Thank you to all those who joined my Telephone Townhall this past Wednesday. Hearing your questions directly helps me better represent you in Washington, and I appreciate you taking some time to participate. During the call, we discussed many important issues facing the Central Valley and our nation – such as the veterans clinic in Bakersfield, the affordability of broadband, and the opioid epidemic.

If you weren’t able to join us this time, make sure to sign up here to get notified when our next Townhall will be.

As millions of Americans fill up their cars for their holiday weekend travels, Californians are going to pay more than $5 per gallon on average – the highest in the nation by far. As if that wasn’t bad enough –  California has yet another gas tax increase scheduled to go into effect on July 1st. That’s why this week, I led the entire California Republican delegation in a letter to Governor Newsom calling on him to suspend the proposed gas tax increase effective July 1^st. 

You can read our full letter here or below.

This week I had the chance to sit down with leaders from the Kern County Farm Bureau. During our meeting, we discussed many important issues facing the Kern agricultural community – such as water access, transportation issues, and the upcoming Farm Bill. Thank you to everyone at the Bureau for a productive meeting.

Earlier this week, I held our first Subcommittee Markup on the Fiscal Year 2025 Legislative Branch appropriation bill. As the Subcommittee’s new chairman, I’m proud that our bill provides the resources needed for members of Congress to retain staff, serve constituents, and provide critical oversight of the Executive Branch. Importantly, the bill also fully funds staffing needs for Capitol Police so they can keep the Capitol complex and all who work and visit here safe. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill across the finish line.

This week, I joined Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA) and Andrea Salinas (D-OR) for a Farm Bill Roundtable. We discussed the importance of the Farm Bill for Hispanic communities like many of those throughout the Central Valley. Thank you to the Hispanic Access Foundation for organizing this important event.

Memorial Day is a solemn reminder that freedom is not free. As we commemorate this weekend, join me in taking a moment to remember those brave Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our nation at home and abroad. Their courage and their service will never be forgotten.

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 Cynthia in Lemoore. She asks:

“Sacramento gives away billions to non-citizens, while the Central Valley farmers and people with private wells are being bled dry by incessant taxation, in one form or another. When are we going to increase water storage for the Valley?”

Thank you for your question, Cynthia. Like you, I’m incredibly frustrated with the misguided water policies coming out of Sacramento. Unfortunately, Governor Newsom has prioritized radical environmentalists over hardworking Valley farmers, towns, and underserved areas. Sacramento seems to forget that the Central Valley feeds not just our country, but the world – and we can’t continue doing that without reliable access to water. Too often commonsense projects to increase water storage are blocked by litigation or lengthy permitting reviews.

I introduced the WATER for California Act to increase storage, streamline operations, and increase accountability. This commonsense legislation would make federal funds available for the Shasta Dam Enlargement Project, reinstitute the 2019 biological opinions (BiOps) to give farmers, growers, and local communities more certainty over their water supply, and reauthorize the WIIN Act to increase water storage projects. These reforms would help to provide communities with reliable water access, give our farmers more stability, and help reduce the wasteful practice of letting precious rainwater just run back into the ocean.

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.  

I'll be using this newsletter as a way to keep you updated on my work in Congress. Make sure to sign up for regular updates and follow my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with my work.