[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H1157-H1158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          WESTERN WATER CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Nevada (Mrs. Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Madam Speaker, I rise today to shed light on a 
critical dilemma in the fight to address the worst drought facing the 
American West in 12 centuries.
  Right now, water managers are doing everything they can to address 
and respond to the ongoing Western water crisis. At the same time, they 
cannot always readily access the critical data they need to measure 
water loss, respond effectively, and keep more water in Lake Mead for 
Nevadans.
  I have said it before, and I will say it again: We can't manage what 
we cannot measure.
  Nevada's plentiful sunshine is one of our State's greatest assets. It 
makes our State a top destination for outdoor recreation, the solar 
center of our transition to clean energy. It is also a key driver in 
evapotranspiration, or ET, water loss in Nevada, throughout the West, 
and across this country.
  The situation at Lake Mead and across the West remains dire. We need 
to take action now. The future of our water supplies depends on us 
getting this information into the hands of people who are on the ground 
tackling this crisis every day.
  That is why I am introducing the bipartisan, bicameral Open Access 
Evapotranspiration Data Act to formally establish a Federal OpenET 
program and fill the biggest data gap in water management by making 
critical ET data more accessible.
  It will allow everyone access, from water managers and experts like 
scientists, academics, and advocacy organizations to farmers and 
ranchers to literally anyone with internet access; it is that 
accessible.
  There is no time to waste in protecting our most precious resource. 
It is time to start better measuring, managing, and planning to protect 
Nevada's future.


                       International Women's Day

  Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Madam Speaker, I rise today on International 
Women's Day as a woman in Congress who has served not one, not two, but 
three terms in this House where every single time we have shattered the 
record for the largest number of women serving in this body.
  A woman's place is in this House, and I am honored to serve alongside 
such strong trailblazers who are setting the stage for the next 
generation of girls who will undoubtedly continue to shatter this glass 
ceiling.

  We are not there yet. While women make up the largest voting bloc in 
the United States of America, we are still a minority here in the 
people's House. That is why I tell every little girl I meet 
crisscrossing southern Nevada to dream big and run for something.
  Just over 100 years ago, we didn't have the right to vote in this 
country, and that is why so many of the laws and flaws of our system 
are stacked against us; whether that is equal pay for equal work, 
affordable childcare, adequate healthcare coverage for

[[Page H1158]]

mothers, and equitable access for women of color who continue to face 
disproportionately high maternal mortality rates, or the right to make 
our own decisions with our own bodies.
  Today marks the first International Women's Day since the Supreme 
Court obliterated our rights less than a year ago in overturning 50 
years of Roe; 50 years of a woman's right to choose.
  In States across this country, the right to an abortion is under 
attack even in cases of rape, incest, and the health of a mother.
  In this House there are extreme proposals to set us all backwards 
with a national ban on abortion. We will not go back, and we will not 
be intimidated.
  I am proud to be from the Battle Born State, home of a majority woman 
Federal delegation in Congress, home of a majority woman State Supreme 
Court, and home of the first woman majority State legislature.
  That is worth celebrating today. That is the model for this House by, 
for, and of the people. This is what I hope will inspire the next 
generation of girls to run, win, and lead our country forward.

                          ____________________