Western Water Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Madam Speaker, I rise today to shed light on a critical dilemma in the fight to address the worst drought facing the American West in 12 centuries.

Right now, water managers are doing everything they can to address and respond to the ongoing Western water crisis. At the same time, they cannot always readily access the critical data they need to measure water loss, respond effectively, and keep more water in Lake Mead for Nevadans.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: We can't manage what we cannot measure.

Nevada's plentiful sunshine is one of our State's greatest assets. It makes our State a top destination for outdoor recreation, the solar center of our transition to clean energy. It is also a key driver in evapotranspiration, or ET, water loss in Nevada, throughout the West, and across this country.

The situation at Lake Mead and across the West remains dire. We need to take action now. The future of our water supplies depends on us getting this information into the hands of people who are on the ground tackling this crisis every day.

That is why I am introducing the bipartisan, bicameral Open Access Evapotranspiration Data Act to formally establish a Federal OpenET program and fill the biggest data gap in water management by making critical ET data more accessible.

It will allow everyone access, from water managers and experts like scientists, academics, and advocacy organizations to farmers and ranchers to literally anyone with internet access; it is that accessible.

There is no time to waste in protecting our most precious resource. It is time to start better measuring, managing, and planning to protect Nevada's future. International Women's Day

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Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Madam Speaker, I rise today on International Women's Day as a woman in Congress who has served not one, not two, but three terms in this House where every single time we have shattered the record for the largest number of women serving in this body.

A woman's place is in this House, and I am honored to serve alongside such strong trailblazers who are setting the stage for the next generation of girls who will undoubtedly continue to shatter this glass ceiling.

We are not there yet. While women make up the largest voting bloc in the United States of America, we are still a minority here in the people's House. That is why I tell every little girl I meet crisscrossing southern Nevada to dream big and run for something.

Just over 100 years ago, we didn't have the right to vote in this country, and that is why so many of the laws and flaws of our system are stacked against us; whether that is equal pay for equal work, affordable childcare, adequate healthcare coverage for mothers, and equitable access for women of color who continue to face disproportionately high maternal mortality rates, or the right to make our own decisions with our own bodies.

Today marks the first International Women's Day since the Supreme Court obliterated our rights less than a year ago in overturning 50 years of Roe; 50 years of a woman's right to choose.

In States across this country, the right to an abortion is under attack even in cases of rape, incest, and the health of a mother.

In this House there are extreme proposals to set us all backwards with a national ban on abortion. We will not go back, and we will not be intimidated.

I am proud to be from the Battle Born State, home of a majority woman Federal delegation in Congress, home of a majority woman State Supreme Court, and home of the first woman majority State legislature.

That is worth celebrating today. That is the model for this House by, for, and of the people. This is what I hope will inspire the next generation of girls to run, win, and lead our country forward.

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