|
April 13, 2018
Dear
friend,
This
week
the
Office
of
Inspector
General
at
the
U.S.
Department
of
Transportation
agreed
to
my
requested
audit
on
the
California
High-Speed
Rail
Project.
The
chronic
mismanagement
by
the
state
and
skyrocketing
costs
are
unacceptable.
This
out-of-control
project
was
sold
to
voters
at
a
cost
of
$33
billion.
Since
then
the
project
has
been
scaled
back
dramatically
by
lopping
off
the
Sacramento
and
San
Diego
segments
while
ballooning
to
$77
billion.
The
State’s
Legislative
Analyst’s
Office
recently
released
a
report
detailing
how
project
costs
will
continue
to
rise
while
there
are
“significant
uncertainties
regarding
funding
to
complete”
the
initial
operating
segment.
Furthermore
the
report
concludes
“it
is
crucial
for
the
high-speed
rail
project
to
have
a
complete
and
viable
funding
plan
(and)
at
this
time,
no
such
funding
plan
exists.”
Taxpayers
deserve
to
know
how
their
money
is
being
spent.
I
will
continue
to
provide
aggressive
oversight
and
stop
all
federal
funding.
Fighting
human
trafficking
on
the
web
Last
week,
President
Trump
signed
into
law
H.R.
1865,
the
Allow
States
and
Victims
to
Fight
Online
Sex
Trafficking
Act
(FOSTA),
which
I
supported.
This
new
law
will
give
law
enforcement
the
necessary
tools
to
fight
websites
that
facilitate
sex
trafficking,
like
Backpage.com,
and
hold
them
accountable.
Human
trafficking
is
reprehensible
and
anyone
who
facilitates
these
atrocities
needs
to
be
held
accountable.
Websites,
like
Backpage.com,
can’t
continue
to
hide
behind
a
loophole
in
the
law
while
they
enable
these
crimes
for
their
own
profit.
This
bill
fixes
that,
making
it
easier
to
take
legal
action
against
websites
that
knowingly
enable
human
trafficking
and
enhancing
penalties
for
people
who
promote
sex
trafficking
through
reckless
disregard.
This
new
law
is
a
start,
but
there
is
still
more
to
be
done
in
the
fight
against
human
trafficking,
and
I
look
forward
to
continuing
to
work
with
my
colleagues
in
Congress
to
put
an
end
to
human
trafficking.
Talking
tax
reform
on
the
House
floor
This
week
I
spoke
on
the
House
floor
about
the
positive
impacts
the
Tax
Cuts
and
Jobs
Act
has
had
on
our
Central
Valley
small
businesses,
agriculture
industry,
communities
and
families.
The
bill
has
cut
rates
for
individuals
and
families
across
the
board,
doubled
the
standard
deduction,
doubled
the
value
of
the
Child
Tax
Credit,
and
implemented
changes
to
help
keep
more
money
in
people’s
pockets
and
paychecks.
At
home
in
the
district,
I’ve
spoken
to
several
people
who
are
already
seeing
the
difference
in
their
paychecks:
$50
a
week,
$100
a
paycheck,
$200
a
month;
it’s
real
money
adding
up.
I’m
proud
to
have
supported
this
bill
for
the
expansion
it’s
going
to
bring
to
our
businesses,
for
the
new
jobs
it’s
going
to
create,
and
for
the
people
who
are
going
to
see
it
in
their
paycheck,
every
paycheck.
Watch
my
speech
here.
2018
Farm
Bill
released
The
U.S.
House
of
Representatives
Committee
on
Agriculture
released
H.R.
2,
the
Agriculture
and
Nutrition
Act
of
2018,
yesterday.
The
bill
includes
provisions
to
strengthen
existing
agriculture
programs,
target
resources
towards
rural
development
and
pest
and
disease
prevention,
encourage
conservation
efforts,
and
provide
a
reliable
safety
net
for
America’s
farmers
and
ranchers.
It
also
facilitates
agricultural
trade
by
supporting
the
development
of
new
international
markets
for
U.S.
agricultural
exports.
I
look
forward
to
working
with
my
colleagues
in
the
House
Agriculture
Committee
as
the
bill
proceeds.
Ways
and
Means
approves
my
privacy
protection
bill
My
bill
to
protect
U.S.
citizens
and
armed
service
members
from
identity
theft,
H.R.
4403,
the
Moving
Americans
Privacy
Protection
Act,
was
approved
by
the
House
Committee
on
Ways
and
Means
this
week.
The
bill
would
prevent
the
U.S.
Customs
and
Border
Protection
Agency
(CBP)
from
providing
personally
identifiable
information
to
third-party
data
brokers;
such
information
can
include
names,
social
security
numbers,
and
passport
numbers
collected
as
part
of
required
documents
for
shipments
into
the
United
States.
Currently,
the
agency
sells
this
information
to
third-party
data
brokers,
where
it
can
be
made
available
online
or
deliberately
stolen,
putting
people
at
risk
for
easy
identity
theft,
credit
card
fraud,
and
unwanted
advertising
solicitations.
Exposing
American
citizens
to
identity
theft
cannot
be
tolerated,
and
federal
agencies
in
particular,
must
protect
the
identities
of
U.S.
citizens
and
armed
service
members
at
all
costs.
I
look
forward
to
bringing
this
bill
to
the
floor
for
a
vote
in
the
near
future
to
make
sure
we
stop
the
blatant
misuse
of
personally
identifiable
data.
2018
Congressional
Art
Competition
entries
due
Tuesday
There
are
just
a
few
more
days
to
submit
your
artwork
for
the
2018
10th
District
Congressional
Art
Competition,
open
to
high
school
students
across
the
10th
congressional
district.
Submissions
will
be
judged
by
a
local
panel
of
judges
for
the
chance
to
be
displayed
in
the
United
States
Capitol.
All
artwork
and
release
forms
must
be
delivered
to
my
Modesto
office
at
4701
Sisk
Road,
Ste.
202
no
later
than
5
p.m.
PDT
THIS
Tuesday,
April
17,
2018.
Submissions
will
also
be
featured
on
my
official
Facebook
and
Instagram
pages
(@RepJeffDenham),
along
with
an
artist
profile.
The
winning
student
and
one
guest
will
also
be
invited
to
the
annual
awards
ceremony
hosted
on
Capitol
Hill
on
June
27,
2018.
A
scholarship
may
also
be
offered
to
the
winner
to
fly
to
D.C.
for
the
reception
and
announcement
of
the
national
winner.
For
more
information,
including
a
list
of
official
guidelines,
visit
my
website,
and
to
request
release
forms
or
for
detailed
inquiries,
please
contact
Alex
Tolman
at
(209)
579-5458.
Subscribe
to
my
quarterly
veterans
newsletter
Each
quarter
I
distribute
a
special
edition
newsletter
with
the
latest
veterans
news
out
of
Washington
to
local
VFW
Halls
and
on
my
website;
but
now
you
can
subscribe
to
receive
this
special
edition
newsletter
directly
in
your
inbox
by
visiting
www.Denham.house.gov/vets
and
filling
out
the
form
at
the
top
of
the
page.
Topics
include
French
Camp,
legislation
affecting
vets
(such
as
my
recent
Veterans
Treatment
Court
Coordination
Act)
and
much
more.
If
you
missed
the
last
edition,
click
here
to
view
it
online.
Upcoming
Mobile
District
Office
Hours
I
have
six
Mobile
District
Office
Hours
(MDOs)
in
the
next
week
where
constituents
can
meet
with
representatives
from
my
district
staff
for
assistance
with
variety
of
services
and
issues,
including
Medicare,
Veterans
Affairs,
Social
Security
and
the
Internal
Revenue
Services
(to
name
a
few).
For
a
full
list
of
scheduled
MDOs,
visit
the
Upcoming
Events
section
of
my
website.
Casework
assistance
is
always
available
through
my
Modesto
office
as
well
by
calling
209-579-5458.
Wednesday,
April
18
–
Tracy
1-2
p.m.
Tracy
City
Hall
333
Civic
Center
Plaza,
Rm
216,
Tracy,
CA
95376
Thursday,
April
19
–
Riverbank
4-5
p.m.
Riverbank
City
Hall
6707
3rd
Street,
Riverbank,
CA
95367
Friday,
April
20
–
Ceres
10-11
a.m.
State
Senator
Anthony
Cannella’s
Office
2561
Third
Street,
Suite
A,
Ceres,
CA
95307
*Held
in
conjunction
with
Senator
Anthony
Cannella
&
Assemblyman
Adam
Gray’s
offices.
Friday,
April
20
–
Manteca
10-11
a.m.
Manteca
Chamber
of
Commerce
183
W.
North
Street
#6,
Manteca,
CA
95336
*Held
in
conjunction
with
Assemblyman
Heath
Flora’s
office.
In
the
News
April
12,
2018
California
GOP
Rep.
Jeff
Denham
says
he
has
the
votes
to
force
party
leaders
to
consider
bills
to
protect
'Dreamers'
By
Sarah
Wire,
LA
Times
April
12,
2018
OPINION:
Day
Zero...for
California?
By
Rep.
Jeff
Denham,
Opinion
to
The
Patterson
Irrigator
April
11,
2018
Immigration
votes
finally
coming
to
the
House
floor?
By
Nolan
McCaskill,
Politico
Huddle
April
11,
2018
House
Passes
Two
Rail
Data
Security
Bills
By
The
American
Journal
of
Transportation
April
11,
2018
Government
property
database
‘a
win
for
transparency,’
says
GOP
lawmaker
By
Jory
Heckman,
Federal
News
Radio
April
11,
2018
House
passes
rail
data
security
bills
By
Progressive
Railroading
April
11,
2018
Riverbank
Mayor
featured
in
Thank-a-Vet
video
By
The
Oakdale
Leader
April
10,
2018
GOP
lawmaker
says
he
has
enough
support
to
force
immigration
votes
By
Scott
Wong
and
Rafael
Bernal,
The
Hill
Sincerely,
Jeff
Denham
Member
of
Congress
|