[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8651]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              COMMERCE-JUSTICE-SCIENCE APPROPRIATIONS BILL

  Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I rise today to speak very briefly to 
highlight my opposition to the cloture motion on the appropriations 
bill for the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, and the 
Science agencies and to discuss an issue of critical importance to my 
home State of Georgia and what I think is a direct abuse of what the 
Founders intended for Senate debate.
  For over 20 years, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and the Army Corps of 
Engineers have been engaged in various lawsuits over water rights among 
those three States. Georgia has two reservoirs in question--Lake Lanier 
and Lake Allatoona--that are operated by the Corps, that provide 
drinking water for Metro Atlanta, and that provide water downstream for 
the Chattahoochee, Flint, Coosa, and Tallapoosa Rivers. These river 
basins also provide water to South Georgia and parts of Alabama and 
Florida.
  Currently, litigation is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, the 
Federal DC district court, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern 
District of Georgia. Negotiations are also ongoing between the State 
governments on this very topic, and I believe they are closer to a 
solution right now than we have ever been.
  Clearly, this is an issue that should be left to the States to settle 
through negotiation and, if needed, litigation. But now another attempt 
is being made by some in the Senate to surreptitiously influence the 
courts through language included in the report that accompanies this 
CJS bill.
  We will vote on that bill sometime this afternoon. I strongly oppose 
this bill. This is the business of the States and should not be 
resolved or influenced in this manner. Let me be clear. It is not this 
body's place to try and tip the scales in any way on this matter.
  Furthermore, we have already had this fight. This same language was 
inserted last year during debate over the omnibus spending bill. Then 
it was removed after further examination and explanation was given to 
leaders in both Chambers over its purpose. Let me reiterate that. When 
the leaders of this body and the leader in the House saw what was 
really happening in this language, they both independently removed the 
language. It was removed then, and nothing has changed to merit having 
this debate again in this Senate this year.
  Multiple lawsuits and negotiations between the States are ongoing. 
There is nothing unusual about that. Any attempt to create a role for 
Congress during the appropriations process on this issue would set a 
dangerous precedent and should alarm every Senator who cares about the 
rights and integrity of the States. Injecting Congress into this would 
give an unjust advantage to other States involved, stripping away any 
incentive for them to negotiate in good faith with our State of 
Georgia.
  Furthermore, this congressional involvement would establish a 
dangerous precedent for any State involved in water resource 
negotiations. The negotiations on water rights in the West make these 
pale in comparison. That is not a role our Founders intended for 
Congress to play, and inserting the Federal Government into another 
issue where it doesn't belong would be emblematic of why folks back 
home are so fed up with the dysfunction in Washington.
  For these reasons and others, as I will discuss throughout this week 
as we debate this bill, I will definitely vote no on advancing to the 
CJS appropriations bill.
  I yield back and note the whip is in the Chamber.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.

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