[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 18, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H2708]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CALIFORNIA WATER LEGISLATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to work 
together on behalf of the people of California to get water legislation 
passed that will help fix California's broken water system.
  Yes, Californians have been divided historically for decades for a 
number of reasons on how to fix our broken water system, but that must 
change because we are living on borrowed time, and nothing has 
explained that more clearly than the last 4 years of drought 
conditions.
  Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
held a hearing on Senator Dianne Feinstein's water legislation, the 
California Long-Term Provisions for Water Supply and Short-Term 
Provisions for Emergency Drought Relief Act. This week, Congressman 
John Garamendi introduced the House companion bill, legislation that I 
support as well.
  The California Long-Term Provisions for Water Supply and Short-Term 
Provisions for Emergency Drought Relief Act would provide $1.3 billion 
in funding and support for desalinization, recycling efforts, and water 
storage projects like Temperance Flat and the expansion of San Luis 
Reservoir.
  The bill would also direct State and Federal agencies to maximize 
water supplies during the short term, while not violating existing 
environmental laws that protect threatened and endangered species.
  Additionally, the legislation includes language that would generate 
and provide for scientifically managed reservoir operations which would 
allow us to, for example, raise the spillway gates at New Exchequer Dam 
in Merced County, providing an additional 50,000 acre-feet of water 
storage for the Merced Irrigation District.
  Finally, the bill would complement the ongoing efforts made by the 
recent passage of a State water bond that I supported--$2.7 billion for 
additional water storage in California.
  In order to get California's water bill passed and signed into law, 
our Nation's Senators must understand that there is support for Senator 
Dianne Feinstein's legislation among California Representatives in the 
House. That is why I am a cosponsor of the House companion legislation, 
H.R. 5247.
  Now, there is room for modifications and changes in Senator 
Feinstein's legislation as well as the House bill, especially 
provisions that deal with short-term fixes that would provide more 
accountability on how California's water system is operated year to 
year. But if Congress is going to be able to provide some relief to the 
people of California, which is a template for Western States--and, I 
would say, the world--we must continue to move forward, and the passage 
of S. 2533 would undoubtedly be an important step in the right 
direction.
  Once S. 2533 is passed out of the Senate, the House and the Senate 
will have the opportunity to go to conference to resolve the 
differences that exist in these water bills by each of the Chambers. 
That is the normal process under which we usually conduct business.
  I have consistently fought to bring more water to our San Joaquin 
Valley, and that includes supporting the California water bill that the 
House passed last year, but we need to use all the water tools in our 
water toolbox to fix the entire State's water needs.
  It is my hope that my colleagues will put aside their political 
differences which, for too long, have been a part of the problem and 
join me in supporting the California Long-Term Provisions for Water 
Supply and Short-Term Provisions for Emergency Drought Relief Act, 
because fixing California's water system is dependent upon it. If we 
don't pass this legislation and we don't work with Governor Brown in 
California, we cannot fix this broken water system.
  So, finally, what is this about? It is about investing in our 
infrastructure. We are living off the investments our parents and our 
grandparents made a generation ago. This is Infrastructure Week. We 
ought to be talking about investing in our infrastructure, not only in 
California, but around the country.
  What else is this about? It is about helping the environment because, 
notwithstanding the opposition to this legislation, the status quo is 
only resulting in further deterioration of the environment.
  Finally, what else is this about? It is about the reliability of our 
water supply to maintain our farms. Maintaining our farms, after all, 
is a part of America's national security. We don't think about it that 
way, but having reliable, cost-effective food on America's dinner table 
every night is about our national security. So it is about the 
sustainability, therefore, of our food supply and our way of life.
  If we are going to fix this, we have to come together. We have to 
work together. We have to get beyond our differences and beyond our 
talking points.
  If Congress is going to get anything done, we, in California, on our 
water fixes, must come together.

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