Ami Bera: “This is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, this…”

“This is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, this bill will immediately proceed to final passage as amended. Mr. Speaker, this amendment is simple. It ensures that we have safe drinking water for our constituents and enough water to fight wildfires. It has been hot and dry in California. We are now in the fourth straight year of drought conditions; and, in fact, 95 percent of our State has reached severe drought status. This is a problem. We are talking about families; we are talking about farmers, small- business owners who are feeling the pain of this prolonged drought every day. It is a crisis, and in a crisis, everyone has to come together, to work together to find solutions that work for all of us. However, the bill offered today, yet again, undermines the efforts that were taken in California to work together, and instead, it allows Washington, D.C., politicians to pick winners and losers and pit communities against each other. This bill creates no water. It does not solve this crisis, and that is a problem. Look at this picture. This is my home district, Folsom Lake. This is what it looked like last summer, and this summer, it is worse. In fact, Folsom Lake right now is at 42 percent of capacity. By August, it is expected to reach the lowest point in recorded history. Over half a million people depend on Folsom Lake for their drinking water.…”