[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S26]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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               THE SALT RIVER PROJECT'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. KYL. Mr. President, my best wishes today go to the Salt 
River Project on the celebration of its centennial of service to the 
communities of central Arizona.
  When the Salt River Project, or SRP, was created on February 7, 1903, 
Arizona was still a territory and the people who had settled its 
central desert valleys had just endured a period of devastating 
droughts. They knew the future of their farms, businesses, and families 
depended on securing a reliable supply of water. If they failed, they 
were sure to witness the continued withering of their farms and 
livelihoods.
  With commitment, they banded together to form the Salt River Valley 
Water Users Association, later to become SRP. With courage, they 
mortgaged their lands as debt collateral for a federal loan that was 
granted under terms of the National Reclamation Act of 1902. And the 
result eight years later was the completion of a great monolithic stone 
dam that was named after the President, Theodore Roosevelt. It would be 
the first of other dams and water works built through partnership with 
SRP and federal and local governments to ensure the economic vitality 
of my native state.
  Without Roosevelt Dam, Arizona's early communities could not have 
grown. Similarly, growth would not have continued without SRP's 
development and management of early hydropower resources and later 
leadership and partnership in constructing extensive generation and 
transmission systems to fuel Arizona's economy.
  In the past century, SRP has become Arizona's largest water supplier 
and the third largest public power provider in the nation. It has 
gained a reputation as a utility with a record for service, safety, and 
commitment to the environment and human services. As SRP celebrates its 
centennial, it deserves recognition for its past achievements and for 
the important role it will continue to play in Arizona's advancement in 
the 21st century.

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