News Articles
January 25, 2012
WASHINGTON - The ambitious proposal to remove four Klamath River dams would add jobs and aid fish, a new federal report asserts, but the idea still leaves California lawmakers badly divided.
As they approach a make-or-break decision on whether to recommend the dam removal, U.S. Interior Department officials on Tuesday touted anticipated benefits that include improved salmon habitat and 1,400 construction jobs during the year it would take to remove the hydroelectric dams.
Long-term Klamath basin restoration efforts would add an estimated 4,600 jobs, the report says.
As they approach a make-or-break decision on whether to recommend the dam removal, U.S. Interior Department officials on Tuesday touted anticipated benefits that include improved salmon habitat and 1,400 construction jobs during the year it would take to remove the hydroelectric dams.
Long-term Klamath basin restoration efforts would add an estimated 4,600 jobs, the report says.
Eureka Times-Standard - Klamath draft report released; Thompson: The time for Congress to act is now
January 25, 2012
A draft report released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of the Interior says a landmark agreement to remove dams in the Klamath Basin will restore salmon and sustain irrigation for farmers in Southern Oregon and Northern California.
The findings seem to support a bill recently introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkeley, D-Oregon, and North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, that would authorize the Interior Department to decide whether to remove the four Klamath River dams.
The findings seem to support a bill recently introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkeley, D-Oregon, and North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, that would authorize the Interior Department to decide whether to remove the four Klamath River dams.
January 25, 2012
WASHINGTON â€" Dissatisfied California lawmakers are pressing the Obama administration for more aggressive solutions to the foreclosure epidemic ailing the state.
It could get very expensive. But the alternative, lawmakers warn, could be continued hardship for California residents and sustained political trouble for the president.
In a concerted show of strength, 16 California House Democrats gathered Wednesday to bolster the case for more help. They want a meeting with the president, an infusion of new blood and specific relief for financially troubled homeowners.
It could get very expensive. But the alternative, lawmakers warn, could be continued hardship for California residents and sustained political trouble for the president.
In a concerted show of strength, 16 California House Democrats gathered Wednesday to bolster the case for more help. They want a meeting with the president, an infusion of new blood and specific relief for financially troubled homeowners.
January 24, 2012
EUREKA -- U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson visited the Fresenius Medical Care Eureka Dialysis Center on Friday to learn about kidney disease and its progression to kidney failure, and to observe local residents receiving life-saving dialysis treatments.
According to the U.S. Renal Data System's 2011 annual report, California has the third highest number of people with kidney failure per capita in the country. In 2009 alone there were 14,030 new cases in the state, a 15 percent increase since 2004.
According to the U.S. Renal Data System's 2011 annual report, California has the third highest number of people with kidney failure per capita in the country. In 2009 alone there were 14,030 new cases in the state, a 15 percent increase since 2004.
Issues:Health Care
January 24, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C -- While the nation's Capitol was abuzz with reaction to President Obama's State of the Union Address, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St.Helena) said Tuesday night, "There's no place I would rather spend my 61st birthday, if I can't be with my wife, than with the President of the United States, tonight."
Thompson said "the President did a good job of talking about issues that are on the minds of every American."
He said the general platitudes could easily be focused at a local level.
Thompson said "the President did a good job of talking about issues that are on the minds of every American."
He said the general platitudes could easily be focused at a local level.
January 22, 2012
Two local congressmen are among some two dozen who wrote President Obama late Thursday, urgently seeking a meeting to find real solutions to the foreclosure crisis devastating the area and the country.
Napa area Rep. Mike Thompson is among three legislators leading the effort, while Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, who represents Vallejo, is among 27 signatories. In California, more than 34 percent of homeowners with mortgages are considered "underwater" because they owe more on their homes than they're worth, Thompson's office notes.
Napa area Rep. Mike Thompson is among three legislators leading the effort, while Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, who represents Vallejo, is among 27 signatories. In California, more than 34 percent of homeowners with mortgages are considered "underwater" because they owe more on their homes than they're worth, Thompson's office notes.
January 18, 2012
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, is among the co-sponsors of an alternative to the Stop Online Piracy Act, the prospect of which caused Wikipedia, WordPress and scores of other websites to go dark Wednesday in protest.
With 21 House members and three senators, Thompson is pushing the narrower Online Protection & Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (House Resolution 3782), introduced Wednesday, which would allow intellectual property holders to petition the International Trade Commission for an investigation into foreign websites infringing on U.S. copyrights and trademarks.
With 21 House members and three senators, Thompson is pushing the narrower Online Protection & Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (House Resolution 3782), introduced Wednesday, which would allow intellectual property holders to petition the International Trade Commission for an investigation into foreign websites infringing on U.S. copyrights and trademarks.
December 21, 2011
Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-5) today lead a bi-partisan group of 19 members of Congress in sending a letter to the House leadership calling on them to extend Medicare health benefits to rural communities. The benefits include assistance for rural facilities and health providers to recruit and retain skilled practitioners, provide quality outpatient care and mental health services and respond to emergency health events.
December 9, 2011
North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson sees a national emergency unfolding on forested lands across the country.
”Our public and private lands across California, and throughout the country, are being held hostage by illegal drug growers,” Thompson said Wednesday, testifying before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. “In short, our public lands have been taken away from us. That is wrong and must be stopped.”
”Our public and private lands across California, and throughout the country, are being held hostage by illegal drug growers,” Thompson said Wednesday, testifying before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. “In short, our public lands have been taken away from us. That is wrong and must be stopped.”
November 21, 2011
Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, blamed Republican intransigence on taxes for the congressional supercommittee's failure to reach agreement on a deficit-reduction plan on Monday.
“They will not budge,” Woolsey said. “There's no way to come to a balanced agreement without revenues as a part of it.”
Woolsey and the North Coast's other congressman, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said it was wrong to put the decision in the hands of a 12-member committee, with Thompson calling it “a fool's errand from the beginning.”
“They will not budge,” Woolsey said. “There's no way to come to a balanced agreement without revenues as a part of it.”
Woolsey and the North Coast's other congressman, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said it was wrong to put the decision in the hands of a 12-member committee, with Thompson calling it “a fool's errand from the beginning.”