California’s Fifth Congressional District is a world-renowned food and wine destination because of our vibrant agricultural and viticultural heritage. As an organic grower myself, I’m fully committed to protecting and strengthening our farming and grapegrowing communities.

Upon arriving in Washington, I immediately set about creating an organization focused on the wine community—co-founding the Congressional Wine Caucus with former Congressman George Radanovich in 1999. The Caucus is a coalition of 117 bipartisan, bicameral Members of Congress dedicated to educating our colleagues about issues affecting our nation’s wine community and advancing legislation to address these priorities. I serve as Co-Chair with Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4). Issues we’ve tackled include:

• Passing legislation to conserve and protect vineyards and open spaces
• Advocating for viticulture research and management funding
• Combating the European Grapevine Moth and the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter
• Fighting for fair market access for our wines in foreign markets
• Protecting access to the Customs Duty Drawback program
• Enacting and extending bipartisan legislation to modernize the Wine Excise Tax
• Recognizing the value and contributions of American wines and grapegrowing regions

I’m also working hard to ensure our varied farming and ranching communities continue to thrive. That’s why I’ve voted for legislation to help farmers cope with uncertainty, help families put quality food on the table and help maintain our rural landscapes for generations to come by:

• Providing emergency drought and wildfire damage relief
• Creating a safety net for farmers and ranchers impacted by forces beyond their control
• Securing research funding to combat crop diseases and invasive species
• Providing nutrition assistance to children and families
• Improving nutrition and food safety standards
• Fostering conservation efforts on agricultural land to ensure sustainably healthy landscapes that benefit all users
• Promoting local and regional farms and food systems
• Supporting programs to measure and reduce food waste

Please know nothing will deter me from working to address the issues that affect growers in our community from farm to table.