U.S. Senator Adam Schiff of California is a leading member of the Democratic Party and an outspoken critic of the Trump Administration. He visited Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties earlier this week.
In an interview with KCLU News, he discussed major issues the nation is facing, such as the war with Iran.
"It's very difficult to figure out what's the path forward when you begin a war, as this administration did, without a clear plan for what their objective would be, what their end game would be," said Schiff. "It's very tough to tell how this ends...how we bring about an end. We do not want a situation where Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz. That would be intolerable. We don't want a situation where they can charge tolls. That was unthinkable before the war, but now Iran may have a sense they can get away with it. We also don't want to have this new, perhaps even worse regime clamp down on the Iranian people."
Schiff added that what the Trump administration has done with Iran is unlawful.
"What is so galling about this is that we were not attacked by Iran, and there was not an imminent threat of attack. The president had bombed Iran only nine months earlier and said their nuclear program had been obliterated. I suspect that part of it was the President having the military force in Venezuela, and being able to quickly capture (Venezuelan President Nicolás) Maduro; he felt intoxicated by that use of military power, and thought that Iran would be like Venezuela. But, Iran is not Venezuela."
Schiff maintained that the war with Iran is making an already rocky economic situation worse.
"People have already seen gas prices go up by 50%. I'm not okay with that. I think most Americans are not okay with that. People are struggling to fill up their tank, get to work, transport goods, pay the price of that added fuel to get on an airplane...none of that is okay. This was a President who campaigned on not engaging in more wars, as being the president who was going to end wars, and also campaigned on the cost of living, and we're seeing the cost of living go through the roof."
Schiff also talked about the ongoing oil controversy with oil production in Santa Barbara County, in which Sable Offshore Corporation used a presidential order to restart the use of a pipeline that ruptured in 2015.
The order allowed Sable to bypass local and state regulators, who hadn't signed off on the pipeline's restart. The Trump administration invoked the Defense Production Act, a 1950s-era law that allows a president to bypass regulations during an emergency to order the production of essential materials. California is challenging the order in court.
"Here's a perfect summary of just how absurd the situation is," explained Schiff. "In Morro Bay, the administration intervenes to kill a wind power project. They're paying that company taxpayer dollars to stop producing wind energy, so long as they promise to put their money into an oil project instead. Here (with Sable), they're overriding the state, overriding the concerns of residents that we could have another spill like we did with that pipeline before. Were (the Trump Administration) is going to override those concerns to again give favors to the oil industry."
Does he think there could be any relief legislatively, given there is a Republican President who set the stage for Sable's restart, and a Republican controlled Congress?
"I think legislatively, it would be very difficult, said Schiff. "The Republicans in Congress seem to be all in on not an 'all of the above' strategy on energy, but an oil-only strategy. Right now, litigation is probably the only remedy. I'm not sure anything can pass legislatively in this Congress, but with an election coming up in November, I think the majority is likely to switch."
Schiff also visited a farm in Camarillo, where he outlined his stance on the Senate version of a new farm bill. He said his priorities include saving and restoring some threatened nutrition programs, which are vital to people in need and small and medium sized fams, which help supply nutritious crops.
