Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24) visited Direct Relief’s new distribution center and offices on Tuesday to receive a briefing about the newly opened facility and Direct Relief’s activities, which have expanded significantly over the past year. That expansion has occurred in response to both ongoing health needs and large-scale emergencies globally, as well as across California and in Direct Relief’s hometown of Santa Barbara, which Carbajal represents in Congress.

Rep. Carbajal, a member of the Committees on Armed Services, Agriculture, and Transportation and Infrastructure, previously served as a Santa Barbara County Supervisor whose district included Montecito, which was struck in 2018 by a massive debris flow, resulting in the most deadly natural disaster in Santa Barbara’s history, causing enormous property and financial losses.

Carbajal has refused to receive his congressional salary during periods when the federal government has shut down due to a failure to enact appropriations and last year donated his foregone salary to Direct Relief and other local nonprofit organizations in the 24th Congressional District.