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Some may know that on April 5, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan released a budget plan for the fiscal year of 2012.

High gas prices have reignited a familiar debate about drilling off California's coast, with everyone playing their usual part and the outcome pretty much predictable.

Mr. Chairman, according to this bill's drafters, the legislation would not require leasing permits in the northern California planning area, which is the coastline of my district. My amendment merely makes that clear.

Mr. Speaker, I rise with both pride and sadness today with my colleague, Lynn Woolsey, to honor one of Sonoma County's pioneering leaders. Jess Stonestreet Jackson passed away April 12, 2011, at his home in Geyserville, California. From the wine industry to local philanthropy, Jess Jackson touched lives across the North Bay, and he was admired and respected for his devotion to our region.

The winner of the competition will represent California's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. Capitol, where his or her artwork will be displayed for one year.

The public is invited to join veterans and students who participated in Mendocino County's first Veteran's History Project to a reception at 4 p.m. on Monday, May 16 at the Veterans Memorial Building in Ukiah. Congressman Mike Thompson, who spearheaded the VHP in Mendocino County, will talk about why recording the stories of our war veterans is so important.

A Republican move to expedite offshore oil drilling in response to $4-a-gallon gasoline includes a bill, scheduled for a House vote this week, that could bring oil wells to the Sonoma and Mendocino coast.

"They have the votes to do it," said Richard Charter of Bodega Bay, an anti-drilling advocate with Defenders of Wildlife.