The Trump administration raised alarms last week over suddenly releasing high flows from two reservoirs in Tulare County. At the time, downstream water managers worried about potential flooding. But they convinced the Army Corps of Engineers to trim down the flows before they became a problem.
While the water, around 7,000 acre-feet in all, did not make it to Southern California as the president had hoped, farmers did put it to use. Most of it went to groundwater recharge in a critically overdrafted basin, according to Tom Barcellos, president of the Lower Tule River Irrigation District, who spoke to the Los Angeles Times.
Take note: Gov. Gavin Newsom took a separate approach to support recharge, waiving permitting hurdles for capturing flood flows.
Newsom’s order, however, raises questions over whether state and federal agencies should have increased allocations last year beyond a meager 40%, freeing up more reservoir space to better capture this week’s runoff, while avoiding emergency actions.
Keep in mind: Newsom flew to Washington on Tuesday to make the case in person for more federal disaster aid for Los Angeles. Trump has held firm in adding conditions to the funding, such as sending more state water to Southern California.
Bipartisan bill pushes for year-round firefighters
Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire is leading a bipartisan coalition of state senators to ramp up staffing for the state’s wildfire workforce.
The legislation would convert seasonal firefighting jobs to year-round positions, given that large blazes can spark up in January, as occurred in Los Angeles last month. It would also support 38 vegetation management crews focused on fire prevention projects.
The bill comes with a cost of up to $185 million in additional funding for CalFire. Kern County would receive $14 million, a comparatively small portion, owing to the amount of state lands in the county.
The measure is one of several lawmakers are rolling out this session in the wake of the LA fires.
State Farm asks DOI for rate raises amid LA payouts
State Farm Insurance CEO Dan Krause has requested the Department of Insurance approve rate increases across customers, citing over $1 billion paid out across 8,700 claims since the LA fires broke out.
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The request falls on top of three State Farm rate applications the DOI has left pending since last summer. Krause warned Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara that any additional capital deterioration will be detrimental to the company’s risk profile.
Remember: California’s FAIR Plan is now providing last resort coverage to more than 400,000 Californians. State Farm contributes to the state program and expects its dwelling losses to be around 16% with fire claims.
Farmers appeal to Senate Ag on farm economy
The Senate Agriculture Committee hears today from representatives from major agricultural sectors this morning on the health of the farm economy. The hearing, which will feature almost a dozen witnesses, comes as farmers grapple with multiple economic threats.
Among the witnesses spread across two panels are American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, National Farmers Union President Rob Larew, as well as figures from across the cotton, soybean, corn, wheat, barley, sorghum, peanut, rice and sugar industries.
The hearing lands amid slipping farm earnings estimates, heightened tariff threats, supply chain woes and rising input costs. Falling crop prices and increased competition for U.S. crops in international markets also are squeezing U.S. farmers. Congressional inaction on a new farm bill and the looming expiration of the 2017 tax cuts are driving additional concerns.
Larew, for example, will outline “opportunities for the 119th Congress,” including for a new farm bill, NFU says. He also plans to discuss the need for fair markets, country-of-origin labeling, tariffs and the expansion of conservation programs.
House returns without specific reconciliation plan
The House returned Tuesday after a GOP policy conference in Florida last week, where members aimed to finalize plans on budget reconciliation.
Implementing additional work requirements for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has emerged as a possible pay-for in the reconciliation bill. However, House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., said Republicans haven’t settled on specifics yet.
Thompson said he’s expecting his committee to get instructions but those have not come down from leadership yet. He said he’s working actively with the Budget Committee chair, Senate majority leader and speaker of the House.
“I think we've pretty much so far limited discussion to improving program integrity,” Thompson said of SNAP. He said lawmakers aren’t talking about “cutting any benefits.”
RFK Jr. now faces uncertain vote in full Senate
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is eyeing next week for the full chamber’s vote on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
“We’ll see where things land,” Thune told CNN Tuesday. “We’ll continue to have conversations with our colleagues.”
The full Senate confirmation vote is the last hurdle for Kennedy, whose nomination was reported favorably out of the Senate Finance Committee in a 14-13 vote on Tuesday. The panel vote was split on party lines.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., was considered the panel’s key swing vote. He ultimately voted with his party to advance Kennedy. Later during a floor speech, Cassidy said he received commitments that the two would have an “unprecedentedly” close, collaborative working relationship if confirmed.
This would include meeting or speaking multiple times a month. Additionally, Cassidy said Kennedy asked the senator to provide input on non-confirmable positions within HHS.
Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, are considered possible “no” votes. If those three join all 47 Democrats in voting against Kennedy, then the 50-50 tie would be broken by Vice President JD Vance.
Navarro: U.S. not in a trade war, but won’t rule out more tariffs
A senior White House trade official says the Trump administration is not in a trade war yet, despite the U.S. and China exchanging new tariffs on each other’s exports.
“This is not a trade war,” Peter Navarro, Trump’s senior counsel for trade and manufacturing said multiple times at an event hosted by Politico. “This is a drug war.”
The U.S. imposed a new 10% duty on imports from China Tuesday, ostensibly over its inaction to curb fentanyl production. Navarro refused to rule out further tariff hikes – including a universal tariff, which some see as a potential tax cut pay-for.
The administration, Navarro said, is studying what he called “the damages” of the U.S. trade deficit. “The president will figure out what to do about that,” Navarro said.
Of note: At the same event, Ways and Means trade subcommittee Chair Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said he’s “uneasy” with the idea of accepting higher tariffs in exchange for lower income taxes.
“The most successful tariff is one that doesn't generate any revenue,” but levels the playing field for U.S. companies, Smith said.
Final word:
“Giving the president unchecked power… is a recipe for disaster.” — Ranking Member Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., who argued Congress needs to reassert oversight over trade policy.
