Congressman Garamendi to Serve on Armed Services and Transportation & Infrastructure Committees in 113th Congress

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA) was appointed to the House Armed Services and Transportation & Infrastructure Committees for the 113th Congress, which begins in January. He is working with House Leadership to be assigned to a third committee so that he can continue to serve on the Agriculture Committee.

 

"I am happy to join two committees where I can forcefully advocate for the needs of my constituents," said Congressman John Garamendi. "I expect to also be on the Agriculture Committee in January to work on issues that will affect the district's many farms that grow rice and other crops, rural communities, schools, struggling families, and research universities like UC Davis."

 

In November, Garamendi was elected to serve in the newly formed 3rd District of California, which includes Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield and Beale Air Force Base near Marysville.

 

Garamendi continued, "On the Armed Services Committee, I will continue to work on behalf of the many veterans in our community and Travis and Beale Air Force Base, whose respective missions of Air Mobility and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) are absolutely vital for national security in the 21st century."

 

Garamendi added, "The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has jurisdiction over the Army Corps of Engineers, which shares responsibility for maintaining the nation's flood control infrastructure. My highest priority on the Committee will be to strengthen the unsafe levees protecting the communities and farms in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the 200 miles of the Sacramento River Valley in the new 3rd District. I'm also committed to meeting the transportation needs of this expansive district, including vital arterial highways like I-5 and I-80, bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure, the Capitol Corridor, and regional bus systems."

 

The Sacramento region, which includes farmland and large population centers, is the second most flood prone region in America, behind only New Orleans. Garamendi is the author of the SAFE Levee Act, a bill to bolster the region's levees, protect its residents, and provide a complete cost-benefit analysis of the proposed peripheral tunnel plan that would divert water south of the Delta. He is also the author of the bipartisan Agricultural Floodplain Management Act and the Flood Insurance for Farmers Act, which would help address concerns of Northern California farmers who could face exorbitant insurance rates due to remapping of the floodplains.