George Miller: “That is exactly the question, because the Bureau of Reclamation administers that the Reclamation Act guides many of the…”

“That is exactly the question, because the Bureau of Reclamation administers that the Reclamation Act guides many of the contractors to that compact. As the gentlewoman knows, in Arizona we have contractors who are going bankrupt, we are trying to reallocate water, and there are people who had expectations but really cannot afford the water. The question is now, are we creating a compensatory act by not giving them the water and giving it to the city of Tucson or to the city of Phoenix? That is exactly the problem. I worry about ulterior motives here in the inclusion of the Reclamation Act because I do not know why it would be included when these are contractual relations except that I understand there are a number of people who are very unhappy with the reforms that were passed overwhelmingly on a bipartisan basis in the last Congress and signed by President Bush that would now like to roll back those reforms where we have just entered into an agreement between the State of California, the municipalities, the environmental organizations, and the farm organizations about the usage of water. Some people would like to see that undone.”