Inland Empire Perchlorate Ground Water Plume Assessment Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this well-intentioned bill tries to force the administration into making ground water cleanup in the Rialto-Colton Basin of California a priority. Everyone acknowledges that this bill is a restatement of current law, and that new funding is not authorized in this bill, but we all understand what the gentleman from California is trying to accomplish and, in the spirit of bipartisanship, Republicans supported his efforts in the Natural Resources Committee.

But I need to point out that this bipartisan gesture continues to go unreciprocated. We've been trying in vain for months now to get the same kind of bipartisan cooperation to restore full water deliveries to the Central Valley of California. The valley's economy has been devastated by the diversion of 200 billion gallons of water in order to dump that water into the Pacific Ocean to serve the left's pet cause, the 3-inch Delta Smelt.

Apologists for this policy argue that, well, it's the drought. Well, they ignore the fact that the drought we've had is a relatively minor one by historical standards, it appears to be over, and that in far more severe droughts in the past, far more water has reached the Central Valley. But that's before the environmental left took over our water policy and diverted 200 billion gallons of that water into the Pacific Ocean.

It's unfortunate that the majority actually rewrote this bill specifically to keep us from offering amendments that would address the agony of the Central Valley.

Time and again, the majority, using parliamentary gimmicks, has prevented any attempt to restore normal water deliveries to the San Joaquin Valley.

By the Obama administration's own numbers, it spent about $1.5 billion as part of the so-called ``stimulus'' in the Central Valley's six Congressional districts to save or create 1,600 jobs.

Well, today Congress has the power to restore tens of thousands of jobs lost because of water diversions at no cost to taxpayers. This House is in possession of a bill to do just that, H.R. 3105, by my colleague, Congressman Nunes. But still it studiously avoids exercising that power because this administration and this majority in Congress have chosen fish over people.

Farmers in the San Joaquin Valley are now faced with making planning decisions. Despite near record precipitation in the northern Sierra watershed--NOAA this week reported that precipitation is now 129 percent of normal--the Department of the Interior has just announced Central Valley farmers will be guaranteed only 25 percent of their normal allocations. Let me repeat that so it sinks in. Precipitation is 129 percent of normal; guaranteed water delivery is 25 percent of normal.

Even Senator Feinstein tried to give the farmers a 40 percent water allocation, yet that effort has been opposed by the environmental left and its friends in Congress.

Perchlorate contamination in the Inland Empire is the indirect result of Federal policy, and the Federal government has a responsibility to assist the people of the Inland Empire with cleanup. But the agony of California's Central Valley is the direct result of policies that Congress could change in this very bill. It's disappointing to me that the majority chooses not to do so. I think it makes a mockery of any claims of bipartisanship, although we once again extend that offer of bipartisanship by supporting this bill, and invite the majority to join us.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I will simply appeal again to the majority, water might be controversial, but it needn't be partisan. We have done everything we can in good faith to support this bill for clean drinking water for Rialto and Colton. We would ask the majority again to reconsider its opposition to restoring the full water entitlement to the Central Valley. Again, there is something desperately wrong with our public policy when we are at 129 percent of normal in our Sierra precipitation and yet only 25 percent of the water deliveries to the Central Valley.

With that final appeal for bipartisanship, I yield back the balance of my time.

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