Political Quotes

“I want to thank the ranking member of the subcommittee for giving me an opportunity to speak on this measure. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this bill despite my reservations about the bill's prospects in the Senate. Over the years, I have supported a number of the provisions and goals within this legislation, but many of them will not offer much, if any, immediate relief unless we see Biblical proportions of rainfall taking place in California during the next 6 weeks. As California is in the midst of the worst drought on record, reservoirs are at record lows, and we have 13 percent of our average snow pack, people in my district deserve an effort that deals with the current realities that can offer help. No one has done more over 30 years working in Sacramento and in Washington than I have to provide water not only for our valley but for the entire State, and to ensure that we have a long-term supply. Unfortunately, too many folks on both sides of the aisle have kicked this can down the road. As much as I think a number of reforms in this bill are long overdue and some of the policy decisions have increased, frankly, the damage of the current drought conditions, we all have to recognize that in California and in Western States today, we are in a triage situation. There are many things that we must do in the long term to increase our water supply and fix our broken water system in California.…”