Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about water and California's ongoing drought. This week, the California Department of Water Resources announced that the 2017 initial allocation for the State Water Project is 20 percent--not good. I join with drought-stricken communities like those in the San Joaquin Valley and California farmers, farm workers, and farm communities who are all praying that the initial water allocation of 20 percent improves when the Department of Water Resources issues a final allocation not just for the State water projects, but for the Federal water projects as well. However, with the current operations of California's water system, it would take storms of Biblical proportions for these agencies that are served by the State and Federal Water Project to be able to increase those allocations to 100 percent. That is why Congress must act now to pass a California water bill that will improve operations to fix our broken water system. We need legislation to provide funding to improve our water infrastructure and to move more water when larger storms make it available, as in last weekend. California may soon face a sixth consecutive dry year. Therefore, as a result of the drought and the inadequate and broken water system, hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water have been lost, and 600,000 acres of productive farmland has, unfortunately, been left unplanted. Some families in my district do not have reliable water to drink, to cook, or to bathe in.…”