Latest news with #JoshHarder
CBS News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
USDA to purchase $3M of dried cherries amid poor San Joaquin County harvest
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY -- Fewer cherries, lower production and more financial struggle. That's what farmers are experiencing in the San Joaquin County, with a 43% drop in harvest predicted this year due to weather whiplash. "On a normal year, these would be loaded," San Joaquin County Farm Bureau Federation Vice President and Lodi Blooms Owner James Chinchiolo said. "This is not what I farm for." Two weeks after the disaster declaration was announced, local leaders helped push the U.S. Department of Agriculture to step in. "We're announcing a $3 million purchase of cherries immediately to try to make sure that folks can get back on their feet," Congressman Josh Harder said. "But this is just the beginning because we're seeing $100 million of losses just in San Joaquin County cherries this year." The move is to help stabilize the market and create another way for the current crop to be used. Most importantly, it will help family cherry farms and processors stay afloat. But, it's not just any kind of cherry the USDA plans to purchase. "In circumstances where we have an abundance of cherries and the what we call the seconds, or in other words, the cherries that don't make it to the Fresh Market, there's money that the government is providing for those cherries to become now available to people that would otherwise not be able to enjoy cherries," Chinchiolo explained. The only difference about these cherries is potential minor defects, like being off color or bruising. Instead of being thrown away, the USDA is drying these sweet cherries so they can still be enjoyed by cherry lovers and help farmers along the way. "If the government comes in and helps us, you know, and supports buying these and taking these off the marketplace, great. It's perfect," Chinchiolo said.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Josh Harder invests $3M to aid farmers amidst difficult harvest season
( — Republican Josh Harder announced purchasing up to $3 million of dried sweet cherries to assist farmers during a difficult harvest year. San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner requested a disaster declaration a couple of days ago after extreme weather impacted this year's cherry crops. According to Harder, the funding is made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Section, which will help stabilize the market and create different ways for the current crop, and ensure family farms and processors stay up to date. 'The Valley is the fruit and nut basket of the world, and in our community, 1 in 3 jobs depends on agriculture,' said Harder. 'When crops fail, it's not just a bad season, it's an existential threat to local families and our entire economy. This $3 million in emergency support will help our cherry farmers and processors weather the storm.' Incarcerated person arrested hours after walking away from a camp in El Dorado County The Valley produces 40% of America's fruits, nuts, and other foods, stated Harder. In San Joaquin County, the cherries are the fourth most valuable crop that generates almost $300 million every year. With the extreme weather changes, over 40% of local crops have suffered damage, according to Harder. 'I'm calling on USDA Secretary Rollins to immediately expedite a federal disaster declaration so we can unlock the full range of resources our growers need not just to survive this season, but to come back stronger,' Harder said. Jason Chinchiolo, the owner of Lodi Blooms, told FOX40 that most of his crop was affected by the extreme weather temperatures. 'It's not looking great. I can tell you that,' said Chinchiolo. 'There's not as much revenue, potentially coming in. So, you know, there's an immediate need to think about the business standpoint of how to adjust operations to continue.' Chinchiolo told FOX40 that he is already thinking about what improvements he will make for next year's harvest. 'I'm looking at ways to leverage a lot more nutrition in terms of making sure these trees are as resilient as possible,' said Chinchiolo. Harder stated that this federal declaration would unlock new federal aid for valley farmers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers form new caucus to work on infrastructure projects
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – A new caucus formed in Congress aims to cut red tape and make it easier to build housing, infrastructure and energy projects. 'We have over a billion dollars of natural gas and energy right in our backyards,' Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) said. The bipartisan, 'Build America Caucus,' says it has one main goal. 'We've got to get back to getting stuff done,' Rep. Josh Harder (D-Calif.) said. That 'stuff' lawmakers say is building more housing, infrastructure and energy projects by cutting red tape that makes it take so long. 'Four years later I'm still being told by my community that it's going to take another decade before they can actually fix some of the bridges that are in desperate need of repair,' Harder said. Rep. Josh Harder is leading the new group. He says they'll work on streamlining regulations that slow down needed projects. 'We have to make sure that we're putting outcomes above process,' Harder said. The group says its priorities are unleashing American energy through permitting reform, making housing more affordable by incentivizing states to build and speeding up infrastructure projects by simplifying regulations. Lawmakers say they can do all that and still protect the environment. 'We have a lot of protections now. Let's build stuff,' Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) said. Rep. Scott Peters says there are clean energy projects waiting to be built. 'But the environmental laws are in our own way. And we have to take a hard look in the mirror and change that,' Peters said. Harder says the caucus plans to talk to policy experts over the next few weeks. Then, start turning those ideas into legislation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
San Francisco Chronicle
08-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Democrats see ‘abundance' as a path to renewed prosperity
Heeding the 'abundance' message of 'build more, faster' that many Democrats are embracing as their way back to power, moderate Central Valley Democratic Rep. Josh Harder, D-Stockton, assembled a new bipartisan coalition of House members Thursday united by its desire to cut federal red tape to make housing and infrastructure projects quicker to build. Calling themselves the Build America caucus, the group of 30 House members, including 10 Republicans, pledged to 'build more affordable housing, speed up our infrastructure projects and lower energy prices, all of this while bringing costs down for people,' said Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-MIchigan. 'What you're witnessing here,' Harder said Thursday outside the Capitol with other members of the caucus, 'is a unicorn event … a bipartisan caucus coming together to actually solve problems. Feels like it doesn't happen enough in Washington.' Caucuses, like-minded members united by a cause, are a dime-a-dozen in Washington, span the alphabet from the American Seafood Caucus to the Venezuela Democracy Caucus and often do little. But Harder and other members of the new fledgling group said this would be different given renewed pressures on lawmakers, particularly Democrats, to show that they could 'get stuff done' after their November shellacking. That philosophy has gained momentum in recent months after the publication of the best-selling book 'Abundance,' by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Their prescription for fellow liberals: Show you can build something. Housing, services for the homeless, high-speed rail: These are all things Democrats have failed to deliver, nowhere more spectacularly than California, which they write, is a 'land of wonders.' 'Liberals should be able to say, Vote for us and we will govern the country the way we govern California,' they wrote. 'Instead, conservatives are able to say, 'Vote for them and they will govern the country the way they govern California'!' Harder, who r epresents a San Joaquin Valley district that supported Donald Trump, said the book has 'really given voice to a sense of frustration, combining anger from different sectors under a common theme. This has been a problem percolating for a long time, and it's very bipartisan. Voters in my district are frustrated by both Democratic and Republican efforts to move forward on projects.' Over the past several years, California lawmakers have tried to loosen restrictions on state regulations in hopes of spurring more housing construction. Gov. Gavin Newsom boasts that he has signed 42 bills altering the California Environmental Quality Act, colloquially known as CEQA, the state's landmark environmental law. Earlier this year, Oakland Assembly Member Buffy Wicks introduced legislation that would exempt most infill housing from the environmental reviews required under CEQA. But Harder notes that federal bottlenecks remain. He said he voted for the bipartisan infrastructure law four years ago 'with real hope that that would unleash a construction and innovation engine across California, and that really hasn't materialized. I'm still waiting for shovels to be put in the dirt for a bridge (the Seventh Street Bridge in Modesto) that I cited in my vote for the bipartisan infrastructure law four years ago. That bridge may not be built for another 10 years.' About 60 percent of all Inflation Reduction Act-related clean economy projects — and 85 percent of total private-sector investments — in the first two years after the 2022 law passed went to Republican congressional districts, even though no Republican member of Congress voted for the IRA, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan business group E2. Harder said the fact that California is not getting its fair share of IRA money should be 'an embarrassment.' 'We consider ourselves one of the most pro-climate states in the nation. We're not getting those projects. They're going to Texas or Florida or Arizona,' Harder said. 'They're not coming to California because you can't get stuff built and all those are federal projects that have state requirements as well as federal requirements.' Harder said 'a lot of the bottlenecks around things like building bridges and roads are more federal than they are state. So if we're successful here, ultimately, people will see more good things being built in their community, be that the pothole across the street, be that the bridge they drive over to get to work, the house that needs to be renovated, or whatever else it is.' But other roadblocks exist. Harder doubts the caucus will make much progress while Congress is focused on the GOP-written tax bill that takes center stage this month. But if the Republican-dominated House bristled earlier this year at approving disaster aid for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires, why would lawmakers pass legislation that might help California, which is regularly mocked by President Trump. Harder hopes Republican members of the caucus can help it succeed in an era when Republicans control Congress. The group includes Republicans with some seniority who might have a better connection to House leadership, including Rep. Gus Bilirakis, who chairs an Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee; Rep. Michael McCaul, R-TX, who is Chairman Emeritus of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington and Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, both members of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Harder said permitting reform, which the caucus would focus on, is generally one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement in Washington. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., said Thursday that 'Delays stretch for years before a single shovel often hits the ground.' 'This stagnation isn't fate. It's the product of policy, and it can be fixed. We believe in unleashing energy through smarter permitting and making homeownership more accessible by empowering builders and in rebuilding our infrastructure by streamlining processes, not burying them in paperwork.' Harder said it is incumbent on California to show how a state with a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature and the party holding every statewide office can build things quickly. 'California should be a shining beacon on a hill of how great life looks like when you vote for Democrats in a super majority over and over again, and frankly, it doesn't. California is a cautionary tale to many voters across the country,' Harder said. Some progressive Democrats have pushed back on the abundance movement as a giveaway to corporate America and have worried that cutting red tape could mean circumventing important environmental protections. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, acknowledged that this bi-partisan cooperation will be hard. Both parties will need to challenge their own supporters. 'In my party, people are going to need to realize that a lot of the regulations that we put in place for all the right reasons, to preserve the environment, to make sure that communities had a voice, that those regulations may have worked in the 1900s but they don't work in the 21st century,' Himes said. 'My Republican colleagues are going to need to realize that innovation and progress involves the government as a partner. From semiconductors to the internet, that has been the history of American innovation.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Democrat starts ‘abundance movement'-inspired caucus
House Democrats are getting Ezra Klein-pilled. A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Rep. Josh Harder (D-Calif.) is launching a new roughly 30-member bloc that's claiming inspiration from the 'abundance movement' championed by the liberal commentator Klein. 'This is a moment that has been building for a while,' said Harder. 'I think there's been a lot of simmering interest in permitting reform and making sure that things are built faster, better, cheaper. But now, I think over the past year or so, it's really reached a boiling point on both sides.' It's the latest sign that some Democrats see the abundance movement's ideas — something that sprung up around Klein's book "Abundance" co-authored with Atlantic writer Derek Thompson — as a solution to the party's woes. The subject is not without its critics. Some progressives have pushed back on the proposals, which they argue fail to focus on what they see as larger problems like the concentration of power. But in spite of those detractors, Harder said his new caucus has a broad swath of support. 'I think this may be one of the only active bipartisan caucuses doing work that has folks across the ideological rainbow,' Harder said. The bloc's emergence comes amid a broader conversation among Democrats about their post-2024 message and potential failure of governance in blue cities and states. Harder said he'd read the book and had been in touch with Klein, who also spoke at the Senate Democrats' private gathering this week. In a short interview, Klein said it was 'good' that the caucus was forming but that he didn't know much about it. Harder said the 'Build America Caucus' is set to focus on cutting red tape around energy permitting and housing, and aimed to make recommendations on embedding provisions in must-pass legislation this Congress like the annual defense authorization bill or federal surface transportation legislation. But with congressional Republicans currently pursuing a party-line policy megabill, it's not clear how much of an appetite for bipartisan dealmaking exists in Washington at the moment. Harder, who represents a district around Stockton, California, cited his frustrations with the cost overruns and delays associated with marquee Democratic projects, including his state's high-speed rail project and the rollout of funding from the bipartisan infrastructure and climate law signed by former President Joe Biden. 'I think voters want to see action, and I think we need a government that actually works and actually delivers the services that people are voting for,' Harder said.
