Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Meeting via ZOOM
Minutes
Present: Megan Barajas, Deborah Barmack, Carole Beswick, Greg Bradbard, Mike Burrows, Mark Cloud, Ken Coate, Kevin Dyerly, Louis Goodwin, Otis Greer, T. Milford Harrison, Fran Inman, Mark Kaenel, Lena Kent, Lowell King, Pam Langford, Bill Lemann, Temetry Lindsey, Darcy McNaboe, Miguel Mendoza, Jacquelyn Mercado, John Mirau, Dan Murphy, Bansree Parikh, Catherine Pritchett, Thomas Rice, Karen Richmond, Michael Rivera, Dan Roberts, Elizabeth Romero, Dan Schenkel, Sol Teh, Pete Van Helden, Reggie Webb, Michael Wells, Ray Wolfe, Marisa Yeager, and Frank Zabaleta.
Announcements: 1) Staff requests assistance for obtaining appointments with Congress Members Mark Takano, Norma Torres and Judy Chu. Please contact Carole. Inland Action recognizes the difficult of obtaining Judiciary staff appointments as they will be busy with the new Supreme Court nominee. Staff will work to meet with these folks after the confirmation.
Lowell King, Chair presiding.
Motion by B. Leman/Second by T. Rice/Passed: Minutes from February 22, 2022.
Membership change for Inland Valley Development Agency (IVDA) and San Bernardino International Airport:
Motion by D. Rice/Second by T. Rice: Approve Catherine “Cat” Pritchett as the Primary representative for IVDA and Mike Burrows as the Alternate representative. Approve Mike Burrows to serve as Alternate representative for IVDA.
General guidelines for virtual advocacy were presented by Lowell King, Chair:
Please join meetings 15 minutes ahead of start time for any last-minute briefing. A reminder of our advocacy protocol:
- Restrict advocacy to the Inland Action approved platform. Inland Action membership represents a rich array of business, educational, and social segments of the community.
- We should remember, however, that Inland Action advocacy visits are to promote the adopted platform of the organization. Care should be taken to limit comments in the Inland Action meetings to those of the organization.
- Positions, issues, political advocacy, and distribution of materials by individual members, which is not part of the adopted Inland Action platform, should be directed to a private conversation or meeting outside the Inland Action forum.
Committee Chairs presented their issues as they would in a meeting with electeds.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- Urge bi-partisan support for H.R. 6602 (Aguilar-CA) the Affordable Housing Resident Services Act.
- Urge bi-partisan support for policies and bills that lead to lowering of fuel costs (gas prices).
- Acknowledge and thank you for selection of March Air Reserve Base as preferred destination for the KC‑46A Pegasus assignment and urge continued support until the tankers are officially located at March.
EDUCATION
- Support action to double the maximum Pell Grant Award to allow more Inland Empire students to complete college and earn degrees more quickly.
- Support ongoing investment to expand access to broadband technology for all Inland Empire students.
ENVIRONMENT
- Support Delta Conveyance Project.
- Support H.R. 4647 (Huffman-CA) and S. 2430 (Feinstein-CA) Water Conservation Rebate Tax Parity Act.
- Support H.R. 972 (Calvert-CA/Takano-CA)) – Western Riverside County Wildlife Refuge.
- Support broader habitat conservation planning
- Urge caution in consideration of legislation related to per- and polyfluoralkyl substances and support funding for monitoring and remediation.
- Support funding for continued management of the Salton Sea, including R. 3877 (Ruiz-CA) and S. 2693 (Padilla-CA).
HEALTH CARE
Urge immediate action to provide financial support for healthcare workers and hospitals which have been bearing the extreme expense of the public health emergency brought about by the pandemic, specifically:
- Requiring that Health and Human Services distribute remaining Provider Relief Funds immediately and that funding be replenished to ensure the long-term stability of hospitals.
- Continuing to block the 2% cut in Medicare payments to providers until the end of the public health emergency.
- Extending the deadline for hospitals to repay Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments short-term loans which are now coming due.
JUDICIARY
- Support appointment of qualified candidates to fill existing judicial vacancies in the Central District of California, especially in the Eastern Division of that court, serving the Inland Area.
- Urge the Inland Empire Congressional delegation to support immediate action to expand federal court facilities in the Eastern Division of the Central District of California.
- Support H.R. 4886 (Johnson-GA), the District Court Judgeships Act of 2021, which would authorize new judgeships to address urgent needs of the Eastern Division.
TRANSPORTATION
- Support Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding for critical Inland Empire projects.
- Highlight three global supply chain concerns for the ports of entry and the Inland Empire Region; i.e., loan guarantees, TIFIA/RIFIA administration, and regional impact.
The regular meeting adjourned at 8:42 a.m.
The Executive Committee was asked to remain. Staff summarized and discussed the revised advocacy calendar that was e-mailed Monday, February 28th. Committees will have two regular IA meetings to work on State issues before our advocacy on Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Meeting adjourned at 8:50 a.m.