Salud Carbajal

Mr. CARBAJAL

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Myra Paige as one of California's 24th Congressional District's Women of the Year. Each year, I have the honor of recognizing women on the Central Coast whose leadership, service, and dedication have left a lasting impact on our community through the Women of the Year Award. This year, it is my pleasure to recognize Myra Paige for her advocacy, public service, and commitment to defending Democratic values across the Central Coast and nationwide. Myra has devoted ten years of service to Indivisible Santa Barbara (ISB), a local non-profit committed to defending our democracy against further democratic backsliding and dismantling the influence of oligarchs in our community. She currently serves as the President of ISB and co-leads Commit to Democracy Santa Barbara (CTD), one of the most highly regarded postcard-writing campaigns in our nation. Under Myra's leadership, 500 volunteers send up to 10,000 postcards monthly to support critical Congressional and Senatorial campaigns nationwide. Myra joined Indivisible Santa Barbara after a profoundly moving event: the 2016 election night. As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, she felt a deep-seated recognition that history can repeat itself. Instead of surrendering to despair and despondency, Myra converted that fear into concrete action. Through ISB, Myra mobilized the community against authoritarianism by spearheading a pivotal town hall with Congressman Carbajal, California State Senator Pro Tem Monique Limon, and Assemblymember Gregg Hart, organized the ``No Kings'' rallies, and led weekly demonstrations focused on protecting one another and fortifying our local safety net. To scale this impact, Myra built lasting local coalitions, notably ``The Summit,'' uniting the Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County, the Fund for Santa Barbara, Planned Parenthood Central Coast, and Commit to Democracy SB to align political strategy and amplify collective action. Myra also strengthened partnerships with 805 UndocuFund and the Immigrant Legal Defense Center (ILDC), fortifying defenses for the local immigrant community against persistent attacks. Among her most notable achievements, Myra successfully advocated against ICE activity on the Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) campus. Her direct engagement with the SBCC Board of Trustees led to a unanimous vote in January 2026 prohibiting ICE from entering campus grounds. Beyond her leadership with ISB and CTD, Myra serves as a Board Member of Planned Parenthood Central Coast and was previously honored as the Democratic Woman of the Year by the Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County. I am proud to recognize Myra Paige for her extraordinary record of leadership, advocacy, and service advancing Democratic change in our Central Coast community and beyond.

Mr. CARBAJAL

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Sonia Behrman as one of California's 24th Congressional District's Women of the Year. Each year, I have the privilege of honoring women on the Central Coast who have made a meaningful difference in our community through the Women of the Year Award. This year, it is my pleasure to recognize Sonia Behrman of Carpinteria, California, for her strength, compassion, and commitment to helping others. Born and raised in Carpinteria, Sonia is the daughter of Aurora, a first-generation immigrant from Mexico City, and John, whose family is from Jalisco. Sonia learned from an early age the importance of family, hard work, and perseverance. As a young mother, she faced difficult circumstances and made the decision to build a new future for herself and her family. With the support of Domestic Violence Solutions and Transition House, she found the strength to move forward and create a life centered around caring for others. As a single mother, Sonia earned her RN from Santa Barbara City College and built a career in nursing, working in chemical dependency care, neonatal intensive care, and the operating room. Her commitment to caring for others later led her to foster care, where she and her current husband opened their home to medically fragile infants and adopted a baby girl. Sonia has become a strong advocate for foster youth. She organizes a major annual fundraiser for Angel's Foster Care in Santa Barbara, bringing together more than 200 guests each year. She also supports the nonprofit Foster Love and travels to Disneyland to chaperone foster youth for a day in the park. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Westmont College Foundation and has participated in a medical mission in Guatemala with Helps International. Each Christmas, Sonia prepares backpacks filled with essentials and personally distributes them to people experiencing homelessness. She has built her life around caring for others, whether through nursing, foster care, community service, or simply being there for a friend. She exemplifies service as a way of life. It is with great pride that I honor Sonia Behrman as Woman of the Year. Her strength, generosity, and commitment to service have made a lasting difference in the lives of so many people. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Sonia for all she does for the community and for the compassion she continues to bring to the Central Coast of California.

Mr. CARBAJAL

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, each year, I have the honor of recognizing women on the Central Coast whose leadership, service, and dedication have made a lasting impact on our community through the Women of the Year Award. This year, it is my pleasure to recognize Linda Krop for her decades of environmental advocacy, public service, and commitment to protecting the natural resources of California's Central Coast. Linda has devoted more than three decades to the Environmental Defense Center, a local public-interest environmental law firm. She joined the firm in 1989 and has served as its Chief Counsel since 1999. Throughout her career, she has specialized in environmental law involving offshore oil and gas development, ocean and coastal conservation, open-space preservation, natural-resource protection, and energy policy. Linda's work has produced lasting protections for communities and ecosystems throughout Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties. Among her most notable legal accomplishments, she helped secure the termination of 40 federal oil and gas leases off the California coast. She prevented the extension of 37 federal oil leases off the coasts of the three counties. She also played a leading role in response to the 2015 Refugio oil spill, which released 140,000 gallons of crude oil and polluted both the ocean and surrounding land. She led the EDC's legal team in efforts that forced the companies to pay more than $700 million in damages. Beyond her courtroom advocacy, Linda has helped advance environmental protections through public policy. She served on the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council from 1998 to 2013, representing the conservation community. She was also appointed by the U.S. Minerals Management Service to serve on the California Offshore Oil and Gas Energy Resources Committee and the High Energy Seismic Survey Task Force. Since 2006, she has regularly taught in the Environmental Studies Program at UCSB and at the Santa Barbara College of Law. Through litigation, policy advocacy, and education, she has helped preserve some of California's most valued landscapes and has strengthened environmental protections throughout our region. Today, she continues those efforts by challenging Sable Offshore Corp.'s plans to restart offshore oil operations, helping protect the Central Coast's coastline and communities. I am proud to recognize Linda Krop for her extraordinary record of leadership and service and her lifelong dedication to protecting the natural beauty and environmental future of the Central Coast.

Mr. CARBAJAL

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment. We know that the military does not need this provision to ensure a stable supply. We already are the largest oil producer in the world, producing nearly 14 million barrels of oil a day. Let's be clear: This is not about energy independence or national security. It is about giving Big Oil special treatment at the expense of California. Under this amendment, a single certification from the Secretary of Defense unlocks sweeping legal protections for fossil fuel projects. States and local governments cannot interfere. Courts are told to presume that delaying this project harms national security on the Secretary's word alone, and we know what that means. Challengers cannot dispute the Secretary's determination and developers receive procedural advantages that no other litigant enjoys, including the ability to essentially choose which Federal court will hear a challenge. It is interesting to me that this amendment is sponsored by Congressman Hunt from Houston, where Sable Offshore Oil's headquarters is located. Sable Offshore, of course, is the operator of the Santa Ynez Pipeline System, which the Trump administration forced back online over the objections of California. This is the pipeline that caused the devastating Refugio oil spill in 2015 in my district. My constituents, who must live with the risk this operation poses, are overwhelmingly opposed, but the Trump administration used the Defense Production Act to preempt State law. The State of California is challenging that authority in court. I guess Sable is worried about losing in court, as they should be, because this amendment would allow the company to avoid accountability by moving to a more favorable court, blocking the California lawsuit, and preventing any court from issuing an injunction against this project. Let me be clear again: This isn't about national security. This is a bailout for polluters. Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to also vote ``no.''

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, this amendment is an outrageous attack on States' rights dressed up as a fake energy emergency. My colleague refers to a national emergency during World War II where the Army and our country's posture was different. The current environment is not legitimate. It is not a legitimate war environment as he refers to from the past. Let us be clear about what this does. It would allow the Federal Government to seize California's owned lands through eminent domain for the Santa Ynez pipeline system. This is the same pipeline that caused the 2015 oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara in my district. Instead of trying to restore it to safe operating condition, Sable has spent years ignoring and evading California law to try to restart this operation, and not using the latest and best technology available. California's State Fire Marshal also already indicated the pipeline is not in safe operating operation, but Sable does not think a little thing like State laws or the health and safety of our coasts should stand in the way of their profits. At the company's request, the administration stripped California of its oversight of the pipeline and used the Defense Production Act to force it to restart operations, and this was before this illegitimate Iran war. Apparently, that was not enough. Now, Sable is asking its friends in Congress to rig the system in its favor, seize California lands, and issue an irrevocable operating permit. Yes, these are friends from another State. Let's talk about the hypocrisy here. What happened to States' rights? This is the most blatant example of corrupt Federal overreach, so why aren't my colleagues across the aisle up in arms? Oh, because it is not convenient. No one should be able to use the Federal Government as their personal trump card to trample on State laws and regulations for their personal profit, no matter the party, no matter the State. Unfortunately, this amendment fits a broader pattern of attacks on California by this administration, attacking our clean air standards, undermining our offshore wind industry, and now trying to bulldoze our environmental protections for Big Oil--a Big Oil handout. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this dangerous project and the precedent it sets. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I am a marine. I served our country. I know what it is like to fight for our country and to stand up and be ready to be called when we need to do so. But to use the Defense Production Act for a frivolous reason undermines our democracy and undermines the integrity of what we are about, and when we really need to use it, it makes a mockery of us. Mr. Chair, this is ludicrous. We should not proceed forward with this amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I served in North Carolina in Camp LeJeune. I know the weather there. I know North Carolina, and I also know why I live in California. I am opposed to this amendment. Once again, this amendment has nothing to do with national security, as much as people want to say that over and over and over. Yet, it has everything to do with politically motivated attacks on State policies that the other side of the aisle happens to disagree with. Just call it what it is. It specifically requires a report on ways for the Federal Government to preempt State laws, including, once again, through national security waivers. Mr. Chair, how far the principled have fallen. I thought the Republican Party was the party of States' rights. Maybe it is selective States' rights. But apparently that principle only applies when they agree with the State's policies. Let's call it what it is: selective. This amendment would strip States of their ability to adopt stronger protections for their communities' air, water, and public health. Unfortunately, it appears that States' rights take a back seat when there is a favor to be done for Big Oil. This amendment is a roadmap for the Federal Government to undermine States that choose to protect their residents. In places like California, communities have fought for stronger safeguards against pollution and environmental hazards, not weaker ones. That is why we also believe in renewable energy, something this administration does not. If we were really concerned about energy and diversifying our energy capacity, we would support offshore wind. This President has gone to great lengths to kill offshore wind projects in California. Let's not talk about energy supply when we are doing everything possible to just give a handout to the oil industry. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I think I heard that my colleague supports offshore wind, which is in contrast with the President. I am assuming he disagrees with the President. Mr. Chair, I am willing to yield for the purposes of a colloquy to ask for an answer to that question. I kind of heard that the gentleman supported offshore wind.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I oppose the amendment. Don't get me wrong. I am glad to see my colleagues across the aisle recognize that recycling needs to be part of our minerals and materials strategy. We absolutely should be recovering valuable materials instead of relying entirely on new mining. This amendment isn't really about recycling, is it? It is another attempt to use national security as a phony justification to override State laws that this majority doesn't like. What happened to States' rights again? Are we being selective again? It would prevent States and local governments from enforcing requirements governing the recycling and disposal of defense materials unless those requirements are identical to Federal law. Many States and localities have adopted stronger safeguards to protect communities from pollution and industrial hazards. We know that defense equipment can pose significant risks to surrounding communities. In an era where this administration is trying to roll back every single environmental and public health protection it can, an amendment like this is particularly dangerous. I know. I served in the Marine Corps. I serve on the House Armed Services Committee. Mr. Chair, I strongly oppose, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I don't know what they teach in Georgia. In California, let me tell you, we learn how to read and write. I understand this amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, in California, we really believe it is important to protect the public health of our constituents, so I am flabbergasted that this is trying to undermine the standards that we want to have to protect our public health from hazardous and toxic materials. Now, if you live in another State and the people want to have lesser standards for hazardous materials that could damage their public health, hurt their public health, that is one thing, but to try to undermine those standards in California is another. This amendment does exactly that. It tries to undermine the will of the State of California and its people. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, in California we have higher standards. It is about public safety. It is about making sure we protect the public health. If you want to lower your standards somewhere else, knock yourselves out, but in California we are going to fight for the people that elected us to protect their public health. We know recycling. We know how to do it in a safe and responsible fashion, and we will not lower our standards as other States have done. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, again, I will say it is interesting how two individuals could see something so different. Like I said, in California, it is all about protecting our public health, using recycling in a safe and responsible fashion. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CARBAJAL

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, on June 23, 2026, due to unforeseen aircraft mechanical issues that delayed my arrival to Washington, D.C., I missed the following votes. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 224, H.R. 6644, and YEA on Roll Call No. 223, S. 629.

Mr. CARBAJAL

Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.