Alex Padilla

The community in general, goes with a declining tax base because of weather, same on the drought side of the equation.

This 10 X, 20 X, however you want to scale up, but that's precisely an issue starting with when forest fires act like brush fires.

These conversations are all too timely, I think, as a lot of us in the field know the significance of a recent Supreme Court ruling that limited the scope of the Clean Water Act.

Voter fraud is exceedingly rare. This includes voter impersonation, mail-in ballots, and more.

In the example I gave is when the floods right, that leads to lost crops, so therefore less of a need for the workforce to harvest.

I think that might even have been intentional.

But sadly I think it's a little out of the expertise, or the attention of a lot of federal employees because of the programs, the agency that they work in.

As members of this Committee we need to obviously consider the economic impacts of extreme weather events holistically.

These conversations are all too timely, I think, as a lot of us in the field know the significance of a recent Supreme Court ruling that limited the scope of the Clean Water Act.

So if that is limited on the Federal side, separate and apart from a dollar, a grant, or a favorable loan, this is hurting more than it is helping.

During the COVID pandemic, Congress recognized the risk of impending water shut offs and growing debt nationwide.

Federal investment in water infrastructure has declined by 77 percent since its peak in the 1970s.

The burden of unsafe and unaffordable water disproportionately impacts lower income communities and communities of color.

There was no surge when Title 42 was lifted. There will be no surge if we pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.

Let's be real. Republicans said the same thing about the lifting of Title 42, and the surge did not happen.

We're talking about basic protections in conditions that are on a very regular basis.

That's why I've introduced the Fairness for Farmworkers Act, last Congress, that would have guaranteed overtime.

They are paying taxes. Taxes into programs that they are not eligible to benefit from.

Food security is national security.

One time assistance is not a solution for a family sitting at the kitchen table deciding between the next grocery store trip or next month's water bill.

There is no reason that we can't do the same for water rate assistance. I believe we can and we must come together in a bipartisan fashion to make these meaningful investments.

We can't truly call ourselves a compassionate country, and no one can truly pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness unless every family has the dignity of safe drinking water and proper sanitation.

So if that is limited on the Federal side, separate and apart from a dollar, a grant, or a favorable loan, this is hurting more than it is helping.

Congress created the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program.

During the COVID pandemic, Congress recognized the risk of impending water shut offs and growing debt nationwide.