Environment and Energy

President Joe Biden followed through today on Congressman Salud Carbajal’s (CA-24) request to ban future offshore drilling off the Central Coast by taking new executive action shielding over 625 million acres of federal waters from oil and gas exploration. The request was the latest push by Rep. Carbajal to enact these protections, something he has pushed for since introducing the ban as… Read more »

Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) celebrated the official designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary which took place this past Saturday after more than a decade of advocacy on the Central Coast and the final rule published by the Biden-Harris Administration. “Nearly a decade after the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary was first proposed to the federal… Read more »

Congressmen Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Mike Lawler (NY-17) and Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) led a call of more than 80 lawmakers today urging House appropriators to fully fund the new grant program they created to help airports replace firefighting foams containing harmful forever chemicals. In May 2024, these lawmakers successfully passed their Pollution-Free Aviation Sites (PFAS) Act, which… Read more »

Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) celebrated the final federal step in creating the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary taken today by the Biden-Harris Administration. “The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary has been a twinkle in the eye of the Central Coast for more than a generation. Today, that long-held idea of creating a marine sanctuary off the Central Coast… Read more »

Today, bipartisan legislation to reduce wildfire risks written by Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) was approved by a unanimous vote of the House Natural Resources Committee. The vote comes as firefighters are battling more than 500,000 acres of wildfires in National Forests and communities across California. Rep. Carbajal’s Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act would reduce procedural… Read more »

Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) applauded the new support for forever chemical remediation efforts at San Luis Obispo County Airport (SBP) from the federal grant program he recently helped renew. Earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded SBP a $3.57 million grant from the Airport Improvement Program to support innovative demonstration testing of three PFAS… Read more »

Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26), and Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) hailed the release of the Biden-Harris Administration's environmental impact study for the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, the final step that puts the decades-long push for this federal designation on track to be… Read more »

California Congressman Salud Carbajal and Senator Alex Padilla wrote to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Department of Commerce to express their strong support for swiftly designating the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary while facilitating the development of offshore wind energy. If designated, the Sanctuary would be the first Tribally-nominated… Read more »

Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) joined Representatives John Curtis (R-UT) and Scott Peters (D-CA) to introduce legislation designed to support American businesses and ensure fair competition on the global stage. The Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act would provide high-quality, verifiable data about emissions of U.S.-made… Read more »

The Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County has burned more than 31 square miles, destroyed numerous structures, and triggered evacuation orders Read more »