Robert Smith: “the Senate has just completed a long week debating a budget that I believe will help the American people in many ways…”

“the Senate has just completed a long week debating a budget that I believe will help the American people in many ways, and I am proud of that work. But there are thousands of people in southern Oregon who are today getting some very bad news: the water on which the future of their farms and families depend will not be delivered this year. As I speak, my state is currently experiencing its worst drought in seventy-seven years. And while the lack of irrigation water is not completely the fault of the federal government, the situation has been exacerbated by the actions of federal agencies, primarily the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, that have authority over the quantity of water provided to the farmers and ranchers of the Klamath Basin. In the midst of this natural disaster, these two agencies have issued new requirements that increase lake levels in the Upper Klamath Lake as well as streamflows down the Klamath River. These edicts were issued in spite of admissions by Bureau of Reclamation officials that the proposed water levels are not attainable this year, even if there are no agricultural deliveries. For eight years, the Clinton Administration waged war on hard-working people who depend on natural resources to sustain their families and their communities. Sharp reductions in timber sales and the growth of onerous regulations has already weakened the economy of the Klamath Basin.”