On Monday I attended a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Highway 46 improvement project near Lost Hills. This notoriously dangerous stretch of road has been widened to a 4-lane roadway, making it much safer and improving traffic flow. Back in 2018, I sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation asking for federal dollars to help fund this project. It’s great to see it completed after all these years.

This week, I visited the Wasco Police Department to meet with Police Chief Charlie Fivecoat. We discussed the progress on the newly reestablished police force and how I can best assist them during this transition. While there I received a public safety update and heard how the city will benefit from over half a million dollars in federal funds I helped secure to enhance critical 911 dispatch equipment.

I've heard growing concerns about crime from many in our community and want to hear your views on how to address this issue. Take my survey below:

On Wednesday I attended an agriculture roundtable in Porterville with local farmers and community leaders. We had a productive discussion where I was able to hear directly from Central Valley farmers about some of the challenges they are facing, such as water, labor and input costs.

I had a great visit to the Bakersfield American Indian Health Project. I met with CEO Angel Galvez and Chairwoman Jackie Lopez along with their team to learn about the important work they are doing for the American Indian Community in Kern County. They told me about some of the challenges they face in their work and how I can best support them in Congress.

Thank you to all the students, parents, and representatives who came out on Thursday for Service Academy Information Night. It was a great evening for Central Valley students to learn about the different military service options available to them after high school. Representatives from the Naval, Air Force, Merchant Marine and Coast Guard Academies as well West Point and Fresno State ROTC were there to answer questions that prospective students had. It was encouraging to see so many young people in the community interested in serving our country. For more information about the US Service Academy application, click here.

This week I toured two Central Valley schools. I first stopped by the Summit Charter Academy in Porterville. I got to read to the second grade class and visited other classrooms to answer their questions about my job in Congress.

Next I toured the Lindsay Unified School District campuses. This year the Lindsay Community Day School has been recognized as a "Model School" for their innovative learner-centered system. It was a productive visit, where I met FFA students who gave me a tour of their agriculture department. I also recognized Mrs. Kristy Caesar for winning Tulare County Teacher of the year.

Wishing our Central Valley students, parents, and educators a great school year!

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 Cheryl in Tulare County. She asks:

"Is there anything being done to eliminate China from buying our farmland especially around our military bases?"

Thank you for your question, Cheryl. I share your concerns about the growing threat of U.S. farmland being purchased by our adversaries. According to a 2022 report from the Department of Agriculture, Chinese foreign ownership of agricultural land in the United States has surged to over 349 thousand acres in recent years. This trend is troubling and poses a serious security threat to our country. A foreign adversary like China should not be allowed to hold such substantial portions of our land and this is no doubt part of a broader strategy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to have influence over our domestic food supply.

I’ve taken steps in Congress to address this worrying trend. The FY24 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration appropriations bill made some important changes to help the U.S. government combat this threat. This bill:

• Improves the tracking process and database of foreign ownership of farmland at the USDA. 
• Adds the Secretary of Agriculture to the review process on the Committee of Foreign Investments, and creates a notification for agricultural land transactions that could pose a national security concern.

These are two important changes that will help close the door to adversaries that wish to do us harm. There is still more work to be done on this issue, and I’ll continue working to stop our adversaries like the CCP from jeopardizing the security of our food supply.

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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