Ron Wyden

There are a lot of families hurting right now.

Here's the point. A lot of you have said Ron, I'd really like you to crack heads.

WaterWatch has supported federal legislation in the past, such as the 2002 Farm Bill's Klamath amendment, passed through the United States Senate with the leadership of Senator Wyden.

We went to the KBRA and we were turned down from representation of the KBRA.

Thank you again for holding this hearing.

I respectfully and emphatically urge this committee to act quickly to introduce legislation that would see the Klamath Restoration Agreements fully enacted as soon as possible.

It's only possible to have this approach that really brings people together when we have colleagues like you make it possible.

I believe all parties should have a chance to have input before the committee advances any legislation.

I want to pledge to Oregonians that California is going to pay its fair share of this program.

The determination of water rights is exclusively within the purview of our States.

A significant reduction may be necessary given present budget rules and realities

After considerable thought, I've concluded that the KBRA and essentially what has been agreed to at this point, is simply unaffordable in the current Federal budget environment.

We're going to stay at it until we find a solution this time.

My message on this point is working together in good faith there's got to be a way to accomplish the agreement's objectives with a lower price tag.

Suffice it to say what we're trying to do is sort of throw out the textbook with respect to a lot of these issues.

Nobody in a challenging situation like this gets everything they want.

I think it's worth noting the Klamath County Circuit Court already declined to intervene just in the last few days.

My own sense is this will require legislation.

This is a treasure trove of valuable information. It needs to be released in a way that is sensitive to protecting the personal issues with respect to seniors.

Senator Grassley and I are going to do everything we can to add this to the SGR bill.

What the Aging Committee found--we actually had an undercover investigation that was again at the request of a bipartisan group of Senators.

I think with the bipartisan support we have--we worked with the VA to make sure this would not contribute to the backlog volume--we now have legislation that we believe is ready for the Committee's consideration.

The bill that I am going to discuss today is S. 748 and it is the product of a long-standing and bipartisan partnership.

I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing scheduled before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has been postponed. This hearing was scheduled…

It always comes back to people. It always comes back to individuals and young women.