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Floor Speech
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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to authorize additional funding for the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act.
This crucial piece of legislation would simply increase the authorization of funding for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, SJRRP, which supports one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States while also creating a healthy, living river for Chinook salmon. Increasing the cap for the program will enable the Bureau of Reclamation, the State of California, and key partners to advance projects necessary to the continued success of the program. Our bill retains a provision in the original legislation from 2009 that authorized the SJRRP and set forth a one-for-one match from non-Federal sources for any Federal appropriated dollars. The bill would also increase the authorization of appropriations to help restore canal capacity for the Friant-Kern and Madera Canals to address subsidence.
A fully implemented SJRRP is crucial for managing the San Joaquin River system, restoring fish populations, and ensuring reliable water supplies for farmers. Without an increased funding cap, Federal support will likely fall short, threatening both water reliability and ecosystem restoration and undermining decades of collaboration and progress.
That is why our bill is supported by a broad range of agricultural water users, the State of California, and key local partner, because the SJRRP's success benefits both farmers and the environment. This type of collaboration demonstrates how we can manage our limited water resources to provide water supply reliability while also benefiting our ecosystems.
While we were able to pass this bill through the Senate by unanimous consent at the end of 2024, it did not pass the House of Representatives in time to be signed into law. I look forward to working with my colleagues in both Chambers to advance this commonsense, straightforward legislation on the floor as soon as possible. And I thank Senator Hoeven for his support for my legislation. ______
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