{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/news-schiff-padilla-huffman-and-panetta-lead-california-lawmakers-in-push-to-end-politically-motivated-attack-on-californias-ability-to-protect-coastline/", "NEWS: Schiff, Padilla, Huffman, and Panetta Lead California Lawmakers in Push to End Politically Motivated Attack on California\u2019s Ability to Protect Coastline", "2026-08-21", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Adam B. Schiff", "S001150", "www.schiff.senate.gov", "schiff", "https://www.schiff.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "Lawmakers write: \u201cSecretary Lutnick\u2019s threat to revoke California\u2019s program approval and Federal funding for failure to obediently comply with the Department\u2019s prioritization of its favorite projects is contrary to 50 years of cooperative state and Federal relationships \u2013 and blatantly illegal.\u201d\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) and U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-Calif.-02) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.-19) are leading 29 colleagues in condemning the administration\u2019s recent decision to initiate a formal review of California\u2019s coastal management program under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) \u2013 emphasizing their ideologically driven intent to trample on states\u2019 rights and jeopardize California\u2019s shoreline.\n\n\u201cThis extraordinary federal review which singles out California is based upon a thinly veiled and non-evidential argument. It is an attempt to curb our state\u2019s federally approved authority to evaluate offshore energy, infrastructure, and commercial activities. We ask that if you proceed with this review, you commit to respecting states\u2019 rights and cooperative federalism as is consistent with the CZMA,\u201d the lawmakers wrote in a new letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Neil Jacobs.\n\nThe CZMA authorizes California\u2019s ability to preserve and manage its coastline \u2013 giving the state the power to review and approve of projects impacting the coastal zone in coordination with the federal government. For 50 years, California and NOAA have successfully worked together to mitigate the effects of coastal projects on California\u2019s coastal ecosystems and economy.\n\nThe lawmakers rebut U.S. Department of Commerce\u2019s Howard Lutnick\u2019s claim that \u201cCalifornia has repeatedly obstructed spaceport development in bad faith,\u201d and that California\u2019s objections were \u201cunfounded.\u201d\n\n\u201cComplementing this strong record is the reality that California is the world\u2019s fourth largest economy, home to Silicon Valley, 400 unicorn startups, unmatched high-tech enterprise, world-renowned research institutions. California\u2019s global leadership in research and innovation supports a coastal economy that attracts visitors and entrepreneurs from all over the world and positions us as the nation\u2019s leading agricultural state. California contributes nearly $700 billion to the federal government, which is $83 billion more than it receives. Each dollar invested in California\u2019s coastal management creates important returns for the rest of the United States. Simply put, far from obstructing innovation and economic development, California\u2019s success subsidizes the success of the nation,\u201d the lawmakers continued.\n\n\u201cIf NOAA chooses to proceed with its review under these patently misinformed and unreasonable circumstances and decides California should no longer manage a coastal zone program, the State will lose the ability to collaborate with the federal government on effective and responsible project development, to offer meaningful mitigation measures for coastal development projects, or to access federal financial opportunities that support the protection and security of America\u2019s Pacific Coast\u2026Both California and NOAA should share a strong interest in ensuring federal projects in America\u2019s coastal areas have minimal impacts on the environment and fisheries, promote responsible economic development, and guarantee national security,\u201d the lawmakers concluded.\n\nIn addition to Schiff, Padilla, Huffman, and Panetta the letter is signed by U.S. Representatives Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.-33), Nanette Barrag\u00e1n (D-Calif.-44), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.-26), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.-24), Judy Chu (D-Calif.-28), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.-31), Lou Correa (D-Calif.-46), Laura Friedman (D-Calif.-30), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.-42), John Garamendi (D-Calif.-08), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.-51), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.-37), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.-18), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.-17), Mike Levin (D-Calif.-49), Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.-16), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.-36), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.-07), Dave Min (D-Calif.-47), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.-15), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.-11), Scott Peters (D-Calif.-50), Luz Rivas (D-Calif.-29), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.-12), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.-04), Norma Torres (D-Calif.-35), Derek Tran (D-Calif.-45), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.-52), and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.-43).\n\nThe full text of the letter can be found hereand below.\n\nDear Administrator Jacobs:\n\nWe write to express our strong opposition to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s (NOAA) out-of-cycle performance evaluation of the California Coastal Management Program (CCMP) undertaken just one year after the previous evaluation was completed. This unprecedented review threatens to disrupt 48 years of successful coordination between the State of California and the federal government to protect California\u2019s coast. The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) relies on a robust, voluntary partnership between federal and state governments to ensure that all coastal development projects are carried out thoughtfully, prudently, and in alignment with both the state\u2019s priorities and the goals of the law. This extraordinary federal review which singles out California is based upon a thinly veiled and non-evidential argument. It is an attempt to curb our state\u2019s federally approved authority to evaluate offshore energy, infrastructure, and commercial activities. We ask that if you proceed with this review, you commit to respecting states\u2019 rights and cooperative federalism as is consistent with the CZMA.\n\nThe purpose of the CZMA is to require collaboration between participating coastal states and the federal government to further both preservation and development goals and \u201cto achieve wise use of the land and water resources of the coastal zone.\u201d (16 USC 1452(2)). California has advanced this purpose by carefully reviewing, seeking to improve where appropriate, and ultimately approving the vast majority of projects impacting its coastal zone.\n\nFor this reason, it is strange that in a letter from Commerce Secretary Lutnick to the National Economic Council, the Secretary inexplicably claims that \u201cCalifornia has repeatedly obstructed spaceport development in bad faith\u201d without any evidence in support of this and that California has a \u201clong record of obstructing technological innovation, economic development, and related Federal efforts in the name of environmental extremism.\u201d Both of these statements can be easily contradicted with facts.\n\nThe record of California\u2019s regulatory decisions over the past few decades shows the State disapproved of only one desalination project out of several dozen, objected to just two space launch activities out of 135, and disapproved of exactly zero undersea cable and pipeline repair and maintenance projects. In fact, of the 3,700 projects the California Coastal Commission has reviewed under the CZMA since 1978, fully 96% of them have been approved by the Commission either outright or with environmentally beneficial modifications that advanced the Act\u2019s twin goals of preservation and development. This reality plainly contradicts Secretary Lutnick\u2019s allegation of obstructionism.\n\nCalifornia has a long history of approving space launch projects and, as mentioned above, has only rejected two of 135 space launch and aerospace projects under its review since 1980. The Coastal Commission attributed its decision-making in these two cases to noise pollution, the potential for sonic booms, disruption of wildlife, and the fact that the applicant, SpaceX, provided insufficient information about its proposed Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Thus, California\u2019s objections were not \u201cunfounded,\u201d as Secretary Lutnick\u2019s press statement claimed.\n\nMoreover, it is important to note that the CZMA does not grant a participating state veto power to block a federal project. If a state objects, the CZMA offers the Secretary of Commerce the opportunity to override a state\u2019s objection when appropriate. In the case of the only two spaceport projects to which California objected, despite California\u2019s clear explanation of its concerns, the federal government proceeded with the projects anyway without working through the issues California raised. As both the State and federal government acted within their rights in accordance with the law, this again calls the review of California\u2019s program into question.\n\nComplementing this strong record is the reality that California is the world\u2019s fourth largest economy, home to Silicon Valley, 400 unicorn startups, unmatched high-tech enterprise, world-renowned research institutions. California\u2019s global leadership in research and innovation supports a coastal economy that attracts visitors and entrepreneurs from all over the world and positions us as the nation\u2019s leading agricultural state. California contributes nearly $700 billion to the federal government, which is $83 billion more than it receives. Each dollar invested in California\u2019s coastal management creates important returns for the rest of the United States. Simply put, far from obstructing innovation and economic development, California\u2019s success subsidizes the success of the nation.\n\nSecretary Lutnick\u2019s threat to revoke California\u2019s program approval and Federal funding for failure to obediently comply with the Department\u2019s prioritization of its favorite projects is contrary to 50 years of cooperative state and Federal relationships \u2013 and blatantly illegal. Even the first Trump Administration\u2019s NOAA plainly stated in 2019 that NOAA lacks the authority to revoke a state program approval for failing to implement newly imposed Federal policies. The first Trump Administration acknowledged:\n\nNOAA does not have authority to require a state to make a change to state law or its coastal management program, except in limited circumstances if a state is not adhering to its NOAA-approved coastal management program. [NOAA Coastal Zone Management Act Program Change Procedures Final Rule, Federal Register at 38120-38121 (August 6, 2019)].\n\nCalifornia\u2019s compliance with its own program is what NOAA can review \u2013 not whether California is complying with the current President\u2019s Executive Orders or the current Secretary of Commerce\u2019s insistence on his two favorite projects.\n\nSecretary Lutnick\u2019s letter misses this point that the CZMA as established by Congress, which is \u201cto preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to restore or enhance, the resources of the Nation\u2019s coastal zone for this and succeeding generations.\u201d (16 USC 1452(1)). The CZMA is not about rushing through specific development projects. Instead, it exits to establish a coherent framework to both protect and develop the coast, preserving its essential nature \u201cfor this and succeeding generations.\u201d\n\nCalifornia has fully complied with the CZMA\u2019s goals by coherent planning of preservation and development activities that have built up a \u201cblue economy\u201d valued at $51 billion of tourism, fishing and aquaculture, shipping and coastal recreation. We Californians cherish our magnificent coast, and the robust economic activity it generates depends upon advancing developments that will enhance rather than damage the coast\u2019s value. As part of the coherent management of our coastal resources, for decades Californians have consistently opposed new oil and gas drilling, because just one oil spill could destroy our vibrant $51 billion coastal economy. Our position on new offshore drilling is in no way inconsistent with the CZMA. Quite to the contrary, it is part and parcel of the coherent regulatory framework that CZMA demands to both preserve and develop the state\u2019s coastal economy in a manner that benefits this and future generations.\n\nFundamental to the CZMA is the understanding that the country\u2019s interests are best served when the federal government works in collaboration, rather than in direct conflict, with state costal management programs. If NOAA chooses to proceed with its review under these patently misinformed and unreasonable circumstances and decides California should no longer manage a coastal zone program, the State will lose the ability to collaborate with the federal government on effective and responsible project development, to offer meaningful mitigation measures for coastal development projects, or to access federal financial opportunities that support the protection and security of America\u2019s Pacific Coast.\n\nFor all the reasons above, we express our strong opposition to decertification of California\u2019s coastal program or withholding of financial assistance. Both California and NOAA should share a strong interest in ensuring federal projects in America\u2019s coastal areas have minimal impacts on the environment and fisheries, promote responsible economic development, and guarantee national security. We must work together to accomplish these objectives. In this spirit, we thank you for your consideration of this letter and ask that if you decide to proceed that you fairly review California\u2019s coastal zone management program based on its full record of regulatory approvals and in accordance with the CZMA\u2019s mandate for consistent implementation of a state\u2019s chosen management program to achieve wise use of its coastal resources.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-23T05:27:15Z", "2026-08-23T05:29:02Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/news-schiff-padilla-huffman-and-panetta-lead-california-lawmakers-in-push-to-end-politically-motivated-attack-on-californias-ability-to-protect-coastline/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5821969136595726, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}