Press Releases

On the first day of the 110th Congress, North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) introduced legislation to provide federal disaster relief to California and Oregon's salmon fishing industry. The bill authorizes the appropriation of $60.4 million for the fishermen, tribes and businesses that were impacted by the commercial fishery failure of 2006. California Senator Barbara Boxer also introduced companion legislation today in the Senate.

Today, Congressmen Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced legislation that would enable Del Norte County to receive the federal funds needed to improve the Del Norte County Airport without raising matching funds. The legislation follows up on a commitment made by Thompson and DeFazio at meetings held in Crescent City and Brookings, Oregon last fall, to help with improvements to the regional airport. Local officials have long expressed their concern that they are not being able to meet the 10 percent match requirement for federal grant funds.

Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa Valley) criticized the Bush Administration for downplaying a new report from the Treasury Department showing that the federal budget deficit is almost $200 billion more than what the president told us in October.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill setting a six-month deadline for a finalized comprehensive recovery plan for salmon on the Klamath River. The provision was included in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act at the request of North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson and California Senator Barbara Boxer. It is the first time Congress has ever required the implementation of a disaster recovery plan.

Reps. Mike Thompson and Lynn Woolsey announced today that the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport will get the federal assistance needed to re-establish commercial air service next year. According to officials at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Sonoma County Airport will receive funding to hire private screener personnel, which complies with a formal request inserted by Senator Dianne Feinstein in a Senate appropriations bill. This decision by the TSA removes the last obstacle for reinstating commercial service in Sonoma County after a five-year absence.

Today, the president signed the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Act (H.R. 233), designating 273,000 acres of Northern California as wilderness in perpetuity. The bill, authored by Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), also designates 21 miles of Scenic River and approximately 51,000 acres as a Recreation Management Area for off-highway vehicles and mountain bikes.

Today, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Act (H.R. 233) and sent the bill to the president for his signature. The bill, authored by Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), designates more than 273,000 acres of Northern California as wilderness, 21 miles as a scenic river and approximately 51,000 acres as a Recreation Management Area for off-highway vehicles and mountain bikes. The designation spans five counties in the 1st Congressional District and is the largest addition of wilderness to California in more than a decade.

Hailing the National Wildlife Refuge System as the premier wildlife land system in the world, the four leaders of the newly formed bipartisan Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus (CWRC) - Co-chairs Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Jim Saxton (R-NJ) and Vice Co-chairs Mike Castle (R-DE) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) -gathered with a diverse coalition of national conservation and recreation organizations today to celebrate the launch of the caucus and highlight the importance of protecting and preserving the Refuge System.