Last week, RCRC delegates, including RCRC Chair, Modoc County Supervisor Geri Byrne; RCRC 1st Vice Chair, Mariposa County Supervisor Miles Menetrey; RCRC 2nd Vice Chair, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Bob Nelson; RCRC Immediate Past Chair, Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez; and RCRC Board Members San Luis Obispo County Supervisor John Peschong, Merced County Supervisor Daron McDaniel; and Mono County Supervisor Rhonda Duggan, engaged in productive discussions in Washington D.C. as they met with Congress Members and Federal Agency leaders on Capitol Hill, to raise awareness of challenges and opportunities in California’s rural communities.
The delegation met with Congress Members including Representatives Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield); Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara); Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose); Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley); Jim Costa (D-Fresno); Doug La Malfa (R-Richvale); Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena); and Senator Alex Padilla (D-California). Meetings were also had with a number of Congressional staffers, both within and outside the California delegation. In a meeting with the Federal Communications Commission, the delegation focused on the need for broadband in rural communities, and RCRC plans underway to meet that need through Golden State Connect Authority (GSCA). Additionally, delegation members met with the D.C. Office of Governor Gavin Newsom; The U.S. Department of Agriculture Senior Advisor for Rural Prosperity; and U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore.
These meetings focused on a wide range of topics including reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program; the Farm Bill reauthorization; rural healthcare; insurance and disaster recovery; and regulatory reform including moving the National Marine Fisheries Service to the Department of the Interior, distribution of appropriations directly to counties, and the expansion of the Good Neighbor Authority.
Several of the RCRC delegates then participated in the National Association of Counties (NACo) legislative conference over the weekend, where they continued to advocate for rural interests at the national level.
For more information, please contact RCRC Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Mary-Ann Warmerdam.