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Press Releases

August 3, 2011
Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, today sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urging the House of Representatives to immediately consider a short-term extension of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The current FAA funding authorization expired on July 22, 2011, causing a shutdown of most of the FAA's operations and aviation construction projects.

August 2, 2011
The nonpartisan council appointed by eighteen Western governors to advise on Western water issues today told the Natural Resources Committee that it opposes legislation that would threaten the delicate balance achieved in one of California's most important water systems and preempt state's rights and federal law. The Western States Water Council, in a letter sent to members of the Natural Resources Committee, joined a growing list of stakeholders who oppose the legislation proposed by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).

August 1, 2011
Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, today issued the following statement after voting for legislation to avoid a default on our nation's financial obligations:

“I voted for the compromise legislation to avoid defaulting on our nation's debt. Given that our nation was hours away from defaulting on its obligations, I felt a responsibility to vote yes.”


July 30, 2011
Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, today urged domestic air carriers to stop charging passengers for the cost of federal aviation taxes on their tickets in a bipartisan letter to the Air Transport Association. These taxes expired last week after Congress failed to pass a funding extension for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but some airlines have continued to include the cost of the tax in their ticket prices.

“The bottom line is consumers are being taken advantage of by some of the airlines,” said Rep. Thompson.


July 29, 2011
Congressman Mike Thompson today issued the following statement following House passage of Speaker John Boehner's deficit bill:

“Today, Speaker Boehner brought forward his proposal to address our nation's impending debt-limit crisis. Unfortunately, this short-term deal would ensure we face another crisis in six months. Rather than appealing to the most radical wing of the conservative element of the majority party, we should be finding a bipartisan, balanced solution to our current impasse. That's why I voted against this misguided legislation.”


July 27, 2011
Today, Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) successfully offered an amendment to H.R. 2584, the Interior-Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2012, that will preserve essential federal protections for America's endangered and threatened species. Specifically, Rep.

July 26, 2011
Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) have joined Congressmen Mike Thompson (D-CA), Wally Herger (R-CA), and 26 other House members in a bipartisan letter urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reverse its denial of a major disaster declaration for numerous California counties hit by a severe storm system earlier this year.

July 26, 2011
Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) today issued the following statement regarding ongoing negotiations to raise our nation's debt ceiling:

“Most Americans agree that we must address our nation's debt crisis and put our fiscal house in order - and soon. As a matter of fact, just today, former Reagan Treasury deputy assistant secretary Bruce Bartlett testified at a Ways and Means Committee hearing that failing to raise the debt ceiling would cause a chain of events ‘much worse' than the 2008 financial crisis.


July 20, 2011

Today a bipartisan group of members - Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA), Nan Hayworth, M.D. (R-NY), and Dan Lungren (R-CA) - introduced the PACE Protection Act of 2011. The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program - currently available in 27 states and the District of Columbia - allows property owners to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects for their homes and commercial buildings - without any government subsidies or taxes. More important, it will means lower utility bills for property owners and job creation in the hard hit construction industry.


July 20, 2011
Congressmen Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Gene Green (D-TX) today issued the following joint statement regarding the release of the Obama Administration's “National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship,” which outlines an action plan to promote the responsible use, reuse, and recycling of U.S. electronic waste:

“We are pleased that the Obama Administration is committed to addressing the growing issue of electronics waste, which now represents the fastest growing waste stream in the United States.