MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David G Valadao (CA-21)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David Valadao (CA-22) released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 4553 – Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2026. This bill includes key wins for the Central Valley by providing enhanced resources for critical infrastructure projects, flood prevention, water storage, and drought resilience projects. It also prioritizes funding for agencies and programs that safeguard U.S. national security, strengthen American energy production, and advance economic competitiveness.

Congressman Valadao is a member of the House Committee on Appropriations.

“As a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, I was proud to support the FY26 Energy and Water Development bill, which makes critical investments in the Central Valley,” said Congressman Valadao. “Water is the lifeblood of our communities, and this bill strengthens our region’s resiliency, secures reliable water supplies, and restores conveyance systems our farmers and families depend on. It also funds key infrastructure priorities, like the Success Reservoir Enlargement Project and much-needed repairs to Bureau of Reclamation canals. I’ll keep working with my colleagues to ensure the Central Valley has the resources it needs as we continue advancing our funding bills.”

Key Takeaways:

• Provides $14.6 million for the Success Reservoir Enlargement Project.
• Reauthorizes the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act through 2027.
• Provides $201 million for Bureau of Reclamation WIIN storage projects.
• Provides $20 million for Bureau of Reclamation’s delivery canal subsidence repairs.
• Increases investments to develop new baseload geothermal energy sources to capitalize on our vast domestic resources.
• Maintains funding for cybersecurity efforts that enable a resilient, reliable, and secure electric grid.
• Refocuses applied energy technology program funding to ensure taxpayer resources go to the highest priority research and development efforts. 

Background:

The FY26 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act includes a total discretionary allocation of $57.3 billion. This bill also provides $24.1 billion in non-defense funding and $33.2 billion in defense funding. 

Read the full text of the bill here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II (5th District Missouri)

(Kansas City, MO) – Following a call from U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) and Sharice Davids (D-KS) to restore federal funding obligated to Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area (FFNHA), the FFNHA received its full federal funding for 2025 that had been frozen by the Department of Interior earlier this year. The announcement comes just weeks before the end of the federal fiscal year, when funds would have otherwise expired, ensuring uninterrupted support for local history projects, educational programs, and community partnerships across western Missouri and eastern Kansas.

“Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area plays a prominent role across the region in working with local partners to preserve our history and promote economic development that is vital to our communities,” said Congressman Cleaver. “Despite a regrettable delay, I’m pleased that Freedom’s Frontier has secured the funding provided by Congress and will now be capable of continuing their mission to tell our story to visitors from around the world while boosting economic activity.”

“Freedom’s Frontier is more than a collection of historic sites — it’s a living story of who we are in the region. I’m glad we were able to secure this critical funding so that local partners can keep preserving our history, educating the next generation, and boosting our regional economy. This is what happens when communities speak up and we work together to get things done,” said Representative Sharice Davids.

“Because of the dedication and advocacy of our friends and partners across the region, we are now able to continue our core mission of promoting tourism and economic development in rural Kansas and Missouri,” said Lucinda Adams, executive director of FFNHA. “Your calls and conversations with your representatives mattered. We are deeply grateful.”

Despite being signed into law in March, federal funding for NHAs — including the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area (FFNHA) in western Missouri and eastern Kansas — had been frozen for nearly six months. As a result, local sites struggled to keep staff employed, preserve historic landmarks, and continue educational programs that serve thousands of visitors and students each year. 

NHAs are public-private partnerships that highlight culturally significant regions across the U.S., from Civil War battlefields to Indigenous heritage sites. Each federal dollar invested generates over $5 in private and local support. Without this timely funding, programs grind to a halt and community-driven preservation work suffers.

Established in 2006, the FFNHA is one of 55 National Heritage Areas throughout the United States. FFNHA tells the stories and builds awareness of western Missouri and eastern Kansas’ past, present, and future, including stories of American settlement of the western frontier, Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War, Brown v. Board of Education, and significant figures in our nation’s history such as President Harry Truman, Amelia Earhart, and the Native tribes of the Great Plains.

The FFNHA supports and promotes roughly 323 partners, including historic sites, museums, historical societies, libraries, and other cultural-heritage tourism destinations in 41 counties across the Missouri-Kansas border.

Some notable FFNHA partners in the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri include the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Truman Presidential Library, American Jazz Museum, the National WWI Museum and Memorial, and more.

Some notable FFNHA partners in the Third Congressional District of Kansas include Old Quindaro Museum, John Brown Museum, Kansas City Area Historic Trails Association, Kaw Point Park, Louisburg Historical Society, and more.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) offered and passed an amendment to H.R. 4553, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2026, which further expresses congressional intent in support of spot dredging the Vermilion River.

The amendment increased and decreased the Army Corps’ Operations and Maintenance account by $50 million to emphasize the importance of dredging the Vermilion River and maintaining its authorized parameters. While the river is intended to be 9 feet deep and 100 feet wide, the Army Corps has not performed dredging activities since 1997, despite having the funds to do so.

In 2019, Congressman Higgins’ office secured funding and helped coordinate an extensive hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) analysis of dredging scenarios through the Army Corps and UL Lafayette. The H&H analysis included 500,000 data points and clarified that spot dredging of the Vermilion River would increase retention and help mitigate flooding. In 2021, Congressman Higgins secured the inclusion of $50 million in the Army Corps’ Work Plan for spot dredging of the river. However, despite clear intent, statutory obligation, and available funding, the Army Corps has not removed one bucket of sediment.

Congressman Higgins said, “They’re sitting on a ton of money, nationwide, maybe a trillion dollars. We’re going to track every penny. The COE casually drags on and on and on for decades, delaying work that needs to be completed. I’m not certain the COE serves a purpose any longer, other than obstructing every sovereign state from actually building bridges and levees.”

Watch the full speech here. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott Peters (52nd District of California)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representatives Scott Peters (CA-50) and Jason Crow (CO-6) reintroduced legislation to require the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to evaluate the economic and national security effects of climate change. The original National Intelligence Estimate on Climate Change (NIECC) assessed that “climate change will increasingly exacerbate risks to US national security interests as the physical impacts increase and geopolitical tensions mount about how to respond to the challenge.” The members’ National Security Climate Intelligence Act (NSCIA) would require the Director of National Intelligence to provide Congress a similar report four years after passage of the legislation and every six years thereafter. On his first day in office, President Trump rescinded the Biden executive order establishing the NIECC.

“From the threat of migration crises to increased competition over resources like water, the NIECC made clear that climate change poses a serious national security risk,” said Rep Peters. “Since that time, we have only received more concerning news about the pace of climate change and the inadequacy of our response. Congress needs the best possible information to confront this challenge and pass laws to keep the American people safe. This commonsense legislation will promote our national security and economic prosperity.”

“Rising sea levels and intensifying natural disasters are a real threat to America’s national security. We are already seeing the effects of climate change and need to do more to combat it. Our bill helps to ensure that our intelligence community is prepared to respond and keep the American people safe,” said Congressman Crow.

“The impacts of climate change on our security are not distant – they are here now,” said Alex Stapleton, Senior Climate Policy Advisor, Foreign Policy for America (FP4A). “Melting ice and the energy transition are opening up new domains of strategic and economic competition; resource scarcity is contributing to instability, conflict, and humanitarian crises around the world; and here at home local communities are bearing the costs of more frequent and severe wildfires, flooding, and drought. FP4A is grateful to Reps. Peters and Crow for ensuring that thorough and reliable analysis of the threats we face remains the bedrock of security planning and decision-making, and we look forward to working with Congress to advance this important legislation.”

“The National Security Climate Intelligence Act is about equipping the U.S. intelligence community with the tools it needs to provide rigorous, objective analysis of the impact of climate change on our security and strategic interests,” said Robert Hutchings, former Bush Administration Chair of the National Intelligence Council. “For many years, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the intelligence community has produced pioneering work on climate change through its threat assessments, national intelligence estimates, and other reports, examining how more frequent and extreme weather events are affecting defense readiness and operational requirements. This isn’t about politics, it’s about making sure our military and policy makers aren’t caught flat-footed by the conflicts, migration flows, and political instability that climate pressures are fueling around the world. Solid intelligence is our first line of defense, and this bill ensures we have it.”

Key judgments from the NIECC included:

Key Judgment 1: Geopolitical tensions are likely to grow as countries increasingly argue about how to accelerate the reductions in net greenhouse gas emissions that will be needed to meet the Paris Agreement goals. Debate will center on who bears more responsibility to act and to pay—and how quickly—and countries will compete to control resources and dominate new technologies needed for the clean energy transition. Most countries will face difficult economic choices and probably will count on technological breakthroughs to rapidly reduce their net emissions later.

Key Judgment 2: The increasing physical effects of climate change are likely to exacerbate cross-border geopolitical flashpoints as states take steps to secure their interests. The reduction in sea ice already is amplifying strategic competition in the Arctic over access to its natural resources. Elsewhere, as temperatures rise and more extreme effects manifest, there is a growing risk of conflict over water and migration, particularly after 2030, and an increasing chance that countries will unilaterally test and deploy large-scale solar geoengineering—creating a new area of disputes.

Key Judgment 3: Scientific forecasts indicate that intensifying physical effects of climate change out to 2040 and beyond will be most acutely felt in developing countries, which we assess are also the least able to adapt to such changes. These physical effects will increase the potential for instability and possibly internal conflict in these countries, in some cases creating additional demands on US diplomatic, economic, humanitarian, and military resources. Despite geographic and financial resource advantages, the United States and partners face costly challenges that will become more difficult to manage without concerted effort to reduce emissions and cap warming.

Full text of the bill here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott Peters (52nd District of California)

San Diego, CA – Today, Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50) announced a new milestone in earned benefits recovered for residents of California’s 50th district. Since Rep. Peters took office in 2013, his office has secured a total of $23 million in veterans and military benefits, Social Security payments, federal tax refunds, and many other federal benefits. 

Rep Peters’ office provides assistance to constituents who need help turning the cranks of the federal government. His office has also helped thousands of San Diegans with their passports, small business loans, immigration proceedings, student loan applications, and housing. These services are available free of charge from every Congressional office. 

“Both my job title and job description are Representative. That means advocating for what matters to California’s 50th district with tireless advocacy in San Diego and Washington,” said Rep. Peters. “My office works every day to serve constituents and help them get the answers and funds they’re owed from the federal government. Constituent services is one of my most important roles as a Member of Congress and I’m grateful to my staff who work hard to deliver for the people we represent. 

Residents of California’s 50th district who need help with a federal agency can contact Rep. Peters’ San Diego office at 858-455-5550 or click the “Get Assistance” button online at scottpeters.house.gov for more information.

A livestreamed recording of the press conference may be viewed here. 

Additional photos from the event, courtesy of the office of Rep. Scott Peters, can be found here. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott Peters (52nd District of California)

San Diego, CA – Today, Rep. Scott Peters hosted a press conference to highlight how recent changes to legal immigration programs are breaking our promises to our Afghan allies who fought side by side with U.S. troops for twenty years. Rep. Peters brought together local leaders and organizations working to help relocate and resettle Afghan allies, including AfghanEvac, a non-profit that has worked with the U.S. government to help relocate and resettle over 195,000 eligible Afghan allies since the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.  

Afghans who have resettled in the United States have utilized the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, Humanitarian Parole, Temporary Protected Status, and Special Immigrant Visas and Operation Enduring Welcome. The Trump Administration has cancelled many of these programs, fired members of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) team administering Operation Enduring Welcome, and included Afghanistan in the travel ban.  

“Anyone with the bravery to stand up to the Taliban is exactly the kind of person we should want in America. We stood by our word to support our allies after the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and it’s reprehensible that we’re failing our Afghan partners now,” said Rep. Scott Peters. “Breaking our promises to them also shows the world that the U.S. is not a reliable partner. We must stand with and support all our veterans, including those who were critical to our mission in Afghanistan.” 

“When U.S. servicemembers, diplomats, and aid workers went overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s, we showed up with a promise. Starting on January 20th, the pathways to keep our promise were cut off, one by one, and the infrastructure behind them torn apart.” said AfghanEvac Founder and President, Shawn VanDiver. “AfghanEvac and our partners are fighting to reopen these pathways, to push Congress and the administration to do what’s right. The Afghan Adjustment Act and Enduring Welcome Act are part of that fight—clear, practical solutions that will bring stability back to the system and humanity back to our policies.” 

Our faith calls us to welcome the stranger and protect the vulnerable,” said Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor, CEO of Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego. “For those Afghan families who stood with America, we must now stand with them. We urge leaders to keep Enduring Welcome strong and ensure every family has the safety and dignity they deserve.” 

“Afghan allies are losing hope because those who have been left behind in Afghanistan are at risk of retaliation. Those who are evacuated to the United States are at risk of detention and deportation. They believe that the Trump Administration turned its back on them,” said Dr. Mohammad Rahimi, Executive Director of Afghan Family Services. “I call on the United States Congress to pass the Enduring Welcome Act as soon as possible. 

“Afghan lives are worth protecting every person, every story,” said Mihan Raufy, Immigration Attorney with Afghan Family Services. “The pain of forced displacement, the fear of deportation, and the struggle for safety are not just political issues, but human ones. We owe it to every Afghan man, woman, and child to stand up, speak out, and ensure that they are not abandoned in their time of need. 

More than 60,000 still remain in Afghanistan awaiting approval of refugee status and more than 170,000 are awaiting Special Immigrant Visas. The Trump Administration’s recent changes threaten their safety and add additional hurdles to the ongoing efforts to vet refugees and reunite them with family members. 

A recorded message from Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), author of the Enduring Welcome Act, can be viewed here. 

A livestreamed recording of the press conference may be viewed here.  

Additional photos from the event courtesy of the office of Rep. Scott Peters can be found here, and photos and other relevant materials courtesy of AfghanEvac can be found here.    

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Joaquin Castro (20th District of Texas)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34)

Gomez: “America needs a new housing boom: one that prioritizes affordability, fairness, and accessibility.”