Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this jobs killer act that ignores more than 20 years of established science. Tens of thousands of people depend on the Bay-Delta for their livelihoods, including many farmers, fishermen, and sportsmen who contribute billions of dollars to our economy every year. Sadly, the sponsors of this bill are using the legislation to create winners and losers by preempting California State law. This bill would take water from folks in northern California for use in California's Central Valley. This means even less water to sports fishermen and to commercial fishermen, the basis of two thriving industries in our State. The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations strongly opposes the bill. They estimate that over 25,000 jobs were lost in the salmon fishing industry due to the 2008 and 2009 closures. The American Sportsfishing Association shows that California's economy suffers $1.4 billion in loss each year that the salmon fishery season is closed. If this bill becomes law, these jobs would be lost forever, and the economic losses would be permanent. Appropriate amounts of water are also critical to support the economies for wildlife-associated recreation. In California, 7.4 million sportsmen contribute over $8 billion to the economy every year. Without water, many of these hunting, fishing, and wildlife-watching activities will be lost. More than 200 sportsmen's organizations have written to express their opposition to this bill.…”