Community Voices: Delivering real results for the Central Valley

Originally published in The Bakersfield Californian

On the eve of Independence Day, I voted to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — now signed into law — because it delivers long-overdue, meaningful victories for California’s 20th District and communities like ours across the country.

While some lawmakers have traded honest dialogue for extreme rhetoric, I want to take a moment to have a constructive policy conversation about what this bill actually does. This legislation addresses some of the most pressing needs facing the Central Valley by strengthening our economy, supporting agriculture and domestic manufacturing, delivering critical tax relief, making strategic investments in essential water and energy infrastructure, and ensuring the solvency of vital safety net programs.

First and foremost, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides tax relief for working families and small businesses. By making the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, this legislation provides Central Valley families with a historic tax cut, saving the average taxpayer in our district over $3,000 per year. It also locks in the 20% small business deduction under Section 199A, providing lasting relief to nearly 42,000 local small businesses. Not to mention, it restores and makes permanent full expensing for business investments — a proven incentive for economic growth.

This bill also empowers our agricultural community by increasing and making permanent the Death Tax exemption, ensuring over 3,200 local family farms and ranches can be passed down to the next generation. It invests $1 billion in water storage and conveyance projects, enabling drought-stricken states like California to make significant infrastructure improvements — including canals, reservoirs and groundwater recharge — to support our farmers who feed the nation.

It also expands agricultural trade and specialty crop programs. Beginning in 2027, the bill commits $285 million annually in the Supplemental Agricultural Trade Promotion Program. This will deliver a powerful return for Central Valley farmers, who are expected to generate $20 in export revenue for every $1 invested through initiatives like the Market Access Program. It also authorizes long-term funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, which is vital for our region as we produce a majority of the nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts.

Importantly, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminates most federal taxes on tips and overtime pay — a powerful boost for those in law enforcement, health care and service industries — and expands 529 education savings accounts to include career and technical training, providing students with more affordable pathways into skilled trades.

It also ensures the Central Valley remains a place working families can thrive by raising the Child Tax Credit to $2,200 and establishing $1,000 savings accounts for every eligible newborn. It also expands the Employer-Provided Childcare Credit and provides tax incentives to small businesses that offer childcare, helping to address one of the biggest barriers to workforce participation.

The bill takes long-overdue action to secure our nation’s safety net, strengthening the long-term solvency of Medicaid and SNAP through commonsense eligibility reforms, including work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents and improved accountability to ensure benefits go to those who qualify.

These reforms, which have been previously proposed by both Republican and Democratic Administrations, will ensure these resources remain available for those they are intended to serve: our most vulnerable Americans. It also establishes $50 billion in flexible funding through the Rural Transformation Program to help states improve rural healthcare access — including support for rural hospitals, primary care facilities and telehealth expansion.

Lesser-known provisions of this legislation streamline permitting reform to accelerate energy and infrastructure projects, invest in veterans’ health, and increase our military readiness. With the One Big Beautiful Bill now law, we will be able to cut red tape and improve environmental review timelines to boost domestic energy production and grid reliability, enhance care coordination and reduce backlogs at rural VA clinics, and modernize our Armed Forces with upgraded equipment and next-generation defense technologies.

While there is more I could write, it all boils down to this: We are building a stronger economy, a more competitive workforce, and a more affordable future. I came to Congress to deliver solutions, not soundbites, and this once-in-a-generation bill reflects that goal.

The One Big Beautiful Bill is a clear sign that real results are possible throughout the Central Valley and all of America.