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SALINAS, CA - Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) announced that a $700,000 federal grant will be allocated to Santa Cruz County to help increase access to affordable housing opportunities. The county will receive a grant from HOME Investment Partnership Program, which is administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. HOME is the largest federal block grant to state and local governments designed to increase affordable housing opportunities.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) announced the distribution of over $200,000 in federal government grants for sea otter conservation programs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Aquarium was awarded a $100,000 grant for its southern sea otter surrogacy program in addition to a $100,000 grant to improve its work to rescue stranded southern sea otters.

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), House Agriculture Nutrition, Oversight, and Departmental Operations Subcommittee Chair Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio) and their fellow members of the subcommittee sent a letter Friday demanding answers from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on a range of issues and questions to which USDA has yet to respond to the Committee. In particular, Congressman Panetta and his fellow members raised concerns about the operation and implementation of USDA's Farmers to Families Food Box program.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) released the following statement in response to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) published import requirements for romaine lettuce, which largely only impact romaine from the Salinas Valley. The requirements will go into effect on October 7, 2020:

Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) supported passage of House Resolution 1153, condemning unwanted, unnecessary medical procedures on individuals without their full, informed consent. The measure is in response to a whistleblower complaint alleging female detainees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody underwent hysterectomies without consent.

This week, the bipartisan Behavioral Intervention Guidelines Act authored by Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) and Congressman Drew Ferguson (R-GA) passed the House of Representatives unanimously. H.R. 3539 directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop best practices for the establishment and use of behavioral intervention in schools.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) and Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) led a group of 12 members of the California delegation in sending a letter to House Appropriations Committee leadership urging for inclusion of a provision to protect public lands in California from new oil and gas development, including fracking, in the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations bill.

Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) announced that the U.S. Department of Labor will award a Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) of up to $6,877,500 to the California Department of Employment Development in response to the recent wildfires.