Mike Thompson: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, if this bill did what the previous speaker just said, I would be here…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, if this bill did what the previous speaker just said, I would be here to speak in favor of it. Unfortunately, this legislation is a giant leap in the wrong direction with the potential to undo all that our State has worked for. It sends operations mandates from Washington to water managers who have carefully balanced water allocation across users for the past 5 years of this terrible drought. It pits regions against each other. It reignites the water wars, which our State has struggled with for generations. {time} 1115 Though the authors have provided authorization for critical water infrastructure, they have prioritized huge water storage projects without enough congressional oversight. The bill also leaves the door open for the Federal funding for our State's delta tunnels proposal, which is highly controversial in California; and funding for this measure, if it happens at all, would be left to the mercy of the Republican-controlled spending committees. Funding is not guaranteed for these projects. Most fundamentally, this provision violates the bedrock environmental laws that protect ecosystems not just in California, but nationwide. When lawmakers overrule biological opinions--the determination of scientists about what is best for a species--the science-based management ecosystems everywhere are undermined. The consequences could be catastrophic. We have seen it before.…”