May 01, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues House Passes the Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act

On April 28, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act

May 01, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues House Passes Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026

On April 30, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567) in a vote of 224-200

Apr 17, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues California Representative Kiley Reinstated to Congressional Committee Assignments

On April 16, California Representative Kevin Kiley (CA-03) announced that he has been reinstated to his committee assignments in the 119th Congress. Representative Kiley had been removed from his assignments

Apr 10, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues U.S. Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill on Wildland Firefighter Pay and Rest Standards

On Thursday, April 2, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT), co-chairs of the Senate Wildfire Caucus, introduced the Support Our Firefighters Act, which would establish mandatory rest and recuperation periods for federal wildland firefighters and permanently remove the annual compensation cap that limits their pay during peak fire season

Apr 10, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues USDA Finalizes Historic Regulatory Reform in NEPA Final Rule

On Tuesday, April 7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finalized a rule updating its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations

Mar 20, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues Interior Announces $889 Million Investment in Western Water Infrastructure

On March 17, the Department of the Interior announced $889 million in investments for critical water infrastructure projects across the West, funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Of those investments, California projects will receive $540 million.

Mar 06, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues House Agriculture Committee Votes to Advance 2026 Farm Bill

On March 4, the House Agriculture Committee advanced the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 out of committee (H.R. 7567) by a 34–17 vote following two days of markup and debate

Mar 06, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues Congress Members Urge Interior to Develop Reforestation Strategy for Public Lands

On March 3, California Representative Doris Matsui (D-West Sacramento) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum urging the Department of the Interior (DOI) to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the growing reforestation backlog

Feb 27, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues House Agriculture Committee to Mark Up 2026 Farm Bill

On March 3, the House Agriculture Committee will begin consideration of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, (H.R. 7567), a comprehensive Farm Bill package intended to address policy areas not included in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Feb 27, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues Costa Introduces Rural Development Modernization Act

On February 20, Representative Jim Costa (D-Tulare) introduced the Rural Development Modernization Act (H.R. 7609), which would update and standardize how “rural” is defined across U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs