Mike Thompson: “I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise for the purpose of entering into a colloquy. I also want to thank the…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise for the purpose of entering into a colloquy. I also want to thank the chairman and his staff, the ranking member and his staff for the help that they've provided on this very important issue. Mr. Chairman, and Members, the Bureau of Reclamation manages Lake Berryessa in my district. They manage it for the purposes of recreational access, and they ensure that the facilities are safe and accessible to local residents and visitors. As part of this, they award concessions to third-party bidders for resort operations. Since the Bureau of Reclamation began the most recent bidding process in 2007, their performance has been disappointing, at best. The concession contract was finally awarded in January 2010, and the third- party contractor has not met the terms of that agreement. The BOR is the responsible agency for concession bidding, and they conducted an inefficient process, provided lax oversight, and refused to take action in a timely manner, despite constant requests from me and local government officials. Now, BOR is entering into mediation, which means even more time to dispute the concessionaire's shortcomings and provide yet another second chance. Mr. Chairman and Members, enough is enough. Reassurances and placations from the Board of Reclamation that they're fixing the problem are no longer enough. We need the matter resolved.…”