Mike Thompson: “Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this bill, a bill that would destroy jobs, does…”

“Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this bill, a bill that would destroy jobs, does nothing to address the real problem, the drought, and ignores more than 20 years of established science. What does the bill do? Will this bill help alleviate the drought? No. Even if we pumped as much water as possible, Central Valley farmers still wouldn't have enough. There simply isn't enough water to go around. We are in an extreme drought, the worst in the last century. You can look at these photographs and see the snow pack last year versus the snow pack this year. We are in bad straits, and it is a drought. It is not a manmade problem, it is a drought. Will this bill kill jobs? Yes. The delta supports thousands of jobs in farming, fishing and tourism and has an economic output of more than $4 billion a year. This bill puts those jobs in jeopardy. Will this bill harm drinking water that millions of people rely on? Yes. When clean water is pumped south, the level of saltwater in the delta increases. People can't drink seawater. The entire State of California is in a drought. You saw it in today's USA Today. There are towns without water. There are more towns in line to lose all the water they have, and it is not due to a lack of pumping because of a ``little fish.'' It is due to the lack of snow and the lack of rain. Now, I know this is personal for many of my colleagues. It is personal for me, too.…”