WASHINGTON, D.C. - As Americans prepare to celebrate Memorial Day on Monday, Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) released the following statement:
"Every year, Americans come together on Memorial Day to remember those who have sacrificed their lives for our country. I'm proud to honor their service, and I hope all my neighbors can take time to think about those sacrifices.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Language to correct a longstanding flaw in how many California doctors are reimbursed for Medicare services was included in legislation passed on the House floor Friday afternoon.
The fix-which will direct a much-needed $400 million to California doctors in 15 underpaid counties-was included in the "American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act," which would also extend unemployment benefits along with a range of tax cuts. The bill also delays a 21 percent Medicare reimbursement cut that would affect doctors across the country.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the nation prepares to celebrate Memorial Day, Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) joined Brig. Gen. Mary Kight, adjutant general of the California National Guard, to assemble USO care packages for troops stationed overseas.
Brig. Gen. Mary Kight attended Monterey High School and Monterey Peninsula College.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) on Thursday introduced bipartisan legislation that would close a loophole in the Animal Welfare Act that allows thousands of large, commercial dog breeders who sell on the Internet to escape licensing and regulation.
"The Internet loophole in the Animal Welfare Act has resulted in widespread abuse of dogs in breeding facilities across the country," said Rep. Sam Farr. "We've seen hundreds of dogs crammed into small cages with no exercise or social contact. If we allow such abuse of animals, it doesn't say anything good about our society."

WASHINGTON, D.C. -The Elkhorn Slough Foundation this week was awarded a grant for $562,880 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This is a supplemental grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in addition to $3.9 million received last July under ARRA. The additional funds will be used to complete the Elkhorn Slough Estuary restoration project.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced that the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability (ACBSA) will hold a meeting on June 10 and 11 to review the Food and Drug Administration's ban on blood donation by gay men.
The meeting is in response to language included by Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) in fiscal year 2009 House Appropriations legislation that called for workshops and additional communication between federal agencies, blood collection organizations and the public.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Friends of the Earth today released its annual report card on the cruise ship industry, and the results point toward the need for increased regulation of cruise ship pollution.
"We regulate water, sewage and pollution in our cities, but don't regulate cruise ships," said Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel). "And what are cruise ships if not small, floating cities? We must regulate how cruise ships dump their waste. We can't keep treating the ocean like a toilet and expect to continue exploiting resources forever. The ocean can't sustain that imbalance."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Hanna Seltz, a junior at Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School in Santa Cruz, is the winner of the local division of the 29th annual Congressional Art Competition. Her painting, titled "Buejuv, Zanzibar," was declared the winner on Monday at a judging ceremony at CSUMB.
Hanna wins two roundtrip tickets to Washington to attend a June 17 reception. She also wins a $1,500 renewable scholarship from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her painting will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) on Wednesday joined Congressman John Garamendi (D-Walnut Creek) in introducing the West Coast Ocean Protection Act, a bill that would instate a permanent moratorium on new offshore oil and natural gas drilling from platforms in federal waters off the West Coast.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) released the following statement in response to Arizona's immigration law forcing police to demand citizenship papers from anyone they suspect is in the country illegally:

"Arizona's new anti-immigrant law is a black eye for America and an embarrassment to all of us.

The immigration law recently signed into law gives local police the authority to demand papers from anyone they have "reasonable suspicion" is in the country illegally. If those papers can't be provided, they can be arrested on the spot.