Dianne Feinstein: “on behalf of Senator Boxer and myself, I rise today to introduce the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act. This bill, an…”

“on behalf of Senator Boxer and myself, I rise today to introduce the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act. This bill, an $880 million authorization, is a 33 percent match for state and local dollars over the next 4 years to address California's water needs through a balanced program. Last year's bill passed the Energy and Natural Resources Committee by a vote of 18-5, and since that time I have worked with Republicans, most notably Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, to come up with an even stronger bill. The result: the legislation we introduced today is greatly improved from last year's bill--it is smaller, the authorizations are more specific, and it does a better job of ensuring that the CALFED program be implemented in a balanced manner. Let me describe how the bill is improved: First, many Senators from other States were afraid CALFED was going to use up the Bureau of Reclamation's entire budget. To meet these concerns, we have cut the authorization level, ultimately to $880 million over four years. We also limited the Federal cost-share to one-third. Second, some Republican Senators were afraid that environmental projects not needing authorization would sail smoothly ahead, while storage projects lacking Congressional approval would languish. To meet this concern, we required balanced implementation. The Secretary of the Interior must certify annually that the CALFED program is progressing in a balanced manner toward achieving all of its different components.”