David Schweikert: “I thank my friend from Texas, though at this moment I feel like I am surrounded by Texans in this particular discussion.…”

“I thank my friend from Texas, though at this moment I feel like I am surrounded by Texans in this particular discussion. I am from Arizona. I am actually from the desert part of Arizona in the desert Southwest. So why is a bill such as H.R. 2431 so important to us? The data collection and the management of the data models for those of us who are in an arid region of the country is really, really important to us. We have come so far in the last couple of decades. The ability for my water management authorities in our reservoirs to know what is happening in the snowpacks all the way up into Colorado and on this side of the Continental Divide and learning whether we are moving into a ``La Nina'' or ``El Nino'' year--which actually makes huge differences to the expected rainfall, particularly in the winter months, in the desert Southwest--is important to us because we are getting better and better at forecasting even a year out in our expectations. And so I have great appreciation for the gentlewoman from Texas, the chairman emeritus, and the other chairman from Texas, one more time-- remember, as Texans, you are easterners to those of us in Arizona-- because this bill is appreciated. I know there is always a discussion about funding.…”