Congressman TJ Cox (D-Fresno) has introduced a bill that would help fix the failing Friant-Kern Canal. Dubbed the Move Water Now Act, H.R. 5316 would provide $200 million in funds to repair a 33-mile middle section of the 152-mile canal. That amount is expected to cover half of the repair...
Rep. Costa Blasts Trump's Decision to Abandon Kurds
Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno said Monday morning that President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria "is disgraceful and deeply harmful to our national security." Said Costa in a news release: “Not only does this open the door to ISIS regrouping and resuming its horrendous acts...
House Condemns Trump's 'Racist' Words. 4 GOP Join Dems in Vote.
WASHINGTON — In a remarkable political repudiation, the Democratic-led House voted Tuesday night to condemn President Donald Trump's "racist comments" against four congresswomen of color, despite protestations by Trump's Republican congressional allies and his own insistence he hasn't "a racist bone in my body." Two days after Trump tweeted that...
Trump Backs Off Proposal to Cut Special Olympics
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was backing off a budget request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics, reversing course after his administration weathered days of criticism for the proposed cut. Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a rally in Michigan, Trump...
Valley House Delegation Joins in Omar-less Anti-Hate Vote
The Central Valley congressional delegation all supported a House resolution Thursday (March 7) condemning hate — anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and just about all other forms. That put the likes of House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) and TJ Cox (D-Fresno) in step with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota). Approval came strongly on...
GOP's McCarthy Says Border Deal Doesn’t Need Word ‘Wall’
WASHINGTON — A border security compromise that Congress hopes to produce doesn't have to include the word "wall," the top House Republican said Tuesday, signaling a rhetorical retreat from a term that President Donald Trump made a keystone of his presidential campaign. The remark by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy,...
Republican Leader Says Steve King Should Quit Congress
The No. 3 House Republican is suggesting that Rep. Steve King leave Congress over his remarks about white supremacy. Wyoming Republican Liz Cheney on Tuesday said of King, "I think he should find another line of work. Republican leaders have made serving in Congress uncomfortable for King over his remarks...
Costa Reverses Course, Joins Cox in Voting for Pelosi as Speaker
The Valley delegation split along party lines when it came to voting for Nancy Pelosi as House speaker. Pelosi, already the first woman to hold the gavel, became the first ex-speaker in more than a half-century to retake it. She received 220 votes. Republican Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield received 192...
Water Effort Unites Brown, McCarthy, and Feinstein
The Sacramento Bee reports that two leading Democrats, Gov. Jerry Brown and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, are joining forces with Kevin McCarthy, the most powerful Republican in the House of Representatives, to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for California water projects. Feinstein and McCarthy are aiming to...
Bakersfield’s McCarthy Picked as House GOP Leader
WASHINGTON — Republican Kevin McCarthy easily won an internal party election Wednesday to take over the shrunken House GOP caucus, a familiar role for the underestimated scrapper whose top priority will be to protect President Donald Trump's agenda and try to build the party back to retake the majority. The...