Mar 14, 2025

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues   |   water rights Senate Committee Advances Bill to Enact Water Settlement Between Tule River Tribe and the U.S. 

On March 7, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs advanced legislation introduced by California’s U.S. Senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, which would formally recognize the reserved water rights of the Tule River Tribe and quantify

Mar 14, 2025

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues Congress Introduces Bicameral Legislation to Improve Access to Agricultural Disaster Relief

On March 12, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), along with Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-Monterey), Kat Cammack (R-FL-03), Zoe Lofgren (D-Monterey), and Austin Scott (R-GA-08), announced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to improve access to federal agriculture disaster programs.

Mar 14, 2025

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues EMBER Act Reintroduced as Part of Larger Congressional Package

On March 11, Congressman Ken Calvert (R-Riverside County) reintroduced the Ending Major Borderland Environmental Ruin from Wildfires (EMBER) Act, which would reduce the threat of wildfires along the southern border and protect

Mar 07, 2025

federal issues President Trump Issues Executive Order on Timber Production

On March 1, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order to stimulate U.S. timber production. The order directs

Mar 07, 2025

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues USDA Forest Service Leadership Transition

On March 3, the USDA Forest Service (USFS) experienced a significant leadership transition. Chief Randy Moore has retired after a tenure of four and a half decades with the Forest Service. Moore is succeeded by

Mar 07, 2025

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act Introduced in U.S. House

On March 5, Congress Members Doug LaMalfa (R-Butte), Mike Thompson (D-Napa), Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), and Greg Murphy, M.D. (R-NC) introduced the Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act

Mar 07, 2025

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues Secretary Rollins Previews Her Vision for Restoring Rural Prosperity at NACo

On March 4, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins delivered remarks to hundreds of local leaders at the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference in Washington DC…

Mar 07, 2025

Barbed Wire   |   federal issues RCRC Delegation Visits Washington D.C

Last week, RCRC delegates 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…

Feb 28, 2025

federal issues   |   USDA Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats Inquire About USDA Layoffs

On February 25, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, and all Committee Democrats in a letter asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for detail about recent mass layoffs

Feb 28, 2025

Barbed Wire   |   federal budget   |   federal issues House Passes Budget Resolution Opening the Door for Negotiation with the Senate

On February 25, the U.S. House of Representatives passed their budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 14) by a vote of 217-215. This step will allow the reconciliation process to begin, a legislative procedure that only requires simple majorities from both chambers to enact legislation