a passport, visit travel.state.gov/passports or click the link 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!

Our question this week comes from Kelly in Porterville. She asks:

“Why is Congress cutting the VOCA funds? This money is used to help victims of sexual assault and human trafficking get their lives back together and we need to make sure it's fully funded.”

Thank you for this important question, Kelly. VOCA, or the Victims of Crime Act, is a federal program that helps to support victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other heinous crimes by providing grants and other resources. The Crime Victims Fund (CVF) – which pays the grants to the victims – is funded not through tax dollars, but through the fines, fees, and forfeitures of those convicted of perpetrating these crimes. While the VCF has been reduced over the past few years, it’s not because of Congress.

There are two main reasons that we’ve seen a reduction in CVF funding – the impacts of COVID and a significant reduction in prosecutions. The pandemic forced many courts to pause routine trials – leading to a delay in convictions and forfeitures that the CVF is just now starting to feel the impacts of. However, the bigger issue in my opinion is the many prosecutors across the country who have made the conscious decision to not hold criminals accountable by refusing to prosecute – leading to fewer convictions and less money going to the CVF. District Attorneys and prosecutors need to prioritize victims over criminals. Their inaction is costing victims desperately needed resources and creating a perception of lawlessness throughout our country. 

As the co-chair of the Congressional Human Trafficking Caucus, I’m committed to working with my colleagues to ensure victims are protected and receive the resources they are owed. As a solution to the growing challenges with the CVF is being worked on in Congress, I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure we protect victims and hold criminals accountable.

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.

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