Press Releases
March 17, 2022
Washington, D.C. – Today, the United States Environmental Protection Agency formally invited the Sites Project Authority to apply for a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program loan. In total, Sites will be eligible for up to $2.2 billion in low-interest loans, which accounts for 49% of the project’s cost. Although the WIFIA program is primarily used for wastewater and drinking water systems, the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 directed the EPA and Reclamation to work towards opening the program to some Reclamation water projects as well. In October 2019, the Trump Administration completed a Memorandum of Understanding between EPA and Reclamation to create a WIFIA process for Reclamation projects. In July 2021, Congressmen LaMalfa and Garamendi led a bipartisan letter with other members of the California delegation asking the EPA to allow the Sites Project Authority to apply for a WIFIA loan.
Issues:Water
March 16, 2022
Washington, D.C. - Today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a virtual address to all Members of the United States House and Senate to discuss his country’s efforts in combating their Russian aggressors. This comes one day after President Biden signed a one-time $13.6 billion spending bill providing Ukraine with military and humanitarian aid in their fight against the Russian invasion. Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R – Richvale) voted in support of this legislation when it passed through the House the week prior. $6.5 billion was allocated to the U.S. Department of Defense to deploy troops to the NATO region and send defense equipment, over $4 billion will be used for humanitarian support for refugees fleeing Ukraine and people displaced within the country, and nearly $1.8 billion to help respond to the economic needs in Ukraine and neighboring countries, such as energy and cybersecurity.
March 12, 2022
Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R – Richvale) joined a group of Republican Members of Congress on an official trip to view the southern border in Arizona. During this trip, Members received an operational briefing from the U.S. Border Patrol Station in Yuma and toured their Centralized Processing Center. They also went on field tours to see the halted construction of the border wall and a staging site used by cartels to smuggle children across the border.
March 10, 2022
Washington, D.C. – Last night, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) voted against the proposed $1.5 trillion Omnibus spending package. The text of the 2741-page bill was only sent to Members in the early hours of the day before. Members of Congress were previously given an outline of the bill, but not made aware of the specific items or total spending in the legislation. Republicans successfully forced a separate vote on a negotiated Ukraine aid package and the U.S. defense portion of the bill. LaMalfa voted in favor of the separate defense and aid package while opposing the larger spending bill.
March 9, 2022
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressmen Doug LaMalfa (R- Calif.) and Guy Reschenthaler (R – Pa.) led a group of 92 Republican Members of Congress in a letter to the Transportation Security Administration requesting that it allow the mask mandate for air travel, which is currently extended through March 18, 2022, to expire. Due to strong declines in COVID-19 cases and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest guidance eliminating indoor mask requirements for much of the population. Advanced filtration on airplanes makes the risk of COVID-19 exposure on planes extremely low.
Issues:Transportation
March 8, 2022
Washington, D.C. – Today, President Biden announced a ban on the importation of Russian oil to the United States. Thirteen days since the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, bipartisan pressure has mounted on the administration to take further action and encourage more American energy production. Despite previously implementing sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Russia’s Central Banks, President Putin himself and his fellow oligarchs, Biden has held off sanctioning Russian produced oil until now. Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally called on Biden to ban imports of Russian oil.
Issues:EnergyForeign Affairs
March 3, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Tom McClintock (CA-04) and Congressman Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) introduced legislation directing the U.S. Forest Service to immediately suppress wildfires on National Forest System lands and put an end to the policy of letting fires burn.
Issues:Forestry
March 2, 2022
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced a $296,000 Economic Adjustment Assistance grant award to Valley Contractors Exchange (VCE) in Chico. This EDA investment funds the Hands on Tools Mobile Construction Training to create a mobile construction training educational program. The program is anticipated to create over 100 new construction jobs in the area, which can help the region rebuild following a destructive wildfire or flooding.
Issues:Economy and Jobs
March 1, 2022
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R – Richvale) released the following statement in response to President Biden’s State of the Union Address
Issues:Congressional Issues
February 25, 2022
Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R – Calif) led a group of California Congressional Members in a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) requesting them to jointly resubmit a Temporary Urgency Change Petition (TUCP) for Water Year 2022 to the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) to lower operational requirements over the next several months due to the worsening drought conditions. Members of the California delegation, including Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R – Calif), Congressman Ken Calvert (R – Calif), Congressman Tom McClintock (R – Calif), and Congressman David Valadao (R – Calif) joined.
Issues:Water