Jackie Speier: “This bill is something I have been working on for 10 years and have introduced in every Congress since I came to…”

“This bill is something I have been working on for 10 years and have introduced in every Congress since I came to Congress. It provides $25 million a year for 5 years. Over the last 200 years, 90 percent of the bay wetlands have disappeared. They are gone. What is even worse is that in less than 9 years, sea level rise in that region will effectively drown out all of the marshes. The damage will be irreversible. Over the last 8 years the EPA has invested only $45 million in San Francisco Bay. However, even though it is the largest estuary on the West Coast, Puget Sound received more than $260 million and the Chesapeake Bay received $490 million. That is an unbelievable difference in funding opportunities. We can't afford to keep pushing this off. The San Francisco Bay supports 4 million jobs and provides 20 million Californians with clean drinking water. It is the lifeblood of the region and a worthy investment of taxpayer dollars. Every dollar spent on restoration efforts generates $2.10 in economic activity. More funding for the bay is a win-win. It would, in fact, be the right thing to do, the only fair thing to do considering how much more has been spent on other estuaries.”