Outgoing Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) left. Former San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos right.

Friday, May 18, 2012 – 10:00 a.m.

The sauce pan is simmering in the race for San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor.

The three-way race consisting of Supervisor Neil Derry, Former Twenty-Nine Palms City Councilman Jim Bagley and Former San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos is heating up heading into the home stretch to the June 5th primary.

Read the rest of this entry »

Congressman Gary Miller

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 04/23/2012 08:27:17 PM PDT

Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, and several other inland legislators are asking the Federal Housing Finance Agency to stay out of Southern California while testing a pilot program in which foreclosures would be sold in bulk to institutional investors.

Read the rest of this entry »

STAFF REPORTS
Published: 23 March 2012 07:29 PM

State lawmakers had a debate last week about nothing.

Nothing, as in the contents of some six-dozen sparsely worded “spot,” or shell, bills that someday will contain hundreds of pages of legislation implementing California’s 2012-13 budget.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

BY JAN SEARS
STAFF WRITER
jsears@pe.com

Published: 15 March 2012 07:43 PM

Congressman Jerry Lewis, in one of his first speeches in his hometown since announcing his retirement, talked Thursday about some of his proudest accomplishments in his 47-year career.

They involved earmarks, he said, acknowledging that such federal spending to benefit specific projects has since come under criticism.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 03/01/2012 06:19:58 PM PST

The Inland Empire’s loss of two longtime members of Congress may mean a slowdown in federal funding and projects for the region.

Reps. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, and David Dreier, R-San Dimas, have both announced they will not seek re-election after each spending more than 30 years representing their Southern California districts in Congress.

Read the rest of this entry »

Supervisor Neil Derry left. Congressman Gary Miller right.

Thursday, February 16, 2012 – 04:30 p.m.

San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry captured another sizeable endorsement on Thursday.

Congressman Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar) has given Derry his backing.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 02/02/2012 05:36:15 PM PST

Fundraising data for Rep. David Dreier, D-San Dimas, from the last quarter of last year suggests he’s likely to retire this year, according to local political experts.

The Federal Election Commission database reports Dreier collected only $10,160 in campaign contributions in the period from October to December. The figure is paltry compared with the $207,450 received in the same period in 2003, and the $137,600 in 2009.

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Looming retirements, especially of the Inland area’s Rep. Jerry Lewis, could leave the region without political heft for years

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 22 January 2012 08:39 PM

WASHINGTON — When Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis leaves office at the end of the year, he’ll take with him one attribute that none of his potential successors can promise to replicate: seniority.

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Dr. Jerry Slater in a treatment room of the gantry at the Proton Treatment Center at Loma Linda University Medical Center on 6/21/06. The university has been a major recipiant of money earmarked by Rep. Jerry Lewis. (kurt miller/ the press enteprise)/KURT MILLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 13 January 2012 08:28 PM

Four-year-old Jerry Lewis was standing at the back window of the small San Bernardino house where his family lived. There was water everywhere.

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Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/13/2012 07:42:42 PM PST

When Rep. Jerry Lewis retires, he’ll apparently have at least one admirer on the other side of the aisle.

Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, said that they’ve had disagreements over the Dream Act and on immigration issues, but he and Lewis found common ground on many issues that pertain to the area.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, works the phones in this 2005 photo. Lewis, who has represented a Southern California district in Congress for more than 30 years, will not seek re-election in 2012, he announced Thursday./AP

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 12 January 2012 10:17 PM

U.S. Rep. Jerry Lewis, the dean of California’s House Republicans who was both celebrated and criticized for the hundreds of millions of federal dollars he sent to his Inland district, said Thursday he would retire after more than three decades in Congress.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

Neil Nisperos and Joe Nelson, Staff Writers
Posted: 01/12/2012 10:24:20 AM PST

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, announced his retirement on Thursday, after 46 years in elected office and 33 years representing San Bernardino and Riverside counties in Congress.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Richard Simon and Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times
January 13, 2012

The retirement of Rep. Jerry Lewis, dean of the California House GOP, marks the sixth and most significant departure from Congress in the wake of a new redistricting plan, portending a dramatic shake-up of the state’s delegation.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, January 12, 2012 – 05:30 p.m.

Whew…..

Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) has finally announced he won’t seek another term in the republican-controlled House of Representatives.

An expected move based on the congressman’s recent indecision.

Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. Representative Jerry Lewis, (R) 41st District spoke during a Town Hall on Health Care Reform held at the IEHP Building in San Bernardino , Aug. 2009. (File photo)

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/10/2012 10:25:35 AM PST

Two San Bernardino County lawmakers said Tuesday they are planning to seek the Republican nomination to run for Congress in one of two newly-drawn districts, although in at least one case, plans depend on whether longtime Rep. Jerry Lewis retires or seeks reelection.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 09 January 2012 09:29 PM

WASHINGTON — The field of Democratic candidates for California’s new 31st Congressional District is quickly solidifying, but potential GOP candidates appear to be awaiting a decision from incumbent Rep. Jerry Lewis before entering what is certain to be a high-profile race for the seat.

Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield

BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.co

Published: 09 January 2012 08:26 PM

SACRAMENTO — Republicans are well-positioned to win two newly drawn congressional swing seats in Inland Southern California this fall, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy said Monday.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lawmakers will take on legislation sure to please most constituents and unlikely to alienate many at election time

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
ben.goad@yahoo.com

Published: 08 January 2012 08:26 PM

WASHINGTON — Entering a contentious 2012 election season, Congress isn’t expected to tackle many of the nation’s most divisive issues.

Inland lawmakers hope to take advantage of the void left by shelved debates over immigration reform, health care, climate change and other battles by pressing forward with less controversial legislation focused on improving the region.

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Redistricting and the state’s new primary system are shaking up Inland congressional election scenarios

BY BEN GOAD AND JIM MILLER
STAFF WRITERS
bgoad@pe.com | jmiller@pe.com

Published: 27 December 2011 09:10 PM

WASHINGTON — Days away from a pivotal election year, Inland Southern California’s congressional races are beginning to take shape.

The region is seen as a vital battleground between Republicans, who have long dominated traditionally conservative Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and Democrats, who want to pick up some of the 25seats they need to wrest control of the House from the GOP.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kristina Hernandez, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/17/2011 05:03:29 PM PST

REDLANDS – The Occupy Movement made its way to Congressman Jerry Lewis’s office on Saturday to express its concerns over the lack of communication the politician has had with people.

Read the rest of this entry »

Friday, December 16, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, December 17, 2011 – 10:39 a.m.

A $10 million Federal Highway Administration grant to the city of Highland is no more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona./The Press-Enterprise

The region’s politicians in Washington are split along partisan lines about how to extend tax cuts and jobless aid
BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU

bgoad@pe.com

Published: 13 December 2011 08:28 PM

WASHINGTON — As the debate over extending a soon-to-expire payroll tax cut and benefits for the unemployed nears a crescendo in Congress, few corners of the nation have more at stake than does economically battered Inland Southern California.

Read the rest of this entry »

ROLL CALL REPORT SYNDICATE
Published: 03 December 2011 05:25 PM

Here is how area members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending Dec. 2.

HOUSE

RULES FOR UNION ELECTIONS: Voting 235 for and 188 against, the House on Nov. 30 passed a Republican bill (HR 3094) to block a proposed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule to quicken the pace of union elections. Now before the Senate, the bill targets a labor-relations rule that could take effect by year’s end. Under the rule, elections on whether to form into a collective-bargaining unit could be held as soon as 10 days after the NLRB certifies the election petition. The bill would require a wait of at least 35 days to give employers more time to attempt to persuade workers to reject unionization, and it would give employers more say in determining which workers are eligible for the bargaining unit.

Read the rest of this entry »

Issa

FROM STAFF REPORTS
Published: 27 November 2011 07:24 PM

Once again, Inland Rep. Darrell Issa has been placed atop a list of the richest members of Congress.

Issa, R-Vista, whose invention of the Viper car alarm helped him amass a fortune, is worth at least $195 million and possibly more than $700 million, according to a report released this month by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Read the rest of this entry »

Neil Nisperos and Benjamin Demers, Staff Writers
Posted: 11/26/2011 06:05:56 AM PST

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series looking at the newly redrawn Inland Empire legislative districts. Today, the new-look congressional districts.

California’s redrawn lines for the House of Representatives may result in some longtime lawmakers from the region facing tough re-election campaigns.

Read the rest of this entry »

Customers are few at ticket counters inside Terminal 4 at Ontario International Airport.

BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com

Published: 21 November 2011 09:44 PM

Two Inland congressmen, fed up with the increasingly empty terminals at Ontario International Airport, on Monday asked U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for help.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dreier

Sunday, November 13, 2011 – 01:00 p.m.

All the wild speculation continues in regards to who will run to replace Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), should he retire.

Read the rest of this entry »

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C./BLOOMBERG

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 04 November 2011 07:58 PM

WASHINGTON — Inland Southern California’s reshaped political landscape figures prominently in congressional Democrats’ plans to take back the House in 2012, party leaders said Friday.

Read the rest of this entry »

Close to 7,000 Inland jobs could hang in the balance as the government “supercommittee” works to avert deep, automatic cuts to the nation’s defense industry and operations.

BEN GOAD
STAFF WRITER
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 31 October 2011 05:17 PM

WASHINGTON — Close to 7,000 Inland jobs could hang in the balance as the House-Senate “supercommittee” works against time to avert deep, automatic cuts to the nation’s defense industry and operations.

Read the rest of this entry »

Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Published: 30 October 2011 08:05 PM

The California Supreme Court felt otherwise, but part of the unsuccessful court challenge to the Citizens Redistricting Commission’s state Senate plan centered on complaints about what the maps do in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Read the rest of this entry »

McEachron

October 19, 2011 11:08 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs
Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE • Mayor Ryan McEachron has formed a campaign finance committee to run for Congress in 2012, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Read the rest of this entry »

Members of the House subcommittee on water and power hear testimony on a controversial federal ruling to expand critical habitat for the Santa Ana sucker fish. Critics say the expansion will harm the region’s economy. From left to right are Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay, and Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands. (Neil Nisperos Staff)

Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/18/2011 03:37:38 PM PDT

HIGHLAND – The federal government’s protection of a threatened fish could be catastrophic for the Inland Empire, critics told members of the House Subcommittee on Water and Power on Tuesday.

Read the rest of this entry »

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com
Published: 17 October 2011 08:04 PM

WASHINGTON — Incumbents outpaced challengers in fundraising efforts in the third quarter , as candidates in the freshly redrawn set of Inland congressional districts amassed their war chests in advance of the 2012 elections, new campaign finance reports show.

Read the rest of this entry »

Renea Wickman

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 13 October 2011 06:13 PM

Nonprofit founder Renea Wickman filed papers this week to run for Congress in California’s newly drawn 31st District.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

Monday, October 3, 2011 – 05:45 a.m.

Could U.S. Representative Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) be pulling the plug.

It looks like this could be the case.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2011, 11:34 am by GottaLaff

A reader linked me to this fascinating article, along with the question, “Is this the House GOP’s Solyndra?” Maybe Darrell Issa should investigate California Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis, former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Read the rest of this entry »

John Tavaglione

Political Empire

10:00 PM PDT on Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Press-Enterprise

Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione already is gearing up for his congressional bid in a new district centered on Riverside and Moreno Valley.

Read the rest of this entry »

Cassie MacDuff

10:00 PM PDT on Friday, September 9, 2011

Cassie MacDuff

When a grand jury report criticized inadequate oversight at San Bernardino International Airport, officials fought back with positive publicity.

Newspaper ads touted a study showing public and private investment at the former Norton Air Force Base has created 9,355 jobs, generated $500 million in payroll and produced $1.2 billion in economic activity.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, September 3, 2011

LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY

Loma Linda University Department of Physiology and Pharmacology welcomed Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Ca., on Thursday. Lewis was led on a tour of the neuroscience and biochemistry laboratories by department professor Dr. John Zhang to see the active joint efforts of clinical and basic neuroscientists at LLU. Their research has helped enhance physician training, improve patient care and power local science, health, and economic growths.

Read the rest of this entry »

By PE Politics
September 1, 2011 7:52 AM

Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis is staying mum on a decision that holds major implications for congressional incumbents and hopefuls around Southern California: if, and where, he’ll seek an 18th term in Washington.

Read the rest of this entry »

Staff Report
Posted: 08/31/2011 06:13:01 PM PDT

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, was in Hesperia on Wednesday to help break ground on the city’s largest transportation project.

Read the rest of this entry »

Derry

Monday, August 29, 2011 – 03:15 p.m.

It was just announced that State Assemblyman and Tea Party loyalist Tim Donnelly (R-Twin Peaks) has thrown his support behind San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rutherford

Monday, August 29, 2011 – 07:00 a.m.

San Bernardino County Second District Supervisor Janice Rutherford has been on a roll lately.

Rutherford has been trying to operate from a political and ethics reform stance since her election last year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Redistricting has placed Republican Rep. David Dreier’s home in a new Latino-majority district where Republican John McCain won just 33% in the 2008 presidential election. (Francine Orr, Los Angeles Times)

By Richard Simon, Los Angeles Times
August 28, 2011, 9:41 p.m.

Reporting from Washington— David Dreier, who chairs the House Rules Committee, has a seat at the GOP leadership table, helping set his party’s legislative and political agenda. He has hobnobbed with all kinds of figures, from Afghan President Hamid Karzai to Tommy Lasorda, in his spiffy Capitol office.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, August 20, 2011

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Newly certified congressional lines place two of Inland Southern California’s political heavyweights in the same district, potentially setting the stage for a high-stakes brawl to decide who is top dog in San Bernardino County.

Call it the Battle for Berdoo, the Muscoy Melee, the Rumble in Rialto.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, August 18, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.

InlandPolitics.com would like to thank our readers for their continued support. The site has picked up after a slow news period during the summer vacation period.

The blog is once again heading for record territory.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

Friday, August 12, 2011 – 09:30 a.m.

San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos, a democrat, trumps his endorsement of U.S. Representative Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands).

Woooo…..Hooo…….

Yes, it’s certainly a game changer in Ramos’ bid for a seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.

Read the rest of this entry »

By MOLLY DAVIS Staff Writer
Posted: 08/11/2011 04:20:41 PM PDT

REDLANDS – Asking for things like “jobs, not cuts,” a group of about 20 protesters gathered outside of Congressman Jerry Lewis’ Redlands office Wednesday.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

By PE Politics
August 11, 2011 7:23 AM

Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis is backing San Manuel tribal chief and a San Bernardino Valley Community College District trustee James Ramos in his bid for a seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, Ramos’ campaign announced.

Read the rest of this entry »

By PE Politics
August 9, 2011 1:59 PM

Gregg Imus, a conservative Republican from Lake Arrowhead, said Tuesday he would run for a proposed congressional seat representing portions of San Bernardino, Inyo and Mono counties.

Read the rest of this entry »

Committee urges fixes to proposal
Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 08/09/2011 09:32:13 PM PDT

An alternate redistricting map for a large portion of western San Bernardino County, proposed by the local Democratic Central Committee, envisions lines that supporters say would help maintain minority voter clout and retain significant influence on federal funds for the area.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino Staff Writer
Posted: 07/29/2011 06:57:10 PM PDT

The Citizens Redistricting Commission on Friday voted to adopt the state’s new political boundaries, sealing its decision to bind the fate of two longtime congressmen.

Read the rest of this entry »

July 29, 2011 5:50 PM
Don Holland

Brand-new congressional district boundaries sent a shock through the High Desert on Friday as longtime congressmen Jerry Lewis and Howard “Buck” McKeon were “re-districted” out of the Victor Valley, setting the stage for local politicians to jockey for the open congressional seat.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 18, 2011

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – Inland Southern California’s congressional incumbents are busy amassing their war chests for a 2012 election season filled with uncertainty, federal campaign finance reports show.

Read the rest of this entry »

Molly Davis, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/22/2011 06:45:35 PM PDT

REDLANDS – Local officials are voicing concern over a plan to divide the city between two congressional districts.

Read the rest of this entry »

By PE Politics
June 16, 2011 8:24 AM

San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos said this week he would await Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis’ decision on whether to seek re-election before assessing his own political future.

Read the rest of this entry »

By James Rufus Koren Staff Writer
Posted: 06/10/2011 09:42:17 PM PDT

After months of meetings and public input, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission on Friday released a first draft of what California’s new Assembly, Senate and Congressional districts could look like.

Read the rest of this entry »

In time of spending cuts, some House staffers cash in
James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/05/2011 09:26:39 PM PDT

Late last year, while many members of Congress were promising to cut federal spending, some House members were handing out large bonuses to their staffs.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, June 4, 2011

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – Congressional earmarks may be dead for the moment, but that isn’t stopping individual lawmakers from requesting federal funding for their favorite programs.

Read the rest of this entry »

By PE Politics
June 1, 2011 12:40 PM

Inland Southern California’s five-member House delegation voted last night against a measure to lift the nation’s national debt ceiling.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Friday, May 6, 2011

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – Inland Southern California’s congressional members don’t know what their districts will look like when a state panel finishes drawing new political lines.

But that isn’t stopping most of them from launching aggressive fundraising efforts in advance of what is expected to be a wild 2012 election season.

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo Credit: AP

10:41 PM PDT on Wednesday, May 4, 2011

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – In the end, it was a surgical raid by an elite special-forces unit — not a strike from a Predator drone — that took out Osama bin Laden. But on the heels of the United States’ biggest victory yet in the decade-old war on terror, lawmakers say the unmanned spy and attack plane has been a cornerstone of efforts to seek out and destroy the nation’s enemies.

Read the rest of this entry »

April 13, 2011 5:31 PM
From Staff Reports

WASHINGTON • High Desert congressmen took aim at President Barack Obama’s call Wednesday for higher taxes and spending plan that fails to address the key causes of federal deficits.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PST on Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Press-Enterprise

As a new independent panel prepares to draw new political lines and congressional districts in time for the 2012 elections, a pair of veteran Inland House members are already sparring over the possibility they could be fighting over a seat.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Molly Davis Staff Writer
Posted: 02/25/2011 05:09:55 PM PST

REDLANDS – Dozens of citizens came out to protest Rep. Jerry Lewis’ support of Republican-proposed cuts to the federal budget.

MoveOn.org, a national political action group, organized protests around the country Thursday. In Redlands, about 35 people came out to speak against Lewis’ support, according to protest organizer Zoe Lane.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Jerry Lewis

11:14 PM PST on Sunday, February 20, 2011

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – Jerry Lewis was on a roll.

California’s most veteran House Republican was back in the majority. The criminal investigation that dogged him for years finally ended without charges. And the powerful chairmanship of the panel that controls the government’s purse strings seemed to be within his reach.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

February 14, 2011 5:52 PM
FROM STAFF REPORTS

WASHINGTON • President Barak Obama’s proposed federal budget would double the national debt to $26.3 trillion in 10 years, sparking opposition from fiscal conservatives.

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, said while the president has called for reducing deficits, the reality is this budget would cause the biggest deficit in history at $1.65 trillion and result in many more years of trillion-dollar deficits.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

Jason Abbott, Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 – 08:00 p.m.

Is Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis looking to retire?

According to Washington, DC-based website Politico.com, the 17-term member of the House of Representatives from Redlands may indeed be on his way out of Congress.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

By PE Politics
on January 7, 2011 1:07 PM

House Republicans on Friday announced key leadership positions within the powerful House Appropriations Committee. And while Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis lost his race for the committee’s top spot, he’ll get to be second in command on five of the panel’s 12 subcommittees as “chairman emeritus.”

Read the rest of this entry »

By Michael Doyle
mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com
Published: Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1A

WASHINGTON – Bakersfield is in, the Bay Area is out. But California as a whole could hold its own in the new Congress that starts Wednesday.

The shifting Capitol Hill currents are summed up in the demotion of soon-to-be former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the ascension of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, as the next House majority whip.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PST on Thursday, December 23, 2010

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – Inland Southern California’s Republican House members are poised for action once their party takes control of the chamber next month.

Last month’s Election Day landslide delivered the GOP a comfortable House majority and, they say, a mandate to shrink government, slash federal spending and begin the work of undoing key initiatives undertaken by the Obama administration, including the sweeping health care law passed earlier this year.

Read the rest of this entry »

By PE Politics
on December 17, 2010 8:24 AM

Inland Southern California’s congressional delegation voted early this morning to extend for two years a set of Bush-era tax cuts that had been scheduled to expire on New Year’s Eve.

The bill passed just after midnight by a tally of 277-148, and now heads to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it into law as early as today.

Read the rest of this entry »

James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Created: 12/13/2010 05:01:46 PM PST

A tax plan that would put money in the pockets of most American workers moved forward in the U.S. Senate Monday, bringing the prospect of continued tax cuts and additional benefits one step closer to reality.

The plan, a compromise between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans, would extend the income tax cuts approved in 2001 and 2003, extend federal unemployment benefits and give workers an additional payroll tax break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Created: 12/07/2010 04:01:41 PM PST

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, will not reprise his role as chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee in the coming session of Congress.

A Republican congressional committee instead chose Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., to lead the committee. Rogers’ selection must be confirmed by the rest of the House Republican caucus, but Lewis said Tuesday he looks forward to working with Rogers over the next two years.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lewis

By PE Politics
on December 6, 2010 1:26 PM

PDF: Read Tea Party leader’s letter of support for Jerry Lewis.

Throughout his campaign for the coveted chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee, Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis has repeatedly insisted that he has support from the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement. Now he has it in writing from one leader of a national Tea Party group.

Read the rest of this entry »