News Articles
California has an innovative history. We solve big problems and the results have ripple effects all over the world. But when it comes to water policy, we’re unable to make progress.
Unfortunately, the latest proposal made by some California members of Congress makes progress even more difficult.
They claim their proposal (H.R. 3964) will help alleviate the drought and lessen California’s water problems. In reality, it’s nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to use the statewide drought as an excuse to steal water from Northern California.
Hoping to increase the number of Americans eligible for tax subsidies under the new federal health care law, two Bay Area lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday that would expand the subsidized income level for those living in high-cost areas of the country.
U.S. Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, and Mike Thompson, D-Napa, say the Fair Access to Health Act ties health insurance subsidies to the cost of living in a geographic area instead of to the national federal poverty level.
The House of Representatives is expected to pass a water bill Wednesday that Republicans call a necessity for drought-stricken California, but which Democrats label a "water grab" and political power play that undermines years of delicate negotiations.
Congressman Mike Thompson, who was instrumental in securing a $5 million federal grant for the facility, speaks at the ground breaking ceremony Friday for the new and expanded Sonoma Valley Community Health Center.
The site, the long-empty former home of Sonoma Rentals, is located on Highway 12 across from Maxwell Village Shopping Center. The move into an existing structure will enable the new facility to open in late 2014, a year ahead of the original schedule.
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson's (D-CA-5) legislation, The Crop Insurance Accountability Act of 2013 (H.R. 2260), passed the House of Representatives Wednesday as part of the compromise long term reauthorization of the Farm Bill (H.R. 2642).
The bipartisan Crop Insurance Accountability Act, co-authored by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE-1), enhances conservation by incentivizing responsible farming practices.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, came to the Central Valley on Wednesday to stir an old pot and make the fresh case for farms over fish.
"How you can favor fish over people is something people in my part of the world would never understand," said Boehner, who is from Ohio and thus revealed his ignorance of both hydrological reality and environmental sustainability while milking the state's potentially catastrophic drought for profoundly political purposes.
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) announced that his bipartisan legislation to improve treatment options for active duty soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) has passed in both the Senate and House and is expected to be signed into law by the President.
The legislation, which passed as a part of H.R. 3304, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014, allows service members to access innovative treatments offered outside military medical facilities.
A new law aimed at ending the backlog of claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs will soon become law, according to an announcement from the office of Rep Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena.
The bill, H.R. 3547, requires a monthly report from each regional office and the national VA office detailing the current backlog of claims. Additional reporting will be required from offices with backlogs averaging more than 200 days.
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson's legislative language that holds the Department of Veterans Affairs accountable for ending the backlog of claims at the Veterans Benefits Administration was passed by the House and Senate and will be signed into law.
The language was included with H.R. 3547, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 omnibus appropriations bill.
Which of these words doesn't fit in a sentence about health insurance?
Arbitrary.
Capricious.
Inexplicable.
Infuriating.
OK, it was a trick question. All too often, any one of those words would fit perfectly — much like two sides of a vise squeezing firmly together against your temples.