The proposal, authored by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a Santa Cruz Democrat, would allow licensed cannabis retailers to sell products through drive-thru windows. State law currently permits curbside pickup at licensed dispensaries, but drive-thru sales are not broadly allowed.

Supporters argue the change would help legal dispensaries compete with unlicensed sellers while also making cannabis purchases easier for customers with disabilities or limited mobility. That could be particularly relevant in Southern California and the Inland Empire, where many cannabis businesses operate in car-dependent communities and customers often travel by vehicle to reach licensed retailers.

At a Monday hearing, Annie Aubrey, owner of Chuck’s Wellness Center in Placerville, said many customers use cannabis for medical reasons, including older adults, veterans and people with chronic conditions that make it difficult to get in and out of a store.

The measure cleared the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee, with both Democrats and Republicans divided in their support and opposition.

Law enforcement groups are pushing back. The California Narcotic Officers’ Association opposes the bill, saying drive-thru sales would place convenience ahead of safety.

Ryan Sherman, a lobbyist for the association, told lawmakers that selling through a vehicle window could make it more difficult for dispensary workers to confirm a customer’s identification. He also warned that employees may have a harder time determining whether a driver is impaired before completing a sale.

Sen. Roger Niello, a Roseville Republican, also opposed the bill and used the hearing to raise broader concerns about the consequences of cannabis legalization. Niello said easier access, potential risks for young people and cannabis use disorder deserve closer scrutiny as state and federal leaders continue to revisit marijuana policy.

The bill’s advancement keeps the drive-thru cannabis proposal alive as California continues to adjust rules for its legal marijuana market, which has struggled to compete with unlicensed operators since recreational sales began in 2018.

Original source: CalMatters

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At the center of the dispute is a plan approved by the California Air Resources Board that would provide free pollution allowances to oil refineries and other large industrial polluters if they commit to investments in clean energy or efficiency upgrades. Senate Democrats say the program threatens a climate-funding agreement reached last year between Newsom and lawmakers, and they are trying to use the state budget to stop it.

Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, a San Bernardino Democrat who chairs the Senate’s climate budget subcommittee, said the state should honor the agreement that was negotiated when lawmakers extended California’s carbon market through 2045.

“We really need to stay to the deal,” Reyes said.

The Senate’s budget proposal, released last month, would block the new incentive program until the administration shows the state can still fund the climate commitments made in last year’s agreement. Senate Democrats are calling their approach “Deal is a Deal,” a pointed message to Newsom as budget negotiations continue.

The stakes are substantial. Money from California’s carbon market helps pay for programs such as public transit, safe drinking water, neighborhood air monitoring, wildfire protection and affordable housing near transit. Many of those programs are intended to benefit communities that face heavy pollution burdens and limited public investment.

The Senate plan also puts pressure on some of Newsom’s own priorities, including funding for high-speed rail, wildfire programs, electric vehicle incentives and a proposed tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel.

California’s carbon market, launched in 2013, is designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions by requiring major polluters to obtain allowances for the carbon they emit. Companies can buy those allowances at state auctions, generating billions of dollars for climate-related programs.

Last year, Newsom and lawmakers agreed to extend the system, now rebranded as “cap and invest,” through 2045. The agreement set a spending order for the money raised through carbon allowance auctions. Under that deal, high-speed rail would receive $1 billion annually before many other programs, and lawmakers would control another $1 billion each year for their own priorities.

Other programs, including affordable housing near transit, cleaner buses and rail service, safe drinking water, wildfire prevention and local air monitoring, were placed further down the funding list.

But last month, amid concerns over rising gasoline prices and after heavy lobbying from the oil industry, the Air Resources Board adopted changes that reduce the number of allowances sold at auction through 2030. With Newsom’s support, the board also created the Manufacturing Decarbonization Incentive, which could provide up to $4 billion in free allowances to companies that invest in emissions reductions. About half of that amount is expected to go to the fossil fuel industry.

Critics say the changes could dramatically shrink the money available for climate programs. The Legislative Analyst’s Office has estimated the new rules could cut annual auction revenue from about $4 billion to roughly $2 billion, potentially leaving little or no funding for some community-focused programs.

Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, criticized the state’s response to pressure from the oil industry.

“It’s unfortunate that the state of California empowers the oil industry to freak everyone out and adopt bad policies,” Wiener said.

Newsom’s office defended the changes, saying they are meant to keep the carbon market stable while addressing costs for consumers and industry.

Anthony Martinez, a spokesperson for the governor, said the administration is trying to preserve California’s climate program in a difficult political and economic environment.

“That is not a retreat from climate leadership — it’s how California keeps leading while the federal government is retreating,” Martinez said.

The Senate’s counterproposal would preserve the $1 billion controlled by lawmakers and then direct up to $2 billion toward housing, transit, clean air and drinking water programs. Newsom’s priorities would be moved lower in the funding order. If carbon-market revenue falls to $2 billion, programs such as Cal Fire, high-speed rail and other administration priorities could receive little or no money from that fund.

Sen. Jesse Arreguín, an Oakland Democrat who chairs the Senate housing committee, questioned why the state would risk reducing funding for affordable housing during a severe housing crisis.

“Why, at this time … would we take away critical funding to build affordable homes in California?” Arreguín said.

Wiener said transit systems also should not be left vulnerable to annual funding fights.

“Every year, transit funding becomes a political football,” he said.

Assembly Democrats have not taken the same position as the Senate. Their budget plan does not directly address the Air Resources Board rule change, and they have not advanced an alternative. Assemblymembers Jacqui Irwin and Cottie Petrie-Norris, Democrats who lead key climate and energy committees, have supported the board’s approach, saying it reflects the Legislature’s interest in affordability, including the possibility of providing more help with electricity costs.

Newsom and lawmakers face a June 30 deadline to approve a state budget before the new fiscal year begins. However, much of the climate spending dispute could continue beyond that date, since some of the funding decisions can be worked out before the legislative session ends in September.

The fight has already slowed some of the governor’s proposals. Newsom in January proposed spending $200 million on electric vehicle incentives, including $115 million from the climate fund. Senate Democrats have delayed negotiations on that item, and discussions could continue through the summer.

The Senate also rejected Newsom’s proposal for a sustainable aviation fuel tax credit. The governor has argued the credit would encourage production of cleaner fuel and support refinery jobs. The proposal would allow eligible producers to pay less into the state’s road repair fund. It followed lobbying by Phillips 66, the only company that has publicly said it would benefit from the tax credit.

Supporters of the Air Resources Board’s new manufacturing incentive program say it is a practical tool for reducing emissions while keeping major employers in California. The board says companies would receive allowances only if they cut their own emissions and that the program includes safeguards requiring companies to return allowances if they fail to meet their commitments.

Lindsay Buckley, a spokesperson for the Air Resources Board, said the cap-and-invest program was revised to reduce pollution in a cost-effective way, protect ratepayers and keep businesses operating in the state.

“The program was never designed to maximize auction revenue,” Buckley said.

Opponents see the program differently. They argue that giving free allowances to major polluters amounts to a subsidy without enough assurance that emissions will actually fall. Some critics also warn the changes could make it harder for California to meet its legally required 2030 climate targets.

The Air Resources Board approved the overhaul on a 10-3 vote, but several members raised concerns. Before the new incentive program begins, the board required further review.

The Senate proposal would restrict climate-fund spending unless the Department of Finance certifies that last year’s agreement can still be funded. It also would prevent the Air Resources Board from distributing the new industrial allowances unless state officials determine the program aligns with California’s climate goals, helps lower gasoline prices and leaves enough funding for endangered climate programs.

The dispute could carry broader political consequences for Newsom, who has often presented California as a national and international leader on climate policy.

Katie Valenzuela, a policy advocate who works on environmental justice issues, said the rule change could damage the governor’s climate record if it is not revised.

“If this rule goes forward and isn’t fixed, this is a huge stain on his climate legacy,” Valenzuela said. “He is showing loud and clear that the most vulnerable residents who are most impacted by climate change are not his priority.”

Original source: CalMatters

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — California’s representatives serving in the U.S House appear nearly united in response to the wave of protests at U.S. college campuses — including in Riverside County — that have erupted amid Israel’s actions in Gaza.

In a bipartisan move Wednesday, Riverside County’s Congressional members, along with their colleagues in California and across the nation, passed H.R. 6090, otherwise known as the Antisemitism Awareness Act.

Advocates say the legislation would empower the federal government to crack down on current campus protests by creating “a clear definition of antisemitism” that encompasses threats against Jewish people and certain criticisms of Israel. If it becomes law, the Education Department could use it to cut off funding to colleges that, for example, allow protests like those happening today.

First Amendment advocates, however, say the legislation is dangerous in that it would undo longstanding rights.

In a released statement Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union said H.R. 6090 “threatens to censor political speech critical of Israel on college campuses under the guise of addressing antisemitism.”

Christopher Anders, director of ACLU’s Democracy and Technology Policy Division, said, “Addressing rising antisemitism is critically important, but sacrificing American’s free speech rights is not the way to solve that problem. This bill would throw the full weight of the federal government behind an effort to stifle criticism of Israel and risks politicizing the enforcement of federal civil rights statutes precisely when their robust protections are most needed. The Senate must block this bill that undermines First Amendment protections before it’s too late.”

California has 52 House seats, with one vacancy. During Wednesday’s vote, 27 Golden State Democrats and 11 Republicans voted in favor of H.R. 6090. Eleven California Democrats cast no votes and two did not weigh in. With the exception of Mark Takano (D-39), all Riverside County representatives were in favor. Nationally, the bill was approved by a vote of 320-91, with a majority of Democrats — 133 — joining Republicans.

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-48) represents a large swath of Southwest Riverside County, as well as central and eastern parts of San Diego County. He released a statement following his yes vote. It read, in part, ” … after witnessing for more than six months a widespread and growing tide of antisemitism in America — much of it centered on the campuses of our colleges and universities – a bipartisan supermajority of the Congress took appropriate action.”

Republican Congressman Ken Calvert represents District 41, which stretches from Lake Elsinore to part of the Coachella Valley. After his yes vote, he posted a statement on X.

“I just joined a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives in passing the Antisemitism Awareness Act on the first day of Jewish American Heritage Month. This bill reinforces Civil Rights Act protections for Jewish students who are subjected to antisemitism,” he wrote.

But in nearby San Diego, Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-51), who is Jewish, cast a no vote. In a released statement, she expressed deep concern about rising antisemitism but said H.R. 6090 is not the answer:

It’s unclear what the prospects are for the Antisemitism Awareness Act in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

As Washington debates the legislation, campus protests continue in California. Students at UC Riverside established a campus encampment Monday to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza. The students are calling for the school to end “all investments and endowments” benefiting the Jewish state.

“We are joining the student movement, the student Intifada,” a spokesperson for Students for Justice in Palestine, UCR chapter, told City News Service. “We are not leaving this encampment day and night until the university complies and meets with us to discuss our demands.”

There have been no reports of violence at UCR amid the protest, unlike others in the Golden State. A nine-hour standoff came to a tense and chaotic end at UCLA when police in riot gear breached and dismantled a pro-Palestine encampment at the school early Thursday, terminating a weeklong protest and taking over 100 into custody.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s push to have Congress replenish wartime aid for Ukraine as part of a deal on border and immigration policy changes will almost certainly drag into next year.

The Senate, which had postponed its holiday recess, returned to Washington on Monday after negotiators worked through the weekend on the border legislation, trying to reach an agreement that could unlock the Republican votes for Biden’s $110 billion package of aid for Ukraine, Israel and other security priorities.

But senators said they still had plenty of work ahead, and it remained uncertain how many more days the Senate will remain in session this week. Barely half of the senators returned for a Monday evening vote.

“Obviously we need time,” said Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the top Democratic negotiator.

The delay heaps more uncertainty on the future of the Biden administration’s priority of providing support against Russia’s invasion. It also puts a potential pause on politically fraught negotiations over immigration and border security policy, though Senate negotiators planned to continue working on the package.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the negotiations were “among the most difficult things we’ve done in recent memory.”

“Everyone knows that something should be done to fix our broken immigration system,” he said in a Senate floor speech to start the week. “But we can’t do so by compromising our values. Finding the middle ground is exceptionally hard.”

The House has already departed for the year as Congress settles into a long winter’s break. Lawmakers aren’t scheduled to return until the second week of January, and they will then need to tend to other matters besides the Ukraine funding, including facing a partial shutdown in mid-January if Congress can’t pass a government funding package.

But as the Senate undertook the first substantial rewrite of immigration and border security law in decades, Republicans insisted they would not agree to rushing legislation.

“Getting this agreement right and producing legislative text is going to require some time,” Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor.

Schumer had scheduled additional work days this week in hopes of pushing the Ukraine aid through the chamber, but made no mention of a vote on the package on Monday. He said both Republicans and Democrats would need to make more concessions and it would take “some more time to get it done.”

Members of the core Senate negotiating group — Murphy and Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona independent, and James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican — met with White House staff on Monday and planned to continue meeting throughout the week.

“We’re all going to be back in January, but it’s going to take a while to be able to finish up all the text,” Lankford said.

The weeks-long wait comes as the Defense Department says it has nearly run out of available funds for supporting Ukraine’s defense. In a letter to Congress, the Pentagon notified lawmakers last week that will soon be transferring more than $1 billion to replenish stockpiles sent to Ukraine, with no further funds available as it maintains the United States’ own military readiness.

“Once these funds are obligated, the Department will have exhausted the funding available to us for security assistance to Ukraine,” according to the letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The department said “it is essential that Congress act without delay” on the pending supplemental request.

Ukrainian forces tried to launch a counteroffensive this year, but faced dug-in Russian troops, minefields and other hazards. They struggled to make any significant gains.

As the conflict grinds towards the end of a second year, U.S. public support has waned for sending billions of dollars more in weapons and economic aid. The European Union, too, had to push into the new year a plan to supply Ukraine with $54.5 billion after a veto from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-wing leader who is on good terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Donald Trump, the former president and front-runner for the Republican nomination next year.

As his country scrapes low on money to repel Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has traveled the world to ask for support. He elicited praise from Republicans after meeting with them in the Capitol last week, but the conservatives remained unmoved and in no hurry to approve Biden’s emergency funding request.

Republicans have said there is still time to redouble support before Ukraine’s defense suffers. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said that since the European Union put off sending Kyiv more money until the new year, he thinks the U.S. can as well.

“If it’s OK for them, it’s surely OK for us,” he said.

Dozens of Republican House members have signaled they won’t support continued Ukraine aid, and even GOP senators who in the past have been stalwart advocates of the Ukraine war effort have insisted that Congress also pass new border restrictions.

Biden has offered to compromise on border and immigration policy, and top White House officials have joined the Senate negotiations, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Negotiators have closed in on a list of immigration enforcement measures, including detaining people who claim asylum at the border and granting nationwide authority to quickly remove migrants who have been in the U.S. for less than two years. They have also agreed on raising the initial threshold for people to enter an asylum claim in credible fear screenings.

The White House has tried to preserve an immigration program known as humanitarian parole. The Biden administration has leaned heavily on the use of humanitarian parole as part of its policy of providing legal pathways for some migrants to enter the country while beefing up consequences for those who don’t use those pathways. But Republicans have objected — and even sued to stop it — saying that the administration is essentially bypassing Congress and improperly letting migrants into the country who normally wouldn’t qualify.

Still, Biden’s willingness to make concessions in the negotiations has alarmed immigration advocates and drawn criticism from influential Hispanic Democrats.

On a conference call with reporters Monday, advocates decried the policies under consideration as a return to the strategies pursued by Trump that left large numbers of migrants waiting in Mexico to apply for asylum in the U.S.

“If you have asylum seekers pushed back into Mexico, it’s going to be extremely dangerous,” said Kerri Talbot, executive director of The Immigration Hub.

The senators have also described their work as a complex undertaking as they delve into laws that for years have been at the center of intense legal and political fights.

“As we get into the text, it’s really hard,” said Murphy, but he added, “I think as Ukraine’s peril becomes more serious and more immediate, the urgency to get this done will rise.”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Senate marches ahead with a bipartisan approach to prevent a government shutdown, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is back to square one — asking his hard-right Republicans to do what they have said they would never do: approve their own temporary House measure to keep the government open.

The Republican speaker laid out his strategy Wednesday behind closed doors, urging his unruly Republican majority to work together. He set up a test vote for Friday, one day before Saturday’s shutdown deadline, on a far-right bill. It would slash federal spending by 8% from many agencies and toughen border security but has been rejected by Democrats and his own right-flank Republicans.

“I want to solve the problem,” McCarthy told reporters afterward at the Capitol.

But pressed on how he would pass a partisan Republican spending plan that even his own right flank doesn’t want, McCarthy had few answers. He rejected outright the Senate’s bipartisan bill, which would fund the government to Nov. 17, adding $6 billion for Ukraine and $6 billion for U.S. disaster relief while talks continue. Instead, he insisted, as he often does, that he would never quit trying.

Congress is at a crossroads days before a disruptive federal shutdown that would halt paychecks for millions of federal workers, leave 2 million active duty military troops and reservists to work without pay, close down many federal offices, and leave Americans who rely on the government in ways large and small in the lurch.

President Joe Biden in California at a meeting of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology said Wednesday he didn’t think a federal shutdown was inevitable.

“I don’t think anything is inevitable when it comes to politics,” he said.

But later at a fundraiser in San Francisco, Biden said of McCarthy: “I think that the speaker is making a choice between his speakership and American interests.”

As the Senate pushes ahead in bipartisan fashion, McCarthy is demanding that Biden meet to discuss border security measures. But the speaker has little leverage left with the White House without the power of his House majority behind him. The White House has panned his overtures for talks after McCarthy walked away from the debt deal he and Biden reached earlier this year that is now law.

On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned of the right-wing extremes that “seem to exult in shutting down government.”

The Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was in rare agreement with the Democratic leader, urging his House colleagues to consider the Senate’s stopgap approach, known as a continuing resolution, or CR, and move off the shutdown strategy.

McConnell said that he, too, would like to do something about the “Democrats’ reckless spending” and boost border security. But he said, “these important discussions cannot progress” if the functions of government “end up being taken hostage.”

When McConnell mentioned a vote against the bill would mean voting against pay for border patrol agents and others, it sparked a response from Biden on social media.

“You know, I agree with Mitch here. Why the House Republicans would want to defund Border Patrol is beyond me,” Biden wrote.

With the Senate expected to spend the rest of this week working to pass its bill over the objections of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and others on the right flank. Like their House colleagues, the conservative senators want to halt aid to Ukraine and push for steeper spending cuts, all action in Congress is crushing toward a last minute deadline.

The federal government would begin to shut down if funding is not secured by Sunday, Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

A new economic assessment from Goldman Sachs estimated a federal shutdown would subtract 0.2 percent points from fourth-quarter GDP growth each week it continues, according to a report issued Wednesday.

Running out of options, McCarthy revived the border security package he first tried to attach to a temporary government funding bill earlier this month. But he still faces a handful of hard-right holdouts led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who say they won’t vote for any CR, denying a majority for passage.

It’s late in the process to be pushing the border security provisions now, as McCarthy tries to salvage the strategy. He is seeking to shift blame to Biden and Democrats for not engaging in an immigration debate about the record flow of migrants at the Southern border with Mexico.

Facing holdouts in his own ranks, McCarthy is trying to cajole his hard-right members who have refused to vote for any temporary spending bill — even with the border provisions. He told reporters, “I don’t understand where somebody would want to stand with President Biden on keeping an open border and not keep government open.”

The holdouts are determined to force the House to debate and pass all 12 individual funding bills for all the various government agencies. It’s a grinding weeks-long process with no guarantee the bills will even pass with days to go before a shutdown.

“If that means we close and we shut down, that’s what we’re going do,” said Rep. Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican who wants the House to vote on all 12 bills, as he exited the morning Republican meeting.

On Wednesday the House slogged through debate over four of those bills — to fund Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture and State and Foreign Operations.

One amendment to gut $300 million for Ukraine was backed by 104 Republicans, more than ever as resistance to war support grows, even though it failed. Another from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to cut the Defense Secretary’s salary to $1 was approved without dissent.

Lawmakers are prepared to work into the weekend, but one leading Republican, Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas, said he believed Congress was headed towards a government shutdown.

“Somebody is going to have to flinch or break, or there will have to be something negotiated,” he said.

But the hard-right is making to oust McCarthy if he joins with Democrats and Womack, who is not among the holdouts, explained such a move could be “problematic for the speaker.”

While the White House has said it’s up to McCarthy and the House Republicans to “fix” the problem they have created, Biden’s chief rival in the 2024 election, Donald Trump, is urging the right flank to fight for steep spending cuts. If Republicans don’t get what they want, Trump the former president says, they should “shut it down.”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — If measures of the U.S. economy keep coming in hot, as they did in January, the Federal Reserve will likely have to raise interest rates even higher than it has already signaled — and keep them there longer — Chair Jerome Powell will likely warn in testimony to Congress on Tuesday.

Powell’s first appearance before Congress in nine months coincides with recent signs that the economy remains resilient and inflation still stubbornly high. In the past year, the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate at the fastest pace in four decades, to about 4.6%, its highest level in 15 years. But consumer spending, hiring and growth have yet to cool.

Several Fed officials said last week that they would favor raising the Fed’s key rate above the 5.1% level they had projected in December if growth and inflation stay elevated. When the Fed raises its key rate, it typically makes mortgages, auto loans, credit card rates and business lending more expensive. It’s a trend that can slow spending and inflation but also risks sending the economy into a recession.

In his two days of semi-annual testimony to Congress — Powell will address the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday — the Fed chair will have to navigate a treacherous path: He will likely be pressed by Democrats concerned that ever-higher borrowing rates will tip the economy into recession and Republicans who have urged the Fed to act aggressively to slow price acceleration.

Inflation, as measured year over year, has slowed from its peak in June of 9.1% to 6.4%. But its progress stalled in January: The Fed’s preferred measure of price increases rose from December to January by the most in seven months.

Powell has noted that so far, most of the slowdown in inflation reflects an unraveling of supply chains that have allowed more furniture, clothes, semiconductors and other physical goods to reach U.S. shores. By contrast, inflation pressures remain entrenched in numerous areas of the economy’s vast service sector.

Rental and housing costs, for example, remain a significant driver of inflation. At the same time, the cost of a new apartment lease is growing much more slowly, a trend that should reduce housing inflation by mid-year, Powell has said.

But the prices of many services — from dining out to hotel rooms to haircuts — are still rising rapidly, with little sign that the Fed’s rate hikes are having an effect. Fed officials say the costs of those services mainly reflect rising wages and salaries, which companies often pass on to their customers in the form of higher prices.

As a result, the Fed’s monetary policy report to Congress, which it publishes in conjunction with the chair’s testimony, said that quelling inflation will likely require “softer labor market conditions” — a euphemism for fewer job openings and more layoffs.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — California’s U.S. Senate race is unfolding at a furious pace, with candidates reporting seven-figure fundraising and holding competing rallies and campaign events more than a year before the 2024 primary election.

The fight for the safely Democratic seat held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who at 89 is the oldest member of Congress, is shaping up as a marquee match-up between nationally known rivals and is likely to become one of the most expensive Senate races in the country next year.

On Saturday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, who rose to prominence as the lead prosecutor in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, gathered hundreds of supporters in a union hall parking lot for a rally in his hometown of Burbank, California, where he implored the cheering crowd, “Let’s go win this thing.”

Schiff, who announced his candidacy last month, said he was running for Senate after two decades in Congress “to build an economy that works for everyone, a democracy that will last for all time and a planet that doesn’t melt beneath our feet.”

A day earlier, Democratic U.S. Rep. Katie Porter brought her Senate campaign to Los Angeles, where she met with local leaders to discuss pollution in lower-income neighborhoods. She said such areas are often overlooked in Washington and Sacramento, where residents’ complaints about unhealthy conditions go unheard.

Porter, a leader in Congress’ progressive wing, built a reputation for her tough questioning of CEOs and other witnesses at congressional hearings — often using a whiteboard to break down information.

Other potential contenders for the seat include Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. If she runs and is elected, Lee would be the only Black woman in the Senate.

Feinstein has yet to say if she will seek a seventh term. In recent years, questions have arisen about her cognitive health and memory, though she has defended her effectiveness. However, her reticence about her future has created a publicly awkward dynamic — the race to replace her is rapidly taking shape, even as the senator remains unclear about her intentions.

Schiff’s rally, held on a nippy, mostly overcast morning, marked the start of a two-week statewide tour, with stops to include San Diego, Sacramento, Fresno and San Francisco.

He was joined by his wife Eve, one of his two children, Alexa, and David McMillan, whom the congressman mentored as a youth and considers part of his family.

After recounting his career as a federal prosecutor, state legislator and member of Congress, Schiff made clear he would anchor his campaign to his role as impeachment manager and Trump’s chief antagonist in Congress. He has been a frequent target of conservatives — Trump in particular — since the then-GOP-led House Intelligence Committee he served on started investigating Trump’s ties to Russia in the 2016 election.

He mentioned “democracy” more than a half-dozen times in the speech. He’s selling T-shirts and coffee mugs on his campaign website, with the slogan “Democracy Matters.” He called Trump, who has announced his 2024 campaign for the presidency, “a demagogue bent on destroying our democracy.”

“We investigated Trump. We impeached him. We held him accountable and then we defeated him at the ballot box,” Schiff said to cheers. “And we will defeat him again, if the GOP is foolish enough to nominate him. He will never see the inside of the Oval Office, never again.”

Trump was impeached in December 2019 on charges he abused the power of the presidency to investigate rival Joe Biden and obstructed Congress’ investigation. The Republican-led Senate acquitted Trump of both charges. In 2021, he became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, this time for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol after he lost the 2020 election. He was again acquitted by the Senate.

Schiff’s other foundational issues include fighting climate change and improving the economy.

“Too many people are working multiple jobs but cannot pay the rent, afford groceries or pay for lifesaving medication,” he said. “Too many children are growing up in poverty and hungry.”

Schiff and Porter, both prolific small-dollar fundraisers, already are dueling over campaign dollars and endorsements. Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco is backing Schiff, providing Feinstein retires, and Porter is supported by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Democrats are expected to dominate the contest in the famously liberal state — a Republican hasn’t won a statewide race in California since 2006, and the past two Senate elections had only Democrats on the November ballot.

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Kelly O’Keeffe | Contributed

On August 2nd, the U.S. Senate passed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robison Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022, sending it to President Biden’s desk for signature. At the heart of the legislative package are provisions authored by Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) to establish a presumption of service connection for 23 conditions, including respiratory conditions and cancers for approximately 3.5 million veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other airborne hazards.

Dr. Ruiz, the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Burn Pits Caucus, has helped lead the charge in Congress to address the military’s use of toxic burn pits since the death of his constituent, Jennifer Kepner, an Air Force medic from Cathedral City, CA who died from pancreatic cancer that was linked to her burn pit exposure overseas.

“Today is a victorious day for our nation’s veterans. In memory of Cathedral City veteran Jennifer Kepner, I have fought tooth and nail to get veterans the presumptive benefits and care they need, earned, and deserve,” said Dr. Ruiz. “With the Honoring our PACT Act now on its way to the President’s desk, we will finally recognize Jennifer’s vision for her fellow veterans. I urge President Biden to swiftly sign the PACT Act into law! Our veterans have waited for too long.”

The Honoring our PACT Act also includes language from the Congressman’s bill, the Jennifer Kepner HOPE Act, to expand eligibility for care to veterans who participated in a toxic exposure risk activity while serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.

The legislative package is now on its way to President Biden’s desk after Senate Republicans blocked final passage last week.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill enhancing health care and disability benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits won final approval in the Senate on Tuesday, ending a brief stalemate over the measure that had infuriated advocates and inspired some to camp outside the Capitol.

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. He has said the bill “makes good on our sacred obligation” to care for veterans and their families.

The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 86-11.

It had also approved the legislation back in June, but the legislation required a do-over for a technical fix. That process derailed when Republicans made a late attempt to change another aspect of the bill last week and blocked it from advancing.

The abrupt delay outraged veterans groups and advocates, including comedian Jon Stewart. It also placed GOP senators in the uncomfortable position of delaying the top legislative priority of service organizations this session of Congress.

A group of veterans and their families have been camping out at the Capitol since that vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he had good news for them when he announced the final vote for Tuesday evening.

“Veterans who were exposed to the toxic fumes of burn pits will be treated by the VA like they should have been from the beginning,” Schumer said.

The legislation directs the VA to presume that certain respiratory illnesses and cancers were related to burn pit exposure, allowing veterans to obtain disability payments to compensate for their injury without having to prove the illness was a result of their service.

Roughly 70% of disability claims related to burn pit exposure are denied by the VA due to lack of evidence, scientific data and information from the Defense Department.

The military used burn pits to dispose of such things as chemicals, cans, tires, plastics and medical and human waste.

Hundreds of thousands of Vietnam War era veterans and survivors also stand to benefit from the legislation. The bill adds hypertension, or high blood pressure, as a presumptive disease associated with Agent Orange exposure.

The bill is projected to increase federal deficits by about $277 billion over 10 years.

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The Honoring our PACT Act includes Dr. Ruiz’s priorities to get approximately 3.5 million veterans suffering from burn pits and other toxins much-needed health care.

Kelly O’Keeffe | Contributed

On June 16th, the U.S. Senate passed comprehensive toxic exposure legislation, the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2021, or the Honoring our PACT Act, with provisions authored by Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) to get veterans suffering from burn pit exposure the care they urgently need.

At the center of the bipartisan legislative package is language based on Dr. Ruiz’s bills, the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act and the Veterans Right to BREATHE Act, that establish a presumption of service connection between veterans’ military service and 23 diseases and rare cancers.

Since the death of his constituent Jennifer Kepner – an Air Force medic who developed pancreatic cancer as a result of her service in Iraq – Dr. Ruiz has spearheaded efforts over the years to get burn pit-exposed veterans the care they need. The Honoring our PACT Act also includes Dr. Ruiz’s bill, the Jennifer Kepner HOPE Act, to expand eligibility for care to veterans who participated in a toxic exposure risk activity while serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.

“I enthusiastically applaud the Senate passage of the bipartisan Honoring our PACT Act,” said Dr. Ruiz. “The fight for presumptive benefits for veterans suffering from their burn pit exposure has been an uphill battle and one that I have led for years in memory of Cathedral City veteran Jennifer Kepner who died from pancreatic cancer due to her exposure to toxic burn pits. Today is a moment that is years in the making and brings us closer than ever before to getting burn pit-exposed veterans the benefits and care they have earned and deserve. I look forward to quickly sending this historic legislation to President Biden’s desk.”

Prior to the vote, Dr. Ruiz took to the House floor to urge the Senate to pass the legislation.

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