[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4685]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       WASHINGTON DOESN'T UNDERSTAND CALIFORNIA'S WATER PROBLEMS

  (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, California's Governor will soon declare an 
end to the drought that devastated the San Joaquin Valley. Our cities 
are flooding and our rivers are raging and the snowpack in the Sierras 
is deeper than it has been in any 15-year period. It is clear that the 
drought is over. Somehow, though, Washington has not gotten the news.
  With unemployment still in double digits in seven counties in the 
valley and unemployment continuing to be very problematic, the folks in 
Washington think that communities can recover from the Great Recession 
with just over half the water our farmers need. They don't understand 
the valley. They don't understand us.
  Do you hear me, Commerce Department? Do you hear me, Secretary Locke? 
Water is the lifeblood of the San Joaquin Valley. It puts food on our 
table. It sustains our economy, and it creates good jobs. That is why I 
am introducing legislation that will allow the needed flexibility for 
California's water policy.
  As we work to find short-term and long-term solutions to California's 
broken water system, passing commonsense legislation will bring over 
half a million acre-feet of water to valley farmers and farm 
communities. It is time to put aside our political differences. It is 
time to reach a compromise, and it is time to end this regulatory 
drought.

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