On the recordJuly 23, 2024
I thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann) for yielding time to me. Mr. Chairman, the last 2 years in California have been very, very wet, and flooding has devastated our valley. I saw firsthand the devastation in Planada, California, when brush and sediment in Miles Creek forced floodwater into neighborhoods that had been flooded from similar events just 5 years prior. My office and I helped displaced families in Planada after their homes were destroyed or damaged by floodwater. The work is still not done. I am never going to object to Mother Nature blessing our State with rain and snow, but we must better prepare to capture and manage our water coming off of the Sierra Nevada mountains to protect our communities and farms. Mr. Chairman, my amendment, which I am grateful is included in this package, is very simple. It prioritizes funds for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, one, to study the scope and scale of sediment buildup in the rivers and streams in the San Joaquin watershed and, two, to report to Congress on how to reduce that buildup to protect families and farms from flooding. My amendment has the bipartisan support of Congressmen Costa, Fong, and Harder. As I close, I make one additional important point. Water abundance is affordable energy, food, and housing. Farms create good-paying jobs, stabilize soil, improve air quality, and deliver affordable dinners to working American families. Hydroelectric energy is clean energy when we need it.…
