| In a new letter to the editor, a Bakersfield resident is slamming Valadao for shrugging off the pain he’s caused for Central Valley families.
The voter calls out Valadao for backing “the Medicaid cuts he had promised to oppose,” in a district where “two of every three people… are enrolled in Medi-Cal.” That money instead went to “nearly tripl[ing] ICE’s yearly budget,” terrorizing “our farmworkers, the families in the next pew, the parents at our kids’ schools.” He also calls out Valadao for his votes for tariffs and to continue the reckless war in Iran skyrocketing gas prices.
“Think about what hits our families hardest: who gets detained, who keeps their healthcare, what it costs to fill the tank and cupboards. On all of it, [Valadao’s] answer this year has been a shrug.”
DCCC Spokesperson Anna Elsasser:
“Time and time again, David Valadao has proved he cares more about pleasing his party bosses than protecting the Central Valley. Valadao can try to downplay the harm he’s caused all he wants, but voters will remember and fire him in November.”
Read more:
Bakersfield.com: Community Voices: ‘It is what it is’ isn’t good enough for the valley
- At the Oct. 6 debate in Bakersfield, Rep. David Valadao was asked about immigration raids in the valley. He said, “Sadly, a lot of them do have a criminal record … A lot of social media and a lot of news portrays it otherwise, but it is what it is.”
- It isn’t. According to TRAC, the Syracuse University project that tracks federal immigration data, 70.6% of the 65,765 people held in ICE detention in July had no criminal conviction. Fewer than three in 10 had been convicted of a crime.
- That matters in a district where more than a quarter of residents were born in another country. They include our farmworkers, the families in the next pew, the parents at our kids’ schools.
- On July 3, 2025, Valadao voted for the so-called “Big Bill,” which nearly tripled ICE’s yearly budget from about $10 billion to roughly $28 billion. Asked at the debate whether he would vote for more, he said, “So yes, we’re going to fund the government.”
- We want secure borders, but we don’t want to treat farmworkers and others who have not been convicted of a crime like criminals.
- Asked about that ICE vote, Valadao changed the subject…
- …The Congressional Budget Office estimates [The Big, Ugly Bill] will reduce federal Medicaid spending by about $1.2 trillion. About two of every three people in this district are enrolled in Medi-Cal.
- In late February, before the war with Iran began, California gas averaged $4.44 a gallon. On Oct. 5 it was $6.34. A family filling a 15-gallon tank once a week pays about $28.50 more each time, roughly $1,480 a year. The Tax Foundation estimates tariffs will add another $820 per household on average this year.
- For most families in the 22nd, the new tax break is gone, and then some. Asked about gas prices, Valadao blamed Iran and Sacramento. His party runs the White House, the House and the Senate.
- …[Valadao] voted for the Medicaid cuts he had promised to oppose, against ending the tariffs on Canada and, twice, against limiting the war with Iran. On the Epstein files, he sided with party leaders six times to keep a vote off the floor, then voted yes once passage was certain. Asked at the debate to name a bill he had written to close the district’s poverty gap, he said, “Authoring is different, because I’m not the author of some of these bills.”
- Think about what hits our families hardest: who gets detained, who keeps their healthcare, what it costs to fill the tank and cupboards. On all of it, his answer this year has been a shrug.
- Valley families don’t get to say “it is what it is” when the rent comes due.
- We should expect more from the person we send to Washington.
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