[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 111 (Thursday, July 25, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3816, ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1997

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                               speech of

                          HON. BILL RICHARDSON

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 24, 1996

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3816) making 
     appropriations for energy and water development for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the DeFazio-
Petri amendment.
  Their amendment would seek to strike funds from the Animas-La Plata 
project. This project is especially important for New Mexico and 
Colorado.
  As you know, water in my State and throughout the arid West, is like 
gold. Consequently, water needs to be conserved. Conservation includes 
storage for the inevitable dry years. This year has seen a major 
drought in the region.
  Had construction of the Animas-La Plata project begun in 1990, as was 
originally scheduled, there would have been enough water stored for the 
citizens in northwestern New Mexico. Over the years, delay in the 
construction of this project have put over 100,000 people at risk.
  Furthermore, in a land where Indians and non-Indians live together, 
it is important to share water. In 1985, the Colorado Ute tribes began 
to negotiate a sharing of their senior water rights on tributaries to 
the San Juan River--water which many of my constituents in northwestern 
New Mexico need to sustain their quality of life and secure their 
future. The Ute tribes should be complemented for these negotiations.
  This amendment would render that agreement void. Let's not tell the 
Ute tribes and the people of New Mexico and Colorado, who strive to 
share a valuable resource, that their efforts have meant nothing.
  I encourage a ``no'' vote on the DeFazio-Petri amendment.

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