Garamendi: Military, Ag are top priorities
Military readiness, supporting agriculture and addressing climate change were just some of the topics discussed by Rep. John Garamendi, D-Solano, in an interview with The Reporter as the congressman runs for a seventh term.
Garamendi — a former lieutenant governor under Arnold Schwarzenegger and former deputy interior secretary under President Bill Clinton who has served in Congress since 2009 — wants to continue to work to get some of his local legislation passed.
“(I’m) looking forward to being able to continue the work that we’ve been able to do,” he said.
A top priority for Garamendi is Travis Air Force Base, which is in his district, and being able to ensure “that the largest employer in the area has the resources and the community support necessary to continue its critical role in our national defense.”
Garamendi said he was able to include language in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which would provide $181 million in funding for construction projects at the two Air Force bases in his district: Travis and Beale, which is located in Marysville.
For Travis, the projects include $6.6 million to house a new KC-46A tanker aircraft, $19.5 million for a maintenance training center to provide full-scale training to maintain the new aircraft, $64 million for a new alert force complex and $17 million for improvements to the mechanized material handling system.
Another provision Garamendi said he included in the NDAA was one he called the OATH Act, which would require the military to keep records on exposure to toxins and make that information available to veterans.
“If there’s an illness at some point in the future, they’re able to access that data about exposure that they had some time in the past,” he said.
Garamendi also included provisions relating to issues with privatized military housing.
“There are serious questions raised about the quality or lack of quality, and so (the Readiness Committee)
undertook a deep review and legislation that became law in the National Defense Authorization Act requiring base commanders to be responsible, requiring owners of the privatized housing to meet high standards,” he said.
Among other things, the legislation establishes a bill of rights for tenants that holds private housing contractors accountable for creating safe on-base housing for service members and their families.
In regard to the rising military tensions between America and Iran, Garamendi said he would be bringing legislation to the House floor next week that would repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force that had led America into the Iraq War in 2002. Instead, he said the legislation would stipulate that military action against Iran would require the consent of Congress.
“Any military action against Iran, except defensive, must be authorized by Congress,” he said. “That’s legislation that I’m authoring that will be up for a vote on the House floor, probably next week.”
Garamendi said he wanted to ensure that all 2 million active service members were prepared to respond to any national emergency.
“All the fuel for the tanks, all the fuel for the cars,” he said. “All of that responsibility will continue.”
Garamendi said he also wanted to continue to advance legislation to ensure the military is prepared for climate change, including bases reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring that naval bases are designed or rebuilt to handle sea-level rise.
“(I want to make sure) that the levees are sufficient to protect the base from flooding and that the bases that are subject to tornadoes and hurricanes are built or rebuilt to withstand (them),” he said.
Garamendi said he also included a provision in the NDAA to allow the National Guard to use unmanned aircraft systems such as drones to track wildfires and assist in search and rescue efforts.
Garamendi also sees supporting agriculture as a high priority. He praised the House and Senate’s passage
of the United StatesMexico-Canada Agreement, which he said would be beneficial to California farmers.
“We forced into that specific requirements that support agriculture in this area,” he said.
Among those requirements he noted were access to Mexican and Candian dairy markets and instating labor provisions to create “a more level, competitive economic environment.”
Following the escalation of the trade war between the U.S. and China, Garamendi said he and a bipartisan group of California representatives were able to hold a meeting with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and local farmers, which resulted in walnut and other farmers receiving assistance through the USDA’s Market Facilitation Program.
“Some $25 billion has been made available to support agriculture losses as a result of the trade war,” he said. “A year ago, that money was not available in California…When the meeting was over, (Perdue) went back and modified the regulations on the distribution of that money. Some of that money is now available for
specialty crops in California.”
Garamendi hopes to be able to continue the work he’s done into another term.
“I love my work,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to be able to do it and thankful to be given the opportunity to do this work and grateful the constituents have given me the opportunity through six elections to serve as their representative, this being my seventh.”
Garamendi’s district includes most of Solano County, all of Colusa, Sutter and Yuba counties, and portions of Glenn, Lake, Sacramento and Yolo counties. His challengers in the primary are Christian recording artist Sean Feucht and Air Force veteran Tamika Hamilton, both Republicans. Per California’s toptwo primary system, the two highest vote-getters will face off in the November general election.
The California primary is March 3.
For more information on Garamendi, visit https:// www.garamendi.org.