Political Quotes

“This amendment, like the previous amendment, is simple but very important. We heard the discussion from Mr. McNerney and supporters of his amendment about the water hyacinth and the endangered species that have plagued not just the California delta, but other parts of the West. It is important. This amendment is also a small but important amendment. It deals with a way of providing a fish screen on the Delta Cross Channel, a very important element in the California water system. Why this hasn't been done before, I don't know. I live within a mile of the Delta Cross Channel, and I have often wondered why the agencies have not pursued a fish screen. They have to close the channel gates when the fish are in the river, thereby providing less water through the delta. So this would simply move it along. These two amendments are an example of what we ought to be doing. Mr. McNerney and I represent the delta, which is 700,000 acres, equal in size to the area that is the principal proponent of the underlying legislation, that is the Westlands Water District. Both are important and critical agriculture areas, both of which need water. The underlying legislation ignores the environmental needs and the agricultural needs of the delta, and in a very complex way provides a mechanism to take water out of the delta without regard to either the environmental or the agricultural or the community needs in the area. It is not going to pass. It should never become law.…”