David Valadao: “Next week, California is expecting more atmospheric rivers that are bringing welcome rain to our State. I am grateful…”

“Next week, California is expecting more atmospheric rivers that are bringing welcome rain to our State. I am grateful for this rain and know many of my fellow farmers are. Unfortunately, this is deja vu for many of us in the Central Valley since not much has changed in the last 12 months to better prepare ourselves for a consecutive wet year. Just last year, after 3 years of extreme drought, our State was hit with enough water to supply farms, communities, and homes for years to come. Unfortunately, extreme environmentalists and Sacramento bureaucrats have denied the approval of new water storage projects and restricted how much water we are able to pump with complex and contradictory regulations. The devastating flooding in my district and the millions of gallons of water that were flushed out to the ocean were the direct result of water mismanagement. Many of my constituents are still picking up the pieces from this flooding. These storms brought to light many flaws in our existing disaster relief programs. We must improve coordination between Federal agencies involved in disaster relief like FEMA, Army Corps, and the USDA, so that residents and industries know who to turn to and have timely access to disaster assistance programs and services. As we continue working to get additional disaster assistance for these communities, we must work to ensure we are better prepared for these types of weather events because we know that eventually the rain will stop.…”