On the recordMarch 13, 2014
Woman, I am proud to stand here with my colleagues today in support of H.R. 3189, the Water Rights Protection Act. With the drought going on in California, and the Federal Government strong-arming private property owners into giving up their water rights, I am afraid that some of my colleagues may think that the Federal confiscation and mismanagement of water resources only affects the West. Let me tell you, this issue of the Federal Government intruding on private property and water rights is not just limited to the West. In my district in southeast Missouri, time and time again, ill-thought Federal policy has threatened, and will continue, unfortunately, to threaten, private landowners. In my now 9 months and 8 days in Congress, we have already had to fight back Federal attempts to restrict citizens in my district from using water. The Department of the Interior tried to create restrictive ``buffer zones'' as a part of the National Blueway System that would have taken away private property rights. Fortunately, we got this program stopped. While the legal framework for water rights is different in the West, this administration's disregard for private landowners applies everywhere. I urge my colleagues to support this bill to protect water rights not only because it will protect holders of water rights in Western States, but also because it sends a strong, direct message that Congress is tired of these schemes to administratively take away private property rights.
