David Perdue: “I rise today to speak very briefly to highlight my opposition to the cloture motion on the appropriations bill for the…”

“I rise today to speak very briefly to highlight my opposition to the cloture motion on the appropriations bill for the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, and the Science agencies and to discuss an issue of critical importance to my home State of Georgia and what I think is a direct abuse of what the Founders intended for Senate debate. For over 20 years, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and the Army Corps of Engineers have been engaged in various lawsuits over water rights among those three States. Georgia has two reservoirs in question--Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona--that are operated by the Corps, that provide drinking water for Metro Atlanta, and that provide water downstream for the Chattahoochee, Flint, Coosa, and Tallapoosa Rivers. These river basins also provide water to South Georgia and parts of Alabama and Florida. Currently, litigation is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Federal DC district court, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Negotiations are also ongoing between the State governments on this very topic, and I believe they are closer to a solution right now than we have ever been. Clearly, this is an issue that should be left to the States to settle through negotiation and, if needed, litigation. But now another attempt is being made by some in the Senate to surreptitiously influence the courts through language included in the report that accompanies this CJS bill.…”