[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 28, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H4240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        WATER FOR OUR FARMLANDS

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, recent aggressive moves by California water 
and environmental regulators now threaten very long-held water rights, 
pre-1914, the gold standard in my home State. Why? The mismanagement of 
water during a short rainfall year has led to hundreds of thousands of 
acres of farmland being cut off from water due to Federal and State 
regulators that prioritize fish over people's needs.
  A California State agency is now ready to cut off water to crops in 
just 6 days, midsummer, mid-crop year. Imagine, over halfway through 
the year, and they just cut it off. This is in favor of failed 
environmental policy that allows the water to flow out to the sea and 
doing so ostensibly to help a fish population that it really is not 
helping.
  Our infrastructure that we are contemplating needs to include water 
storage projects. For the American consumer, don't count on these fruit 
and vegetable products coming from somewhere else in the world, except 
at a much higher price. They will not get to your table with the same 
high quality you expect.
  We need water storage. We need to be included in any infrastructure 
bill. Otherwise, we all suffer as Americans. This is everybody's 
problem.

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