• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) highlighted new authority spelled out in this year’s annual defense policy bill that allows the Space Force to share more of the upkeep costs for their bases and launch ranges with the commercial space companies using military-owned ranges, according to a Dec. 21 statement. As a senior member of the U.S. Armed Services Committee and the representative for the United States Western Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Carbajal said he successfully pushed to update current law, permitting up to $5 million in reimbursements from any space launch company for indirect costs associated with launches contracted with a U.S. military department. Previously, U.S. statute only allowed a contract between a commercial space company and the U.S. military to require reimbursements for direct costs associated with the launch. Direct costs include manpower and equipment usage directly required to execute a successful launch, like weather monitoring. Carbajal’s updated language permits launch contracts to include reimbursements for indirect costs, including but not limited to utility payments and repair and upkeep costs from the increased use of the launch facilities and base. “With dozens of launches already a year, and continued exponential growth projected for the next decade, we need to ensure that ranges like Vandenberg are able to share the cost burden of operating these ranges with the private companies that are utilizing our bases,” Carbajal said in the statement. “This is a critical update to our nation’s laws, one that will keep the commercial space industry working cooperatively with our Space Force and the Central Coast on the cutting edge of the world’s space industry.”
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) joined more than 40 lawmakers in introducing a resolution in support of equitable, science-based policies governing access to abortion medication, according to a Dec. 19 statement from Padilla’s office. Their resolution follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s announcement that it will hear a challenge to medication abortion access. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, reproductive rights have been increasingly under attack, with more than a dozen states banning or restricting access to abortion care and “anti-abortion extremists” attempting to ban medication abortion nationwide. Medication abortion is currently used for more than half of all abortions. “Reproductive freedom is a fundamental right, and we must stand resolute in affirming access to lifesaving abortion care,” Padilla said in the statement. “With the Supreme Court and MAGA Republicans constantly threatening long standing, essential reproductive freedoms, it’s imperative that safe, science-based drugs like mifepristone are equitably accessible and protected to the fullest extent under the rule of law.” Specifically, the resolution expresses that the Food and Drug Administration’s scientific judgment that mifepristone is safe and effective should be respected, and that law and policy governing access to life-saving, time-sensitive medication abortion care in the United States should be equitable and based on science. The resolution also acknowledges the significant harm that would be posed to both health care providers and patients across the nation if mifepristone were sharply curtailed.
• In a Dec. 22 statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted funding to expand access to fresh, healthy foods in underserved communities and boost the resilience of food and farm businesses throughout the state. The California Department of Food and Agriculture awarded $9 million in grants for 103 projects through the Healthy Refrigeration Grant Program, which helps address food deserts by funding energy-efficient refrigeration and freezer equipment for corner stores, small businesses, and food donation programs in low-income or low-food access areas. Grantees use the new equipment to stock California-grown fresh produce, nuts, eggs, meat and dairy products, as well as minimally processed foods and foods that are common in cultural dishes but are not often available in mainstream markets. “These projects will help more families put healthy, California-grown food on the table, and support the hardworking food and farm businesses at the center of our food supply chain,” Newsom said in the statement.
This article appears in Dec 28, 2023 – Jan 7, 2024.