Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, first, I want to thank the chairman and the committee for their hard work putting this bill together. I know it has taken a lot of time and effort to get here, and I appreciate that. My amendment addresses a very real threat to the lives and livelihoods of Arkansans and Americans across the country and the citizens and businesses in areas of the depletion of aquifers and lack of water for agriculture during times of drought. The Bayou Meto and Grand Prairie projects in my district, which are well on the way to completion, will provide an economical and environmentally sensible alternative for protecting aquifers from catastrophic depletion and provide both a renewable agriculture water supply, as well as a valuable role in water quality and quantity control efforts for one of our Nation's most critical waterways, the Mississippi River. In most of the Mississippi Delta, aquifers provide significant portions of water used for ag irrigation. With the increasing water demands of agriculture, businesses, and municipalities, aquifers across the country, especially the alluvial and Sparta-Memphis aquifers which supply much of the Mississippi Delta, face the increasing threat of depletion. This takes the immediate form of drastically lowering well yields and the requirement to drill more often and deeper to access sufficient quantities of water.…”