The week of February 16, the RCRC Officers, including Mariposa County Supervisor Miles Menetrey; RCRC 1st Vice Chair, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Bob Nelson; RCRC 2nd Vice Chair, Napa County Supervisor Anne Cottrell; and RCRC Immediate Past Chair, Modoc County Supervisor Geri Byrne visited Washington D.C. to meet with congressional offices and federal agency leaders on Capitol Hill, to discuss a number of challenges and opportunities in California’s rural communities.
Although members of Congress were on recess, the RCRC delegation met with a variety of staff and leaders who play a key role in the development and enactment of policies impacting California rural counties. Among them were the Offices of Representatives Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands); Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara); Jim Costa (D-Tulare); Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield); John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove); Jared Huffman (D-Marina); Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin); Young Kim (R- La Habra); Doris Matsui (D-West Sacramento); Jay Obernolte (R- Big Bear Lake); Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley); Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena); David Valadeo (R-Hanford); and the Offices of Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (D-California). The RCRC delegation also stopped at the Office of the late Representative Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) to personally express condolences to the staff, and to thank the office for the steadfast work they did with Mr. LaMalfa, and continue to do now in his absence, on behalf of California’s rural communities.
In a meeting with the Federal Communications Commission Chair, Brendan Carr, the delegation focused on the need for broadband in rural communities, and the ongoing work of RCRC to meet that need through Golden State Connect Authority (GSCA). Additionally, delegation members met with the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Agriculture, including Chief Schultz; the Acting Director of the National Park Service; the Fish & Wildlife Service; the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation; the Offices of the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture; and the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
These meetings focused on a wide range of topics including reauthorization of the Farm Bill; the crucial needs of rural healthcare; ongoing efforts around insurance and disaster recovery; and the need for regulatory reform including 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.