[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 22]
[House]
[Pages 29894-29895]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               JOBS BILL

  (Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the importance of 
jobs and our economy, and the importance of putting Americans back to 
work to really spur the economic growth that I think we all desire.
  I was pleased that the mayor of Fresno last week was one of the five 
mayors to participate in the jobs forum in the White House since she 
and I represent a region that has suffered severe economic hardships, 
including a drought, a devastating drought, that has impacted much of 
the San Joaquin Valley and other aspects of California, the collapse of 
the dairy market, and the precipitous drop in housing markets that has 
put housing and foreclosures of the utmost concern. We need to do 
everything we can to invest in our infrastructure and transportation, 
schools, and water.
  California is in the midst of a water crisis, and I urge the 
administration to use all of the flexibility within its power to get 
water flowing for next year's growing season to allow tens of thousands 
of hardworking farmworkers, farmers, to return to work, to putting food 
on America's dinner table. Water equals jobs, equals food. That's what 
we need to do.
  I'd like to submit a letter for the Record that I wrote to the 
President concerning this crisis.
                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, December 3, 2009.
     The President,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: Today, as the White House convenes its 
     jobs summit and examines ways to speed job growth in a slow-
     moving economy, please accept my sincere appreciation and 
     best wishes for a successful event. I am pleased to hear that 
     Mayor Ashley Swearengin of Fresno, CA is one of five U.S. 
     mayors invited to participate today, since the region that 
     she and I represent has suffered from severe economic 
     hardships including a crippling drought, a collapse of the 
     dairy market and precipitous drop in the housing market. 
     Mayor Swearengin's presence is especially timely as she 
     navigates unprecedented fiscal challenges in the city's 
     operating budget which include employee furloughs, fire 
     station closures and over one hundred employee layoffs.
       As you are well aware from our prior meetings and my 
     correspondence, California is in the midst of a water supply 
     crisis and likely heading into the fourth consecutive year of 
     a crippling drought. I urge you to keep California's San 
     Joaquin Valley in the forefront of your economic recovery 
     dialogue. I would be remiss if I did not point out that one 
     way to bring people back to work in the San Joaquin Valley 
     immediately is to use all the discretion within your power 
     under the law to get water flowing this growing season. This 
     action alone would allow tens of thousands of hard-working 
     farmers, farm workers, and farm communities to return to the 
     honest work of putting food on America's dinner table.
       Water is the lifeblood of the Valley, and without it, our 
     cities and towns have literally been withering and drying 
     out. Unless Mother Nature intervenes and you take action now 
     to implement short, mid, and long-term solutions to alleviate 
     the crisis, all of California will have to prepare for the 
     devastating impacts of the drought. On Tuesday of this week, 
     the California Department of Water Resources announced its 
     projected allocation for water deliveries to two-thirds of 
     Californians at 5 percent of contracted totals. For your 
     reference, this is the lowest initial allocation in State 
     Water Project history. It is my understanding that the 
     announcement from the Bureau of Reclamation will not be far 
     behind. Mr. President, farmers cannot get bank loans to 
     sustain their businesses with water supply delivery 
     allocations this low. Many communities throughout the Valley 
     are facing unemployment levels that rival any in recent 
     memory--up to forty percent. I believe that every region of 
     California deserves a sustainable water supply, and your 
     direct commitment and leadership is necessary to help with 
     California's short-term water needs.
       In addition, I am disappointed that the released list of 
     attendees at your jobs summit today did not include community 
     bankers from a diverse cross-section of the country. As you 
     know, community bankers have continued to lend to consumers 
     and small businesses in communities where the largest banks 
     have closed branches or reduced access to credit. The ability 
     to obtain credit is essential to any sustainable growth in 
     the small business sector, and I urge you to invite community 
     bankers to share their solutions for growth with your 
     administration.
       The San Joaquin Valley can benefit from additional 
     investments in our highway infrastructure. Just yesterday, 
     House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman 
     Jim Oberstar held a press conference with The American 
     Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 
     (AASHTO) regarding infrastructure investment. They identified 
     120 ready-to-go highway projects in California worth $4.012 
     billion. Investment in our highways will put people back to 
     work immediately, and improve transit in the San Joaquin 
     Valley.
       In addition, a renewed focus on high-speed rail would 
     greatly impact the local economy in the San Joaquin Valley. 
     Top economists have indicated that direct investment in 
     infrastructure projects is the best way to create jobs and 
     stimulate the economy. The short-term and long-term economic 
     impacts of a high-speed rail system would be tremendous for 
     California's economy. Construction of the system is estimated 
     to generate almost 300,000 jobs, and following construction, 
     the system will provide 450,000 permanent jobs in California. 
     These jobs will have a huge ripple effect into other areas of 
     California's economy such as the service and manufacturing 
     industries. Overall, for every dollar spent on this system, 
     we will see two dollars in return. I urge you and Secretary 
     LaHood to approve California's Track 2 application for 
     federal high-speed rail funds, and would be happy to join you 
     when this funding is announced next year.
       Thank you for your consideration of these requests, and I 
     look forward to continue working with your administration to 
     bring jobs and long-term economic growth to California's San 
     Joaquin Valley.
           Sincerely,
                                                        Jim Costa,
                                               Member of Congress.

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