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Rep. Mike Thompson denounced new recommendations released today by the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. The recommendations would eliminate important tax deductions for Californians, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars each year in increased taxes.

“The panel's recommendations do little to simplify our tax code, instead they saddle middle-class Americans with higher taxes,” Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa Valley), a member of the House of Representatives' tax writing committee, said.

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa Valley) has secured $57 million for local agriculture priorities in the federal spending bill for 2006 which was approved by the House of Representatives today.

“Agriculture is vital to the 1st Congressional District and contributes millions of dollars to our local economy each year,” Thompson said. “The programs funded in this bill will provide essential services to protect our crops from harmful pests and disease.”

The $57 million includes funding for the following projects:

The national debt rose to $8 trillion today marking a record high for the federal government's deficit spending. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa Valley) called this milestone a consequence of the Congressional leadership's abhorrent fiscal track record.

“$8 trillion dollars is the price of the Congressional leadership's failed policies,” Thompson said. “Unfortunately, the Congress won't be paying this price, our children and grandchildren will.”

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) issued the following statement today in reaction to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals' rejection of the Bush administration's water diversion plan for the Klamath River. The court rejected the plan on the grounds that it would not protect threatened Klamath River Coho salmon. Thompson was one of the plaintiffs in the case.

The Senate today passed U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act, which would protect approximately 300,000 acres of public lands in California.

“This bill ensures that some of Northern California's most treasured wild places will remain wild,” Boxer said. “By protecting the natural beauty that is part of California's identity, future generations will be able to cherish and enjoy this land.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee today held the first Congressional hearing on the nation's growing electronic waste (e-waste) problem. Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) and other members of the Congressional E-waste Working Group testified at the hearing.

"Each day electronic products are becoming smaller and lighter, but they are also creating an ever-growing environmental and waste disposal problem," Thompson said. "Today the average lifespan of a computer is only two years and Americans are disposing of 3,000 tons of computers each day."

A Congressional Subcommittee held a long awaited hearing on the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act (H.R. 233) today with local elected officials and wilderness advocates testifying on its behalf. North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson, the bill's sponsor, testified on its behalf before the Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee of the House Resources Committee.

North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Napa Valley) voted today in support of a measure that would have prohibited the Department of Justice from interfering with states' medical marijuana laws.