In the News
Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., challenged Brown’s concerns about Mexican imports, noting that there are farmers in the Salinas Valley in his district who have established farms in Mexico and use the profits from those farms to modernize their facilities in California.
But Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) challenged Brown's statement that specialty crops are "an industry under assault." He argued that produce growers in California's Salinas Valley are benefiting from NAFTA because it allows them to easily start additional businesses in Mexico.
"There are family farms that continue to be successful during the winter months because they have farms in Mexico," Panetta said. "It turns out to be a complementary relationship. They make money and invest in their farms in the United States, including in mechanization, to help with the lack of labor situation they're facing."
California and Central Coast lawmakers are speaking out against President Trump's decision to ban transgender soldiers from serving in the military.
Trump announced this decision in a series of tweets Wednesday morning.
He tweeted "After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow…transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military."
Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a member of the House Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Equality Caucus, issued the following statement today after President Donald Trump tweeted that transgender Americans will no longer be able to serve in the U.S. military:
After President Trump tweeted that transgender Americans will no longer be able to serve in the U.S. military, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) issued the following statement:
MONTEREY, Calif. - President Trump announced in a series of tweets Wednesday that transgender people will be banned from serving in the armed forces "in any capacity."
This decision reverses a policy that the Defense Department approved under President Obama last year. Ash Carter, Defense Secretary under Obama, ended the ban on trans people openly serving in the military in June 2016, granting the Pentagon a year-long review period to determine how it would accept transgender recruits into the military.
The same communities that fought for decades to protect California's coast from offshore oil drilling have renewed their battle calls as the Trump administration considers opening 3,500 square miles of state waters to energy development.
Residents and local leaders from Santa Barbara to Mendocino, backed by Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris as well as Gov. Jerry Brown, are waging a statewide campaign to halt any downsizing of 11 national marine sanctuaries and monuments, including four in California.
San Francisco International Airport and surrounding airports are some of the busiest hubs in the United States, which make the beds of activity some of the noisiest spots in the Bay Area. And neighbors in the surrounding communities are not pleased with the rising decibel levels.
After receiving complaints in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, Reps. Jackie Speier, Anna Eshoo and Jimmy Panetta called for action by the Federal Aviation Administration.
On July 19, Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) announced in a press release on his website that he and other members of Congress were supporting H.R. 2690, the Agriculture Worker Program Act — also known as the Blue Card Bill — which would shield undocumented agriculture workers from deportation and put them on the path to citizenship.
Update: The public comment will be re-opened on Monday, July 31st. It will end on Monday, August 14th.
Wednesday is the last day to submit a public comment on a Presidential Executive Order on ocean energy exploration, which includes a review of part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.