Washington D.C. BRIEFS: Projects at Ports of Long Beach and Oakland, Dems Question Meta; Senators Call for Stronger EPA Methane Rule; $5 Million to Support Unhoused Veterans

More Than $57 Million Awarded for Infrastructure Projects at Ports of Long Beach and Oakland

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) Dec. 22, announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation or DOT has awarded $52.3 million to the Port of Long Beach and $5.2 million to the Port of Oakland. This competitive grant funding from the Port Infrastructure Development Program will support projects to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of California’s supply chain.

The Long Beach grant will support the construction of a new locomotive facility, extension of the east rail yard, and extension of the west rail yard. The Oakland grant will support a project to replace an existing electrical substation and circuit located within the Port facility. Additionally, the project will construct a new on-site fuel cell facility, a solar array with battery storage, and establish a direct connection between the port’s substation and the local electric utility’s biomass-fuel generator.

Dem. Colleagues Question Meta’s Failure to Address Election-Related Disinformation Ahead of January 6th Anniversary

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and 11 of their colleagues in a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Dec. 23, expressing concern regarding Meta’s response to the rise of online election-related misinformation and disinformation on its platforms, including Facebook.

The letter comes in advance of the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection and follows reports and Senate testimony indicating that the company prematurely terminated misinformation and disinformation safeguards that were put in place in advance of the 2020 election. This action allowed misinformation, disinformation, and violent rhetoric to return to Facebook immediately following Election Day and in the lead-up to the January 6th insurrection.

“While efforts to delegitimize election results and undermine our democracy continued and even intensified following Election Day, reports indicate that Facebook turned off election-related safeguards because the company was concerned that they could be limiting the growth of the platform,” the senators wrote. “The controls demonstrate that Facebook clearly knew that its platform could be used to sow and promote discord, division, and incendiary content.

The senators ask Meta to justify its decision to dial back post-election controls to curb disinformation and violent rhetoric and to explain its current work to guard against disinformation and violence on its platforms.

Details: www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/_cache/file/meta-re-election-threats 

Barragán Leads Hispanic Caucus Members in Call for Stronger EPA Methane Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Climate Change Task Force, Dec. 22, led 15 of her Congressional Hispanic Caucus colleagues on a letter requesting the Environmental Protection Agency strengthen its recently proposed methane rule to require regular inspections of smaller oil and gas wells and prevent routine flaring.

These improvements will help to address the climate crisis and improve public health in Latino communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by emissions from oil and gas wells.

Methane emissions from fossil fuel production cause severe public health impacts for communities living nearby, including the development and exacerbation of asthma, cardiopulmonary problems, and cardiovascular mortality. A methane rule that addresses the two requests in the letter would benefit the public health of 1.81 million Latinos living within a half mile radius of oil or gas wells.

Details: www./barragan.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/methane-letter 

Senators Announce Nearly $5 Million to Support Unhoused Veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein (both D-Calif.) Dec. 17,  announced that more than $4.7 million in federal funding has been awarded to eight California organizations providing access to housing and supportive services for veterans experiencing homelessness. This funding is being distributed through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program.

The HUD-VASH program combines HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance for veterans experiencing homelessness with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA provides these services for participating Veterans at VA medical centers, community-based outreach clinics, through VA contractors, or through other VA designated entities.

Details: California organizations receiving HUD-VASH grants: www.padilla.senate.gov/wp-HUD-VASH-Funding-to-CA.