David Valadao: “I really wish on this floor that there was a requirement that we had to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.…”

“I really wish on this floor that there was a requirement that we had to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Mr. Chairman, the amendment that is being offered here, there is a huge exaggeration that is going on now. There were periods this past year alone, just in the last few months, that there were 150,000 cubic feet per second flowing through that delta. Now, these tunnels, I do not believe are the ultimate solution for the delta and for the valley, but I do believe that taking more options off the table and an option that, actually, the Governor of California--a close friend of the person that offered this amendment-- does support, and making sure that we have an honest debate as we go forward to solve the problems of the delta, that we have to have all options on the table. I have looked for every opportunity to have an honest dialogue across the aisle. We have had those conversations. Those who were in the room with us walked away and told the press they never existed or were never a part of them. Now they are coming back and asking for those same private conversations again, and we are not going to play that game anymore. We want to make sure we have an honest dialogue. In conference, as this bill moves forward and as long as language is there, we have the opportunity to have that dialogue and keep those options on the table that the Governor of California actually supports.…”