Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about two issues here, one of which was discussed by my colleague from California, which is the bill that will be up later this afternoon. While the rule allows for amendments, some of the amendments that were proposed are not going to be before us. Specifically, this bill is a blatant attempt to do two things: one, steal 800,000 acre feet of water and transfer it to heavily subsidized farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley; and, secondly, completely overrule and override State law. That's why, I suppose, States such as Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Wyoming, and the Western States Water Council, which is composed of the representatives of the Governors of 16 Western States, are all opposed to this bill. This is a terrible precedent. If you care anything about your State's ability to control its own destiny insofar as water is concerned, you do not want this bill to pass because it is a blatant attempt by the Westside Farmers to simply grab water and take total control of the California water system. It blows away all of the environmental laws of the Federal Government and all of the environmental laws of the State of California and even overrides the State Constitution. I cannot think of a worse policy for anyone to be supporting if you care anything at all about States' rights. In addition to that, the bill totally destroys the efforts that have been underway to solve the problems that do exist in California water.…”