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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Garamendi – Representing California’s 3rd Congressional District

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Representative John Garamendi (D-CA-08) and Representative Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10) called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to immediately reverse its termination of the $19.1 million Community Change Grant awarded to Contra Costa County for its North Richmond Community Resilience Initiative. In a letter to the EPA, the lawmakers detailed serious violations of federal appropriations law, federal court injunctions, and expressed concerns over the Agency’s lack of transparency throughout the termination process.

This funding came from the Inflation Reduction Act’s Community Change Grants Program—the largest national investment in environmental and climate justice—and was allocated directly into the community for the North Richmond Community Resilience Initiative. The project aimed to build a resiliency center for emergencies and natural disasters, and to plant 65 trees along the Verde Elementary schoolyard to shield students from pollution caused by a new distribution center.

In the letter, the lawmakers wrote, “Given the grave nature of these flagrant violations of federal appropriations law, federal court orders, and EPA’s contract with Contra Costa County, we expect that EPA will fully and quickly reinstate Contra Costa County’s Community Change Grant. In addition, we request your immediate attention regarding EPA’s lack of transparency and communication with Contra Costa County.”

“The EPA’s decision to revoke critical funding for North Richmond’s environmental resilience without lawful justification or proper notice is a serious violation of Congress’s constitutional spending authority and federal law,” said Congressman Garamendi. “This funding was not a suggestion. Congress mandated that these funds be delivered to frontline communities like North Richmond, which continue to suffer the health impacts of extreme pollution. EPA’s actions are not only unlawful, but they endanger the health and future of some of our nation’s most vulnerable residents.”

“The people of North Richmond deserve better. They deserve clean air, safe communities, and a government that honors its commitments. EPA must immediately reinstate this grant, comply with the law, and provide a full accounting of how such an egregious lapse in transparency occurred,” continued Garamendi. “We will not stand by as legally appropriated funds are withheld from communities who need them most.”

“The Trump Administration’s cancellation of congressionally appropriated funds, like grant funding for a project in Contra Costa County, is illegal, unconstitutional, and harmful to our communities,” said Congressman DeSaulnier. “I am proud to stand with Congressman Garamendi to demand that it be fully reinstated in order to protect the health and safety of the community.”

“The EPA’s illegal cancellation of a $19 million grant for North Richmond robs the community of the benefits it would receive from these resources. This grant would improve the health, well-being and quality of life for the residents of one of the Bay Area’s lowest-income communities which is severely impacted by industrial air pollution,” said Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, who represents North Richmond.

The full text of the letter can be found here and below. 

The Honorable Lee M. Zeldin  

Administrator  

Environmental Protection Agency  

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW  

Washington, DC 20460  

Dear Administrator Zeldin:  

We write concerning the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) apparent cancellation of the $19.1 million Community Change Grant awarded to Contra Costa County for its North Richmond Community Resilience Initiative. We believe this termination blatantly violates federal appropriations law, recent federal court injunctions, and EPA’s contract with Contra Costa County. In addition, by failing to provide a written notice of termination to Contra Costa County detailing the reasons for termination, EPA has flouted the Code of Federal Regulations. We expect that you will immediately rescind the grant termination and conduct a comprehensive investigation into the lack of transparency in EPA’s termination process.  

The North Richmond Community Resilience Initiative is one of 105 selected applications for the Community Change Grants Program, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (P.L.117-169). Through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Congress issued a statutory mandate that the appropriated funds be distributed to communities with industrial facilities for the purpose of reducing air pollution. By terminating awarded Community Change Grant funding and failing to disburse these Congressionally appropriated funds, EPA is in clear violation of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (P.L.93-344) and Congress’s spending authority as outlined in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution. In addition, multiple federal district courts have enjoined the Trump Administration, and specifically EPA, from canceling Congressionally appropriated funds. If EPA continues to proceed with the termination of federal funds, the Agency will be acting in contempt of court orders.  

In addition to these violations of federal appropriations law and federal court injunctions, the cancellation of Contra Costa County’s grant breaches EPA’s own contract with Contra Costa County. An April 2, 2025, email from EPA’s Office of Congressional Affairs to the Office of Congressman John Garamendi states, “The agency determined that this application no longer supports Administration priorities and the award has been cancelled. We have already conveyed this information to the grantee.” Yet, Contra Costa County’s grant agreement with EPA, signed on January 6th, 2025, does not include a clause allowing termination on the grounds of a change in administration priorities. The EPA General Terms and Conditions applicable to Contra Costa County’s contract clearly state that termination can only occur:  

If the recipient or subrecipient fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the award, including statutory or regulatory requirements;  

With the consent of the recipient when both the recipient and the EPA agree upon the termination conditions, which include the effective date and, in the case of partial termination, the portion to be terminated;  

If a recipient sends the EPA a written notification of the reasons for such termination, the effective date, and in the case of partial termination, the portion to be terminated;  

Pursuant to the programmatic terms and conditions specified in the Federal award.  

EPA’s cited reasoning for cancelling Contra Costa County’s grant does not align with any of the termination conditions outlined above. Thus, EPA is in breach of their contract with Contra Costa County.  

Concerningly, Contra Costa County reports that the EPA did not provide them with a notice of termination for their grant prior to freezing their funding. This is a clear violation of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR 200.341), which requires Federal agencies to provide grant recipients with a written notice of termination, including a detailed justification for the reasons for termination. The Administration has repeatedly stated it is the “most transparent administration in history,” yet EPA failed to complete the most rudimentary notification of grant termination. EPA’s lack of communication with Contra Costa County is deeply alarming and provides further evidence of a greater culture of deliberate obscurity by EPA.  

North Richmond is an unincorporated area of Contra Costa County, situated along the Bay Area’s “refinery corridor.” This community faces extreme air pollution exposure due to refining activity, port operations, freight traffic, a chemical plant and various industry and on-road emissions. Without prompt action, North Richmond will continue experiencing significant public health risks and environmental degradation. The North Richmond Community Resilience Initiative was intended to address this rising threat by reducing public exposure to harmful pollutants, improving air quality, increasing energy efficiency, and advancing emergency preparedness. Now, with the status of $19.1 million in federal funding for the Initiative in question, it is unclear whether there is a viable path forward for the Initiative.  

Given the grave nature of these seemingly flagrant violations of federal appropriations law, federal court orders, and EPA’s contract with Contra Costa County, we expect that EPA will fully and quickly reinstate Contra Costa County’s Community Change Grant. In addition, we request your immediate attention regarding EPA’s lack of transparency and communication with Contra Costa County. Thank you for your consideration, we await your timely response.  

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06)

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06) is demanding that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a directive to all agents reminding them that under current law, Members of Congress have a legal right to show up to conduct oversight of federal detention facilities, and that any threats against Members of Congress who do so are unlawful.

In a letter sent today to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting ICE Director Patrick J. Lyons, Congressman Crow, along with Representatives Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), condemned the May 9 incident at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey, where the Trump administration has claimed that Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), Rob Menendez (D-NJ-08), and LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10), who were conducting a site visit of the detention center, could also be arrested citing an alleged “body slam” of an officer—a charge that has not been substantiated by any witness or video evidence.

This letter builds on Congressman Crow’s work to promote accountability and transparency in government. Congressman Crow previously introduced the Public Oversight of Detention Centers (POD) Act, bipartisan legislation regarding oversight and access to federal detention facilities. This legislation was inspired by Congressman Crow’s own experience of being denied entry to the Aurora Contract Detention Facility, following reports of multiple disease outbreaks in the facility. Ultimately, Crow was denied entry for 24 days, and since then, he has led the fight for greater transparency of immigration detention facilities.

A PDF of the letter can be found here, with full text appearing below:

We are alarmed and forcefully condemn the events that took place on May 9, 2025, at the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, and urge you to issue clarifying direction to Department of Homeland Security personnel about the explicit legal right that a Member of Congress has to access a detention center. 

During a site visit by three Members of Congress – Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez, and LaMonica McIver – Newark Mayor Ras Baraka waited outside in a fenced-in parking lot as protestors gathered on the other side of the fence. He was told to leave the fenced-in part of the parking lot and, despite complying with the request, was arrested by ICE agents. Subsequently, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson indicated that arrests of the attending Members of Congress are, “on the table,” alleging that one of them “body-slammed” an ICE officer – a claim uncorroborated by witnesses or available video evidence.

Members of Congress possess explicit statutory authority to conduct unannounced oversight visits to facilities operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security. This was outlined in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116-93), Division D – Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2020, Sec. 532 and re-affirmed in each year since, including Section 527(a) of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118–47), which stipulates:

None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Homeland Security by this Act may be used to prevent…a Member of Congress…from entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any facility operated by or for the Department of Homeland 

Security used to detain or otherwise house aliens… [nor] to make any temporary modification at any such facility that in any way alters what is observed by a visiting Member of Congress… compared to what would be observed in the absence of such modification.

Furthermore, subsection (b) clarifies that nothing in this section requires a Member of Congress to provide prior notice of intent to enter such a facility for oversight purposes. The Department itself has affirmed the oversight duties of Members of Congress in guidance posted by ICE dated to February 2025. Arresting Members of Congress for performing their lawful oversight duties cannot be “on the table” because that action would be explicitly unlawful.

We anticipate your prompt confirmation that clarifying direction has been given by May 17, 2025.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06)

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06), member of the House Armed Services Committee and Ranking Member of the Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee, issued the following statement after voting against the Republican reconciliation package in Committee. 

In a statement, Congressman Crow said:

“I’m not giving $150 billion to the Defense Department until they fire incompetent leadership like Secretary Hegseth and work with us to reform inefficiencies.

“Republicans in Congress would rather throw money at an already bloated and inefficient system than work with us to reform a system they acknowledge needs fixing. What makes this worse is this cash giveaway can only be paid for by stealing health care from millions of Americans by cutting Medicaid.

“I’m a hard no.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06)

Small Business Energy Loan Enhancement Act would nearly double the maximum SBA loan amount available for energy efficiency investments

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06)

AURORA — Today, Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06) toured the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and held a roundtable with administrators and faculty to discuss issues impacting the University, including the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to life-saving medical research and federal funding for the National Institutes of Health. 

“The Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to medical research are threatening our ability to find cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s,” said Congressman Crow. “That’s why today I met with CU Anschutz faculty and administrators to learn more about their research and how I can best fight to protect this life-saving work in Washington.”

Prior to the roundtable, Congressman Crow toured the University’s BIOElectrics Lab, which explores the intersection between technology and the brain as well as the CellSight Program, which is working to develop therapeutics to save and restore sight in patients with blinding diseases.​ 

Congressman Crow has opposed cuts to medical research grants and the NIH, and recently led a letter highlighting how these cuts would hurt Colorado’s economy and stall efforts to find cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. He also strongly opposes the Republican budget proposal that would limit Coloradans’ access to health care.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is welcoming bipartisan passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of a bill she sponsored, with Congressman Ed Case (D-HI) as the original cosponsor, the South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act, H.R. 531.

Congresswoman Amata’s House floor statement on her bill is available HERE.

The bipartisan legislation provides congressional direction to fully implement the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, which has been diplomatically negotiated among the U.S. and 16 Pacific Islands nations. Amata’s bill was passed by the House in 2024 but had not yet passed the Senate as the 118th Congress closed out later that same year. In contrast, in the current 119^th Congress, the House is passing the bill much earlier in the two-year Congressional session.

“As the representative of the beautiful islands of American Samoa in the South Pacific, a marine economy which depends on fishing, I welcome broad support in Congress for implementing our treaty with our regional friends and neighbors in the South Pacific,” said Congresswoman Amata. “This bill implements U.S. international diplomacy to help ensure that our tuna agreements improve operations and flexibility for our fleet – America’s last true distant water fishing fleet. I especially appreciate working with Chairman Bruce Westerman and Congressman Case on this priority.”

Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) said, “Not only does this bill provide regulatory certainty for fisheries, but it also formalizes what is currently a Memorandum of Understanding, further cementing the strength of the South Pacific Tuna Treaty. I thank Rep. Radewagen for her work on this important piece of legislation.”

The bill amends the South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act of 1988 to reflect the amendments to the Treaty adopted in 2016. In 2022, the Senate provided overwhelming bipartisan support for advice and consent to ratification, and Amata’s bill completes this longstanding effort, moving into statute what has been operating under a Memorandum of Understanding, and resolving restrictions. The Treaty officially stabilizes high seas fishing days and codifies access to various island nations’ EEZ waters. 

Last year, the bill was examined in a legislative hearing by the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, on which Amata serves, which heard expert testimony including from William Gibbons-Fly, Executive Director, American Tunaboat Association, who emphasized the last true “distant water fishing fleet” under the U.S. flag operating from Pago Pago Harbor, as “multi-generational, family-owned businesses with a long and storied history as an important part of the U.S. fishing industry.”

Expert testimony in 2024 noted that the U.S. tuna purse seine fleet has been reduced in a few years’ time from 34 vessels to 13 vessels, due to numerous severe economic challenges from increased regulation, reduced access, and more competition especially from Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. 

This year, the House moved the bill forward promptly as it had already been through a detailed bipartisan examination. It requires passage by the Senate to be signed into law. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)

 

Bill to Strengthen Strategic Relationships with Pacific Islands, and Counter Chinese Aggression in the Region

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Congressman Ed Case (D-Hawaii-01), and Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata (American Samoa) introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill aimed at strengthening the United States’ strategic partnerships with Pacific Island nations, supporting sustainable development, and combating the increasing Chinese aggression in the region. The Pacific Partnership Act would help the U.S. establish a clear, comprehensive strategy to support diplomatic, security, and economic relationships in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Thank you to Senator Cortez Masto, Senator Ernst, and Congressman Case for their focus on these important partnerships that are close to home for my congressional district in the South Pacific,” said Congresswoman Aumua Amata, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, including as Vice Chairman of its Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific. “We need sustained U.S. engagement for enduring partnerships in the Pacific Islands, keeping China’s influence in check, and strengthening mutual development opportunities.”

“Our Pacific Partnership Act responds directly to the reality that our country’s and world’s future lies in the Indo-Pacific, and that the islands of the Pacific are our indispensable partners in charting that future,” said Congressman Case. “The Pacific Islands are under increasingly severe economic, environmental and geopolitical stress, and we must expand our generational engagement to assist them where they most need assistance. The Pacific Partnership Act, molded directly on the Pacific Islands’ own blueprint to their collective future, is our roadmap to expanded engagement as well.”

“Supporting our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific is essential to combating the Chinese Communist Party’s influence and to our long-term national security,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “This bipartisan bill is critical to strengthening our ties with our allies in the Pacific and ensuring they become enduring global relationships.”

“Strengthening America’s partnerships in the Indo-Pacific is critical to deterring Chinese aggression,” said Senator Ernst. “This bipartisan legislation equips us to work with nations in the Pacific that serve as the first line of defense against the Chinese Communist Party and keep Americans safe at home.”

The U.S. has a longstanding relationship with the Pacific Islands, and they play a crucial role in U.S. national security, facilitating military operations in support of American allies and partners. Nevada – through the National Guard – collaborates with the Republic of Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, and the Independent State of Samoa under the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program, strengthening security cooperation globally. 

The Pacific Partnership Act would strengthen these crucial ties by creating a “Strategy for Pacific Partnership.” This strategy, crafted by the President and presented to Congress every four years, would outline U.S. involvement in the Pacific Islands and highlight combined efforts to combat regional challenges including natural disasters, security threats, and economic development.

The national news release from Sen. Cortez Masto is available here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE)

Washington, D.C. –Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) today announced the winners of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition for the Third District of Nebraska.

“Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Congressional Art Competition, and thank you to all students who submitted their work. Your efforts to cultivate your talents will be showcased for a full year. Thank you to Nebraska’s art educators who inspire their students to express their imagination.”

Artwork by the first-pace winner will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol. The runners-up will have their art displayed in Rep. Smith’s Washington, D.C., Grand Island, Nebraska City, and Scottsbluff offices. Smith worked with the Nebraska Art Teachers Association to coordinate the competition.

First Place: “Set in Stone” by Brooklyn Santifer of Oxford
Southern Valley High School
Brooklyn’s work will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year.

Second Place: “Midwest Migration” by Ella Bokenkamp of Kearney
Kearney High School
Ella’s work will be displayed in Smith’s Washington, D.C. office.

Third Place: “Unwavering Roots” by Emma Harwood of Kearney
Kearney High School
Emma’s work will be displayed in Smith’s Grand Island office.

Fourth Place: “The Last Song” by Malynn Boyles of Litchfield
Litchfield Public Schools
Malynn’s work will be displayed in Smith’s Scottsbluff office.

Fifth Place: “A Quiet Summer Night” by James Fletcher of Litchfield
Litchfield Public Schools
James’ work will be displayed in Smith’s Nebraska City office. 

For additional information, please contact Smith’s Grand Island office at 308-384-3900, Nebraska City office at 402-874-6050, or his Scottsbluff office at 308-633-6333. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN-04)

Congressman Baird Applauds Passage of House Agriculture Committee’s Section of the One Big, Beautiful Bill