Rep. McCarthy: New research on Valley Fever and it is time for the federal government to abandon California's high-speed rail

 House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy checks in with his weekly contribution to Bakersfield Observed. In his words:



 "Last week I held a Valley Fever Roundtable at the U.S. Capitol, bringing together Members of Congress, leading Valley Fever researchers, patient advocates, doctors, and scientists from the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). It was an excellent opportunity to bring together the brightest minds from around the country for an update on efforts to combat Valley Fever. This meeting also served as a chance to address the progress that has occurred and must continue in order to fight this disease.

"Doctors and scientists taking the lead are working diligently to develop a vaccine and I’m proud to report that an updated research study is being conducted by NIH, in partnership with Duke University, which will hopefully bring to light new solutions to stamp out Valley Fever. I’m thankful to all of our attendees and panelists, including Dr. Chiller (CDC), Dr. Erbelding (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH), Dr. Royce Johnson who is leading the fight back home at Kern Medical, and Rob Purdie who has been a passionate advocate at the Valley Fever Americas Foundation. Together we can continue building upon our successes while working to find new ways to stop this disease in its tracks.

 "This week I also introduced a new bill called the Repurposing Assets to Increase Long-term Water Availability and Yield (RAILWAY) Act. The RAILWAY Act would end the Federal government’s involvement in the failed California High-Speed Rail project by repurposing up to $3.5 billion in recovered Federal funding for the California High-Speed Speed Rail project to water storage infrastructure projects as outlined in the bipartisan WIIN Act. Under the WIIN Act, five storage projects in California are advancing, and when completed, could provide 5 million acre-feet of additional water storage in our state. This is a far better use of taxpayer money that can address more important needs in our state, and I’m happy to report that every Republican Member of the California Congressional Delegation joined served as cosponsors of the RAILWAY Act. We will continue fighting for Californians across our state.