Raúl Grijalva: “I thank the gentleman from California for yielding me the time and for the good work he has done on the water issues in…”

“I thank the gentleman from California for yielding me the time and for the good work he has done on the water issues in our committee and for the rational thought he brings to the discussion. Mr. Chairman, the Endangered Species Act is not causing the California drought, period. It is wrong to mislead the people living through the drought by telling them that the answer is to abolish environmental laws. It isn't. But here come the House Republicans again with another unfounded attack on endangered species that will go extinct without ESA protection. Here they come again, claiming ``power grab'' and ``overreach'' every time that they don't get their way. Here they come again, using a serious water challenge as an excuse to chip away at a law they don't support, even if it is unrelated to the problem at hand. Millions of Californians need Congress to take this drought seriously. But my friends across the aisle have decided their opposition to the Endangered Species Act is more important, and the drought in California is a convenient excuse to dismantle ESA. We recently finished debating the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that now includes language that would jeopardize the survival of the African elephant, greater sage-grouse, gray wolf, northern long-eared bat, Sonoran desert tortoise, and many other endangered species. H.R.…”