[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12655]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        EAST BENCH IRRIGATION DISTRICT WATER CONTRACT EXTENSION

  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4508) to amend the East Bench Irrigation District Water 
Contract Extension Act to permit the Secretary of the Interior to 
extend the contract for certain water services.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4508

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EAST BENCH IRRIGATION DISTRICT CONTRACT EXTENSION.

       Section 2(1) of the East Bench Irrigation District Water 
     Contract Extension Act (Public Law 112-139; 126 Stat. 390) is 
     amended by striking ``4 years'' and inserting ``10 years''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Montana (Mr. Daines) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Montana.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Montana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Hearing that water services delivery could be in jeopardy for 60,000 
acres of some of the most productive farmland in my home State of 
Montana, I was happy to introduce this legislation that ensures that 
irrigation in southwest Montana is protected.
  H.R. 4508 protects irrigation and water supplies in the Beaverhead 
Valley by extending the district's contract while an updated contract 
is pending approval by the Montana Water Court. This contract extension 
is necessary since the Montana court system is in the middle of 
conducting a necessary State-required review of the new contract 
between the irrigation district and the United States. This bill does 
not prejudice the outcome of that examination but keeps in place the 
existing 1958 contract so area farmers and ranchers in the Beaverhead 
Valley of Montana have water supply certainty for nearly 60,000 acres.
  The legislation has no cost to the Federal Government and is based on 
congressional precedent. In fact, Congress has extended this 1958 
contract a number of times, since an extension provides an irrigation 
district with an absolute right under Federal law to negotiate a new 
contract with the Bureau of Reclamation. This bill simply adds 6 
additional years to the last extension, thereby extending the 1958 
contract until December 31, 2019, or until a new contract is executed.
  This bill is the result of hard work that is being done in Montana. I 
especially want to thank Mr. Bill Hritsco and the East Bench Irrigation 
District for their leadership and for working with me on this 
legislation to provide Montana farmers and Montana ranchers with much-
needed certainty about their water supply.
  Mr. Hritsco, the Dillon, Montana-based attorney representing the 
Irrigation District, provided expert testimony on this bill before the 
House Natural Resources Committee earlier this year. The Irrigation 
District's work with me on this bill represents how Montanans can roll 
up their sleeves and get good things done. As a result, water will 
continue to flow in the Beaverhead Valley's fields for years to come if 
this legislation is enacted. I urge adoption of the bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4508, introduced by the gentleman from Montana (Mr. 
Daines), would extend the East Bench Irrigation District's water 
contract, as he has said, for 6 years, pending a judicial ruling. The 
extension will allow the water to continue to be delivered to nearly 
60,000 acres in the Beaverhead Valley of Montana, will protect the 
right for contract renewal, and will be useful to the residents of the 
area while the court confirmation process is given time for completion.
  I support this legislation. I ask my colleagues to support it as 
well.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Montana (Mr. Daines) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4508.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________