California Leaders Named Conferees for the National Defense Authorization Act
Congratulations to the 15 California Representatives who were named Conferees for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)!
Earlier this year, the Protecting America’s Wilderness (PAW) Act passed the U.S. House as part of the NDAA. The PAW Act will safeguard more than a million acres of public lands and well over 500 miles of rivers in California, including in the Northwest, Central Coast, and Los Angeles regions, in addition to public lands and rivers in Washington and Colorado. In California, this bill is a key step forward in ensuring equitable access to public lands for local communities, supports public health and economic recovery, and is critical to the state’s work to address climate change and build resilience.
Now, the House and Senate will work to reconcile their respective versions of the NDAA and propose a final bill to the full Congress. Advocates in California are urging our leaders to fight to keep these important lands and rivers protections in the final version of the NDAA.
Included in the list of conferees are 3 sponsors of provisions in the PAW Act: Reps. Salud Carbajal, Jared Huffman, and Adam Schiff. In announcing his participation, Rep. Carbajal said in a statement:
“Climate change is a threat multiplier and national security issue, so I’m pleased to have this opportunity to defend our environment and will fight to have protections for the Carrizo Plain and Los Padres Forest included in the final bill.”
All 15 California members of the conference committee have cosponsored at least one of the California public lands bills in the PAW Act. The full list of California Conferees for the NDAA include:
Congressman Salud Carbajal
Congressman Gil Cisneros
Congresswoman Susan Davis
Congressman John Garamendi
Congressman Jared Huffman
Congressman Ro Khanna
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren
Congressman Jimmy Panetta
Congressman Harley Rouda
Congressman Adam Schiff
Congressman Brad Sherman
Congresswoman Jackie Speier
Congressman Mark Takano
Congressman Juan Vargas
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
To learn more about the Protecting America’s Wilderness Act, click here.
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