[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 23, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. DAVID WU

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 18, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2847) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, 
     and Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2010, and for other purposes:

  Mr. WU. Mr. Chair, I rise to express my opposition to the Nunes 
amendment. This amendment puts the salmon runs of the Sacramento River, 
which is the major run of Pacific salmon, in jeopardy of extinction and 
risks shutting down the Central Valley Project and State Water Project, 
affecting water supplies for farms and millions of Californians.
  This amendment could halt all activity in California's major water 
infrastructure and would only serve to delay development of a long-term 
management plan for water resources. Mr. Nunes' proposal would send 
government agencies and partners back to the drawing board, inviting 
further litigation and greater intervention by federal courts. 
Moreover, the amendment would prevent us from finding consensus 
solutions for another year or more.
  California water disputes have worsened over the last eight years as 
politically motivated water policies killed tens of thousands of 
salmon. Some of the water decisions made during that time were not 
based in science and have since been ruled illegal by federal courts 
and illegitimate by the Commerce Department's inspector general.
  As a result of these short-sighted policies, California and Oregon 
have gone without commercial and recreational salmon fishing seasons 
for three of the past four years. These closures and limitations on 
fishing are completely unprecedented and have devastated both states' 
hunting and fishing industries, which together employ over 250,000 
workers and contribute more than $13.6 billion to state economies.
  Our fisheries and coastal communities cannot afford to be subjected 
to politics. I reject the Nunes amendment wholeheartedly and ask my 
colleagues to do the same.

                          ____________________