With more than $20 billion in cuts proposed to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – formerly known as Food Stamps – in the 2014 Farm Bill, Rep. Barbara Lee is leading two dozen House members in a “SNAP Challenge,” living on the $4.50 per day food budget of an average SNAP recipient.

Lee, D-Oakland, issued a news release calling the proposed cuts “unconscionable and unacceptable.”

“When I was a young, single mother, I was on public assistance, and I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the vital lifeline that the American people extended to me,” she said. “SNAP is the difference between food on the table and a child going to bed hungry. I’m so encouraged by all my colleagues who are joining me for the SNAP Challenge, and I encourage folks from across the country to get engaged and join the chorus voicing opposition to these outrageous cuts.”

Lawmakers are updating the public on the challenges of eating on $4.50 by Tweeting at #SNAPchallenge. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, is also taking part, and said, “We need Congress to understand what these cruel austerity measures mean on a personal level rather than a generic statistical sample.”

So Lee might be rather hungry tomorrow as she joins director Lori Silverbush for a free screening of the film, “A Place at the Table,” in 1 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, at 1000 Oak St. An official Sundance film festival selection, the movie brings millions of Americans’ experience of hunger into stark focus through the stories of three individuals living with food insecurity.

Lee and Silverbush will take part in a panel discussion after the screening, joined by Alameda County Community Food Bank Executive Director Suzan Bateson; Community Food and Justice Coalition Executive Director Y. Armando Nieto; and Alameda County Social Services Agency Director Lori Cox.

“With nearly 46 million people living in poverty in our nation and 173,000 in poverty in Alameda Country alone, it is far past time to address poverty and hunger,” Lee said.

Being among the youngest rookie members of Congress does have at least a few advantages.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Pleasanton, is proudly touting his role in helping Democrats defeat Republicans last night in the annual Congressional baseball game, a charity event that dates back to 1909. The game at Nationals Park was a 22-0 shutout, the Dems’ fifth consecutive win.

Swalwell’s office says he contributed with a single, three stolen bases and three runs scored, with only one resulting sore hip.

“While we may not be able stop the GOP’s sequester, we certainly sequestered them last night on the field,” Swalwell said in a news release. “It was a fun night and a wonderful opportunity to raise money for good causes and build friendships with my colleagues on the team and across the aisle (or field).”

The game raised $300,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the Washington Literacy Center. The Democratic team practiced every session day at 7 a.m. for two months leading up to the game. The only other Bay Area lawmaker to participate was Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael.

Swalwell, 32, played outfield and wore the jersey of Tennyson High School in Hayward, which earned more than 300 votes in a Facebook contest he sponsored to determine the 15th Congressional District high school colors he would don.

“I promised to bring new energy to Congress and that pledge continued on the baseball field. I’m looking forward to make it six wins in a row in 2014,” Swalwell said. “Until practice begins next year, the next step is recovery.”

Recovery? Hey, Swalwell – THERE’S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!

UPDATE @ 9:49 A.M.: It was just a few months ago that Swalwell’s predecessor, Pete Stark, sent out a campaign mailer blasting Swalwell as “a rookie” who wasn’t ready for “the big leagues.”

Democrats took to the House floor today to commemorate the six-month anniversary of the schoolhouse massacre in Newtown, Conn., and to try to jump-start the seemingly moribund effort to get a background-check bill through Congress.

The Senate rejected the bill in April, and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, doesn’t seem likely to bring it to a vote. That didn’t stop Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, from trying to shame him into it today.

And from Rep. Mike Thomspon, D-Napa, who has been House Democrats’ point man on gun violence issues:

Read a transcript of Thompson’s remarks, after the jump…
Read the rest of this entry »

I spied with my little eye: Rep. Mike Honda slapping backs, shaking hands and otherwise mingling with Silicon Valley’s business elite at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Regional Economic Forum on Friday morning in Mountain View.

Honda, D-San Jose, took part in a panel discussion entitled, “How can Washington, D.C., help Silicon Valley succeed?” with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Pleasanton; former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm; SendHub.com CEO Garrett Johnson; ChargePoint vice president Dimitrios Papadogonas; and SunPower CEO Tom Werner. The moderator was Working Partnerships Executive Director Cindy Chavez, a former San Jose councilwoman, current Santa Clara County supervisorial candidate and longtime Honda ally.

They were speaking to about 400 local government and business leaders – key constituencies that Honda wants on his side as he faces an electoral challenge from fellow Democrat Ro Khanna, a former Obama administration official. Khanna’s campaign strategy depends in large part on convincing voters he’s more in touch with Silicon Valley’s needs than Honda.

Honda clearly tried to prove otherwise Friday as he talked on topics including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Outside, he insisted this isn’t a new cause for him – he said he started at least six or seven years ago, with bills to consolidate approximately $2 billion in STEM education grants that were spread across almost a dozen federal agencies, and to elevate STEM education to the level of a presidential committee.

He said he also has pushed for additional financial support to college students who want to teach STEM subjects, and for having more personnel with technology and corporate backgrounds working on Capitol Hill either as fully-paid interns or permanent staffers: “Most congresspeople don’t have a background in everything that you need.” And, he said, he wants President Obama’s push for universal preschool to include STEM education that starts in the pre-kindergarten to third-grade years – an earlier start to introduce a future workforce to the wonders of science.

Khanna – a former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Commerce Department – also has emphasized STEM education as a cornerstone of his campaign, but has suggested that Honda is late to the party on this issue.

My chat with Honda was briefly interrupted by Palo Alto Councilman Marc Berman, who greeted the congressman with a hug and a vow of support. Honda said Berman had been a student volunteer for his first House campaign, back in 2000.

Five members of Congress held a news conference in Sacramento this morning to renew their staunch opposition to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Napa; Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton; John Garamendi, D-Fairfield; Ami Bera, D-Rancho Cordova; and Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, all believe the plan would devastate the Delta and ignores concerns repeatedly raised by local stakeholders. Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, concurs but wasn’t at today’s news conference.

The state has released a 20,000-page Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the BDCP. Chapters 1-7 were released in the last few months and Chapters 8-12, including the financing mechanism, were released yesterday.

The lawmakers released statements after their news conference. From McNerney:

“The Governor recently released additional information on his deeply-flawed plan for the Delta region, which further proves he is intent on forcing this plan forward without any regard for the farmers, families and small business owners who rely upon a healthy Delta for their livelihoods, or for the incredible environmental damage that will result. As it stands, the plan will cost billions of dollars, devastate the most valuable water resource we have in California, and ultimately create no new water. There is a better way forward, and it must include the input of the people who stand to lose the most if the Delta is destroyed.”

From Thompson:

“The proposed BDCP is not a workable solution. It puts the interests of South-of-Delta water contractors ahead of the Delta’s and North-of-Delta’s farmers, fishers and small business owners. Livelihoods are at stake. Until we have a plan that is transparent, based on sound science and developed with all stake-holders at the table, then any process that moves us closer to building these tunnels will recklessly risk billions of California tax dollars and thousands of jobs. Let’s take the time to get this right.”

From Miller:

“Governor Brown and his administration officials have failed to demonstrate that they are taking into account the real physical and financial harm that can come to Bay-Delta communities if a BDCP plan is pushed through without the proper cost benefit analysis of alternatives, an adequate finance plan, or without acknowledging the best available science — science that has pointed to the real possibility that this plan could overtax our water resources and devastate the Bay-Delta region. Without doing so the BDCP is further than ever from a sustainable policy. It is time to seriously reevaluate this plan to ensure it fulfills the co-equal goals that it is mandated to adhere to, and takes into consideration the concerns of the businesses, families and communities that rely on a viable, healthy Bay-Delta region for their livelihoods.”

Ro Khanna, the former Obama Administration official who’s challenging fellow Democrat Rep. Mike Honda in the 17th Congressional District, has opened a campaign office in Fremont and rolled out a list of endorsements from local elected officials.

The local elected officials endorsing Khanna, 36, of Fremont, include Cupertino Mayor Orrin Mahoney, Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves, former Newark Mayor Emeritus David Smith, Cupertino City Councilman Rod Sinks, Fremont Vice Mayor Anu Natarajan, Fremont City Councilmember Raj Salwan and Milpitas City Councilmembers Carmen Montano, Debbie Giordano and Althea Polansky.

“As Mayor of Cupertino, a homeowner in Cupertino for the past 30 years, and a Cupertino based Hewlett-Packard employee for 20 of those years, I am proud to support Ro Khanna because of his understanding of high tech issues and vision for creating jobs locally in a world of dynamic change,” Mahoney said in Khanna’s news release. “Ro understands Cupertino’s unique values of excellent education, parks and recreation, and responsive local government. I know he will partner with local leaders to help Cupertino remain a beacon for innovation and economic growth in the 21st century.”

Honda, 71, of San Jose, last week announced some endorsements of his own, from notable Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders including former White House Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu; retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba; Maya Soetoro-Ng, an educator and President Barack Obama’s half-sister; actor George Takei; actor Kal Penn, former associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement; and TV host Yul Kwon, former deputy chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.

“Over the past four years, I have worked closely with Mike Honda, and I have seen his commitment to providing greater economic opportunities for all Americans through investments in education and innovation,” Lu said in Honda’s news release. “I also have witnessed first-hand Mike’s commitment to the issues that matter to Asian American community – issues such as health care, immigration reform, and civil rights. Our nation needs more leaders like Mike Honda, and I am proud to endorse him for re-election.”

It looks like supporters of the California High Speed Rail project took a verbal beating Tuesday as the U.S. House Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials held a field hearing in Madera.

“Since Prop 1A was approved by California voters in 2008, the project has more than doubled in cost, and, after more than $3 billion from the federal tax payer, not one shovel has hit the ground,” subcommittee chairman Jeff Denham, R-Modesto, said afterward. “Until I see a viable business plan for high speed rail in California that is fiscally sound and supported by private dollars, I will continue to hold the rail authority accountable to the voters and ensure their taxpayer dollars are spent wisely.”

Here’s some of the questioning:

The panel, also including Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, grilled witnesses including California High Speed Rail Authority Chairman Dan Richard; Preserve Our Heritage Chairman Kole Upton; Kings County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Verboon; Madera County Farm Bureau Executive Director Anja Raudabaugh; Lou Thompson, chairman of the Peer Review Group for the California High-Speed Rail Project; and Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Al Smith.

The witnesses’ prepared testimony, and Denham’s opening statement, are available on Denham’s website.

A Bay Area congressman is Bangladesh-bound this week, intent on inspecting sometimes-deadly conditions in the world’s second-largest garment industry.

Rep. George Miller, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, will be the first member of Congress to visit Bangladesh since the April 24 building collapse that killed more than 1,100 workers and injured more than 2,500. The disaster has brought a worldwide spotlight in working conditions in the South Asian nation, and whether U.S. garment retailers are benefiting from exploitation there.

Miller, who intends to meet with workers, victims, and industry and government officials, has been pressing major U.S. companies whose products are made in Bangladesh to sign onto a new binding and enforceable building and fire safety accord that has been signed by more than 31 companies worldwide. Most large American companies like Wal-Mart and Gap have so far refused to sign on.

“This trip to Bangladesh is an important opportunity to examine the circumstances surrounding the tragic events that have taken so many lives and threaten the lives of so many others,” Miller, D-Martinez, said in a news release.

“I hope to learn more about three particular aspects of these tragedies and American involvement in this burgeoning industry – worker safety and health conditions and the impact of the recently inked fire and building safety agreement, garment workers’ rights to form unions without fear of retaliation or persecution, and whether Bangladesh is guaranteeing labor rights and acceptable working conditions that are expected if the United States is to maintain tariff relief provided under the Generalized System of Preferences, a decision on which is expected imminently,” Miller said.

Miller recently penned a front-page editorial for Women’s Wear Daily, urging the fashion industry to come together and improve conditions in Bangladesh. Miller and Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat of the Ways and Means Committee, have also urged the Obama administration to coordinate action to improve workers’ rights and working conditions in Bangladesh.

Halving the number of Americans who live in poverty is the goal of a bill introduced Thursday by Rep. Barbara Lee with support from one of the House’s most powerful Democrats.

With 46.2 million Americans living in poverty in 2011, including 16.1 million children in households below the poverty line, “we’re at a critical time in our nation,” Lee, D-Oakland, told reporters on a conference call. “The economy still is not working for anyone.”

“At every turn, our nation’s most vulnerable cannot find pathways out of poverty that they need to achieve the American dream,” she said. “It’s time that we make a commitment to confront poverty head-on.”

Her Half in Ten Act of 2013 would establish the Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty, which would develop and implement a national strategy to reduce poverty by half in ten years, as well as provide regular reports on their progress.

“It’s morally the right thing to do … but it’s also the economically sound and fiscally prudent thing to do,” Lee said. ”

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., is an original co-sponsor of Lee’s bill, and recently formed a Democratic Whip Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity.

“Too often we don’t see the poverty that exists around us,” he said on Thursday’s call, adding that focusing on developing and coordinating a real campaign against poverty is especially “important as the devastating Republican policy of sequester takes a blunt ax” to the nation’s social safety net. “Congress should be taking steps to make it easier, not harder, for lower-income Americans to enter the middle class.”

Budget sequestration – across-the-board cuts in federal programs including those that help support the poor – was the result of a 2011 deal between President Obama and House Republicans that created a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. That “super committee” was tasked with producing legislation that would decrease the deficit by $1.2 trillion over a decade, but it turned out to be just as deadlocked as the rest of Congress, and so these deep, automatic cuts kicked in earlier this year.

And House Republicans have contended that budget cuts are necessary to reduce the nation’s deficit, stimulate the economy and create jobs that will left workers out of poverty.

Lee said the House Budget Committee had a debate around her amendment that’s similar to this new bill, and she saw some bipartisan agreement on the goals. But the House GOP’s budget ultimately “eviscerated all of the building blocks that lead to pathways out of poverty,” she said. “The rhetoric on the Republican side is not matching what they’re actually doing.”

Hoyer noted the faith community strongly supports poverty-reduction efforts such as this, and so he hopes Republicans – many of whom “are people of strong faith and convictions” – can be won over.

Well, here’s at least one thing that Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, and his Democratic challenger, Ro Khanna of Fremont, can agree upon: Hosting Super Bowl L in 2016 at the new Levi’s Stadium – in the heart of the 17th Congressional District they’re vying to represent – is a good thing.

From Honda:

“I am thrilled that the country’s premier sporting event will be coming to Silicon Valley in just a few years’ time. Santa Clara is home to some of the most innovative tech firms in the world, and Levi’s Stadium is a shining example of commerce, entertainment, and sustainable technology coexisting and thriving. As Santa Clara’s representative to Congress, I was proud to advocate for this opportunity with the team’s ownership and local leaders. The only news that could make this event more exciting for South Bay sports fans is if the 49ers make it to the big game.”

From Khanna:

“Today’s announcement that the 49ers’ new stadium in Santa Clara will host Super Bowl L is great news for the franchise, its relentlessly supportive fans, and the entire Bay Area. This state-of-the-art stadium is already creating thousands of jobs in the 17th district — and I expect the 2016 Super Bowl will be another big shot in the arm for our economy.”