George P. Kazen Federal Building and United States Courthouse

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill for Flint, Michigan. It is a good bill for WRDA projects across the country. It is a good bill for California. Everybody knows that we have experienced over 5 years of drought conditions, the driest in 1,200 years.

I reject the notion that somehow there is a poison pill. This is a bipartisan effort that Senator Feinstein, House Republicans, myself, and other Members from California have worked on for 2 years. As a matter of fact, some of the opponents of this legislation have provisions in this measure that they supported and advocated Senator Feinstein insert.

The Obama administration drafted environmental protections, and one of the red lines was that it would not modify or amend the Endangered Species Act, nor would it change the biological opinions. Those are simply falsehoods. Falsehoods.

This bill authorizes $580 million to offset for storage, recycling, and reuse and desalinization. That is very important. That is part of what the last speaker just talked about: recycling and reuse and water conservation.

It also provides programs to benefit fish and wildlife. It also works within the framework of the existing biological opinions.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Speaker, I reject the notion that these are poison pills. People in my district and in their homes and my colleagues have been without water, in some cases, for 2 years. This is not like a Third World country. This is the richest country in the world, but farm communities, farmers, and farmworkers are suffering.

This legislation would place a step in the right direction to provide people support to correct this broken water system that we have in California. I urge the support of this legislation not only for the people of California, but for Flint, Michigan, and the entire country. This is a bipartisan process and this legislation reflects that fact.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source