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112th Congress

March 29, 2011
News Articles
Mary Kongsgaard, the eldest of Judge Thomas Kongsgaard's three children, speaks at the post office renaming ceremony on Monday. The Franklin Street Post Office was renamed the Thomas Kongsgaard Post Office in honor of the former Superior Court judge who served for 26 years. J.L. Sousa/Register

Opened in 1933 and registered as a National Historic Place, the downtown Napa post office added a new chapter to its history Monday.

The Art Deco building at 1352 Second St. was renamed the Tom Kongsgaard Post Office Building in honor of the deceased Napa County Superior Court judge.


March 24, 2011
News Articles
The downtown Napa post office will be renamed Monday in a ceremony to include Congressman Mike Thompson, Napa Mayor Jill Techel and Supervisor Bill Dodd.

The building at 1351 Second St. will thereafter be called “Tom Kongsgaard Post Office Building.” The ceremony will take place 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Monday.

In November, Thompson passed a bill to rename the Franklin Post Office in honor of Tom Kongsgaard, a Napa County Superior Court Judge from 1958 to 1984.


March 20, 2011
News Articles
A handful of ideas to close the estimated $14 trillion national deficit emerged from the Eureka City Council Chambers on Saturday, when North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson held a public forum for Humboldt County residents to share their budget suggestions.

Dozens of people turned out for the presentation, pushing for an end to U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as substantial tax reform that would decrease the number of tax breaks for individuals whose income exceeds $250,000 annually.

Issues:Fiscal Responsibility

March 18, 2011
Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) today issued the following statement strongly opposing the reintroduction of H.R. 1161, the Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness (CARE) Act of 2011:

“The federal government has no business picking winners and losers in the wine, beer, and distilled spirits industry. Yet the Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act would do just that by banning the direct shipment of wine and other forms of alcohol in the U.S.


March 18, 2011
Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) today announced that the South Coast Fire Protection District will receive $98,317 in grant funding to help local first responders obtain emergency response equipment, personal protective equipment, firefighting and emergency vehicles, and training.

March 18, 2011
News Articles
The fate of direct shipping of wine from wineries and retailers to consumers is once again in the hands of the U.S. Congress. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah, introduced a reiteration of last year's Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Act (the "CARE Act") yesterday. This year's version is House Resolution 1161, the Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act.
Issues:Wine & Agriculture

March 18, 2011
News Articles
Under a GOP-backed bill expected to sail through the House of Representatives, the Internal Revenue Service would be forced to police how Americans have paid for their abortions. To ensure that taxpayers complied with the law, IRS agents would have to investigate whether certain terminated pregnancies were the result of rape or incest. And one tax expert says that the measure could even lead to questions on tax forms: Have you had an abortion?
Issues:Health Care

March 18, 2011
News Articles
With the national debt approaching $14 trillion, according to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson wants to hear your ideas for reining in federal spending and getting the nation back on stable financial footing.

”The main thing for me is just to hear what constituents think we need to do about the national debt,” said Thompson, who will be holding a community forum on the subject Saturday, in a phone interview with the Times-Standard. “We're entering a period of (budget) cutting, and I think it's important for folks to have their voices heard.”

Issues:Fiscal Responsibility

March 17, 2011
Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the distinguished public service career of Ms. Janet M. Bedrosian. Ms. Bedrosian has honorably served the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for nearly 38 years and will retire on April 2, 2011.

Ms. Bedrosian was born in Tennessee and moved to Grass Valley, California, as an infant, where she grew up in California's Mother Lode country and graduated from Nevada Union High School as class valedictorian.


March 17, 2011
Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1076.

Without so much as a single hearing, the legislation being debated today would dismantle a public radio system depended upon by 34 million Americans weekly, many of whom are from rural America.

In fact, in many rural areas of our country like the one I represent, public broadcasters are among the few journalists still around who actually deliver local news to residents.