• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal joined a bipartisan U.S. House of Representatives majority to pass measures supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, to hold Russia accountable, and to cut off funding sources for Russia’s war effort, according to a March 9 statement. Carbajal voted to approve $13.6 billion in emergency humanitarian, economic, and security assistance for Ukraine as part of a federal spending package—which includes more than $4 billion for emergency food assistance, health care, and other humanitarian support for displaced Ukranians. The vote also approved legislation that will formalize Biden’s ban on Russian oil and gas imports. “I know that many Californians have seen the effects of this crisis at their local gas station,” Carbajal said in a statement. “But America does not need to choose between defending our democratic values and protecting our economic interests. The U.S. can and will use our Strategic Petroleum Reserve and additional supply from our energy-producing partners to offset the rising price of oil and gas. Let me be clear: While Putin’s war is driving up prices at the pump, we cannot drill our way out of this price spike. The only way to reduce our dependence on the volatility of oil markets is to reduce our dependence on oil itself.”
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla voted to pass the Postal Service Reform Act, a proposal that would provide key financial and operational reforms to the U.S. Postal Service, according to a March 8 statement. The bill would eliminate the pre-funding requirement—which has hurt the Postal Service financially—and integrate postal worker retirees’ health care with Medicare. Together, these two reforms could create more than $49 billion in savings for the Postal Service over the next 10 years, according to Padilla’s office. “Millions of Americans and businesses rely on the Postal Service to deliver our medicine, ballots, and retail goods—securely and on time. These reforms are long overdue,” Padilla said in a statement. “I’m glad to support this bill to help secure the future of the Postal Service. I’m committed to continue working with my colleagues to ensure that the Postal Service lives up to our climate and public health commitments by dramatically increasing the electrification of the mail delivery fleet.” The bill would require the Postal Service to maintain its standard of delivering at least six days a week, improve operations transparency, and additional provisions for Postal Service effectiveness, accountability, and growth.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom released a statement following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s restoration of California’s Clean Air Act waiver, a move that will help steer the state away from fossil fuels and cleaner energy sources, according to a March 9 statement. “I thank the Biden administration for righting the reckless wrongs of the Trump administration and recognizing our decades-old authority to protect Californians and our planet,” Newsom said in a statement. “The restoration of our state’s Clean Air Act waiver is a major victory for the environment, our economy, and the health of families across the country that comes at a pivotal moment underscoring the need to end our reliance on fossil fuels. California looks forward to partnering with the Biden administration to make a zero-emission future a reality for all Americans.” With this move, California can continue its momentum for the zero-emission vehicle transition, including the California Blueprint’s proposed $10 million zero-emission vehicle package. However, the Newsom administration recognized that many of California’s residents rely on fossil fuels, the statement continued, and he announced there will be a pause on the gas tax increase and is developing a tax rebate proposal to get money back to Californians.
This article appears in Mar 17-24, 2022.
