Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. McNERNEY. I ask unanimous consent to offer it at this point in the reading.

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I am submitting an amendment with Representatives Lieu and Garamendi to strike provisions in the underlying legislation that are taken from H.R. 2898.

This important appropriations bill contains policy provisions that would further drain freshwater from the California delta with overpumping. These provisions would damage the delta's ecosystem and would cause serious economic harm to the communities we serve.

These provisions would undermine 40 years of progress in developing a true stewardship over the land and resources. Since these laws, which have helped make this progress possible, there have been countless attempts to scale back or undo them.

The provisions in the bill will weaken the Endangered Species Act and set a precedent of putting aside environmental protections. It misstates California water law and perpetuates a water war in the West at a time when we are working to bridge those divides. Families, farmers, and small businesses north and south of the California delta need water. This is a State issue, not a regional one.

Meanwhile, the results for farmers, families, businesses in the delta, as well as fishermen will be devastating. Fish will vanish and saltwater will intrude, permanently damaging some of the most productive farmland in the world.

Mr. Chairman, California water use seems to rely on an endless supply of freshwater. Unfortunately, there is only a finite amount of freshwater.

Historically, in limited water conditions, water has been taken from one region to supply another region. The Owens Valley and the Colorado River are perfect examples of what happens--one region benefits and another region suffers. That is exactly what is going to happen here. The delta region will suffer. Is that what we really want?

Mr. Chairman, California and Federal officials have been able to increase exports from the California delta. This action has helped maximize use of what little water exists in the State. A lack of water is our biggest threat, not operational flexibility.

It is completely inappropriate for a policy of this magnitude to be included in an annual must-pass appropriations bill. We should not be using an appropriations bill to ram through misguided policies that reward a few powerful stakeholders at the expense of others. This bill should not be included in this year's Energy and Water Appropriations bill. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment.

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chair, how much time do I have remaining?

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chair, we hear about water being wasted in its going out to the ocean, but that water is pushing saltwater away from our farms and the delta. It is allowing salmon fish to go out to the ocean. It is providing jobs all up and down the coast. I don't really accept the word ``waste.''

I implore my colleagues from southern California: let's work together. There are solutions out there. We can recycle; we can store rainwater; we can become more efficient and find wastage and stop evaporations. There are plenty of things we can do to produce new water. These provisions in this bill produce no new water. It just serves one portion of the State to benefit another.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. McNERNEY. I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio.

Mr. Chair, I just want to follow up on a few things.

We talked about water that goes out to the ocean as being wasted. Again, the delta is becoming more salty every year. We have been exporting 70 percent of the freshwater that comes to the delta. The saltwater has been intruding. We need the freshwater to push out that saltwater for the fishermen who live up and down the coast. I feel for the farmers who are in the south part of the valley--it is devastating; it is horrible--but we also see the same thing happening with fishermen on the north coast.

Basically, we are doing the same thing that has been done historically. At Owens Valley, we are going to take water from one part of the State, and we are going to give it to another. We are going to benefit one part, and we are going to hurt another. That is not the way to do business.

We can find comprehensive solutions that include infrastructure investments, recycling, WaterSMART projects. There are ways to create new water. We don't have to keep grabbing water from one another to grow fruits and vegetables or to have fishermen survive on the north coast.

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Mr. McNERNEY. I thank the gentlewoman.

Mr. Chair, I am basically appealing to my colleagues. There are solutions out there. We can find a whole State solution to which all stakeholders have input. Right now that is not what this is. This is pitting one region against the other, and it is going to perpetuate what has been called the California water war. We didn't need to go there. There are solutions.

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, as the designee of the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen), I offer an amendment.

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This amendment would increase funding for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account by $2 million for the SuperTruck II program. The SuperTruck program was started by the Department of Energy to improve freight and heavy duty vehicle efficiency.

The Committee on Appropriations acknowledged in their committee report the success of the SuperTruck II program but recommended only $20 million of the requested $60 million for the SuperTruck II program to further improve efficiency in these vehicles.

SuperTruck II will continue dramatic improvements in the efficiency of heavy-duty class 8 long-haul and regional-haul vehicles through system-level improvements. These improvements include hybridization, more efficient idling, and high efficiency HVAC technologies. By increasing the funding for the SuperTruck II program by $2 million, it will allow the Department of Energy to better achieve their freight efficiency goals.

This amendment is fully offset by a decrease in the departmental administration account.

I thank my colleague, Steve Cohen, for his continued work on this important issue. I would also like to thank Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur for their hard work on this bill. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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