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

Feb 06, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues Padilla Introduces Two Bills to Bolster California’s Water Supply and Drought Resilience

On February 4, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a pair of bills to help address growing water supply challenges in California and the American West as severe droughts, warming temperatures, limitations on groundwater pumping, and outdated infrastructure compound California’s water scarcity issues.

Jan 30, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues Appropriations Update

The U.S. Senate reached a late-day agreement on Thursday, to avert a broad shutdown of the federal government, by splitting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding measure away from the remaining five full-year appropriations bills. If the Senate successfully advances the measure, attention would turn to the House of Representatives

Jan 30, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues U.S. Senators Introduce Legislation to Support Lake Tahoe Conservation Efforts

On January 27, California Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, along with Nevada Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen introduced the Santini-Burton Modernization Act, which would deliver more funding to protect the Lake Tahoe Basin with no new costs to taxpayers.

Jan 30, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues USDA Forest Service Issues Revised Oil and Gas Leasing Rule

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service finalized revisions to its regulation governing federal oil and gas resources on National Forest System lands. The revision modernizes and streamlines the process for managing energy development across millions of acres

Jan 23, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues Appropriations Update 

On January 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its four remaining appropriations bills…

Jan 23, 2026

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues Health Care: Post-ACA Subsidy Lapse and Congressional Activity

This week, Congressional leaders have coalesced around a narrower bipartisan health care package focused on pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms and safety-net funding.