by DEVIN NUNES
Earlier today, I unveiled a new legislative package that will provide long-term water security to the people of California. The bill, titled the California Water Reliability Act, would immediately restore the flow of water to dry San Joaquin Valley communities. At the same time, it will provide the infrastructure needed to deliver long-term water reliability for rural, urban, and environmental purposes.
We need a sensible approach to water policy in California. Infrastructure built in the middle of the last century cannot meet our long-term needs – particularly when radicals in the environmental movement are demanding ever increasing amounts of water for their own misguided purposes.
When the state and federal water projects were built over 40 years ago, more than half of the water was dedicated to satisfying the needs of communities throughout California, including San Joaquin Valley farms. This water made it possible for the largely arid State of California to grow into an economic powerhouse and spurred the development of the world’s most diverse and abundant farming region.
Over time, lawsuits and the actions of liberal lawmakers in Congress have fundamentally changed the operation of California’s water projects by diverting large amounts of fresh water. This is most prominently exposed by the fact that more than 75% of the water that enters the Delta is now being wasted to the ocean in a vain effort to prop-up the faltering Delta ecosystem. The result of these changes is an artificial water shortage; one that I and others have labeled a government-imposed drought. It has also vastly magnified the impact of periodic dry conditions that are part of life in the Golden State.
At some point, families and California communities will have to become the priority of our government again. New dams, new canals, and a renewed commitment to serving the needs of the people are what we require. The California Water Reliability Act will deliver results while others continue to offer lip service.
The bill is both common sense and comprehensive. It will fast-track construction of a Delta bypass, as well as new surface water storage (including Temperance Flat) and a number of water circulation projects. In addition, the plan will rewrite the San Joaquin River Settlement to focus river restoration on a more financially feasible and environmentally sustainable warm water fishery. Finally, it will reform and improve the Central Valley Project Improvement Act to ensure the law attains measureable environmental goals.
We can and will have responsible environmental policies when the California Water Reliability Act becomes law. Radical environmentalists should never have been allowed to decide the terms under which water is allocated. Their record is clear. They take as much as they can get and come back for more. That’s why the San Joaquin River Settlement must be re-written – so that the eastside of the valley isn’t subjected to the same ongoing attack as farmers and communities on the Westside. And that’s why Delta pumping must be restored by Congress until new infrastructure is built to deliver the needed water around the Delta.
For more information on this issue and the California Water Reliability Act, please visit http://www.nunes.house.gov/
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Feinstein Water Proposal: Approach With Caution
by DEVIN NUNES
I am sure you have seen press reports over the past two daysthat Senator Feinstein is proposing a New Mexico style fix to our watercrisis. Please see the Fresno Bee story here for details.
Here's what occurred in New Mexico back in2003. Radical environmentalists cut-offwater to the citizens of Albuquerque to save the Silvery Minnow (see mytestimony to the House Resources Committee last week here). Congress, in abipartisan manner, quickly stepped in and provided a two-year fix to thesituation and restored water deliveries.
It must be noted that Senators Feinsteinand Boxer led the charge to defeat a proposal to provide such a fix for ourCentral Valley farmers just last year, despite the fact that theyboth supported the fix for New Mexico in 2003. However, it wasn’t just theSenators who voted to kill such a proposal; the House Democrats also votedseveral times against a New Mexico style fix last year.
So until we see the proposal in legislative text andunderstand what it does, we should approach it with caution.
Farmers need to be careful and not blindly accept a deal. Don’t be the dog that has been starved and kicked by its owner for years onlyto lick their owners’ hand when a mere morsel is offered under the table. Senator Feinstein says San Joaquin Valley families will get 38-40% of theirwater with this proposal. Is that a guarantee or a political talking point?
We have been guaranteed a lot from the Obama Administrationand Secretary Salazar over the past year and have gotten nothing in return. Are they going to publicly support this proposal in writing, or leave uswith empty promises again?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m encouraged that the Democrats arefinally waking up to the problems in the San Joaquin Valley. Yet, I must ask: What has changed? Over the past twelve months, the Democrats have flatlyrejected a New Mexico style fix. Then, suddenly, in an election year, theycome out of the woodwork to help.
So, is this an election year ploy to protect Democrats, orare they actually going to do something to protect the Valley?
I am sure you have seen press reports over the past two daysthat Senator Feinstein is proposing a New Mexico style fix to our watercrisis. Please see the Fresno Bee story here for details.
Here's what occurred in New Mexico back in2003. Radical environmentalists cut-offwater to the citizens of Albuquerque to save the Silvery Minnow (see mytestimony to the House Resources Committee last week here). Congress, in abipartisan manner, quickly stepped in and provided a two-year fix to thesituation and restored water deliveries.
It must be noted that Senators Feinsteinand Boxer led the charge to defeat a proposal to provide such a fix for ourCentral Valley farmers just last year, despite the fact that theyboth supported the fix for New Mexico in 2003. However, it wasn’t just theSenators who voted to kill such a proposal; the House Democrats also votedseveral times against a New Mexico style fix last year.
So until we see the proposal in legislative text andunderstand what it does, we should approach it with caution.
Farmers need to be careful and not blindly accept a deal. Don’t be the dog that has been starved and kicked by its owner for years onlyto lick their owners’ hand when a mere morsel is offered under the table. Senator Feinstein says San Joaquin Valley families will get 38-40% of theirwater with this proposal. Is that a guarantee or a political talking point?
We have been guaranteed a lot from the Obama Administrationand Secretary Salazar over the past year and have gotten nothing in return. Are they going to publicly support this proposal in writing, or leave uswith empty promises again?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m encouraged that the Democrats arefinally waking up to the problems in the San Joaquin Valley. Yet, I must ask: What has changed? Over the past twelve months, the Democrats have flatlyrejected a New Mexico style fix. Then, suddenly, in an election year, theycome out of the woodwork to help.
So, is this an election year ploy to protect Democrats, orare they actually going to do something to protect the Valley?
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
They Really Want the Pumps Shut Off
by DEVIN NUNES
Yesterday, the Fish and Wildlife Service filed the required 48 hour notice of implementing the Delta smelt Biological Opinion. They found two smelt entrained in the pumps which triggers the BiOp. Therefore, the pumps will basically be shut down Wednesday at 5 pm.
Friday we get a two week TRO on the Killer Whale BiOp (some good news), then they smack us with the other hand and implement the Delta smelt BiOp. If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would say that they magically found two smelt because a TRO was issued last week. They really want the pumps shut off.
Yesterday, the Fish and Wildlife Service filed the required 48 hour notice of implementing the Delta smelt Biological Opinion. They found two smelt entrained in the pumps which triggers the BiOp. Therefore, the pumps will basically be shut down Wednesday at 5 pm.
Friday we get a two week TRO on the Killer Whale BiOp (some good news), then they smack us with the other hand and implement the Delta smelt BiOp. If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would say that they magically found two smelt because a TRO was issued last week. They really want the pumps shut off.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Fish Screen Stimulus
by DEVIN NUNES
Today, the House Resources Committee held another hearing on the California water crisis. Predictably, the Democratic leadership blocked consideration of any legislation that would actually make a difference.
However, the American people are finally seeing the fruits of many months of hard work on the part of Congressional Democrats. Pelosi and her team now plan to pass legislation that authorizes stimulus money to be used on fish screens (I’m not joking). Apparently, smelt, salmon and killer whales everywhere are celebrating Congress’ commitment to the environment. But food lines in the valley are getting longer.
My testimony and several other clips have been posted my YouTube Channel. Please click here to watch.
The hearing today came on the heels of another propaganda victory by radical environmentalists – this time in the Sacramento Bee. In a 2,500 word editorial, long by any editorial standard, a radical environmentalist associated with High Country News boldly attempted to re-write history. Using the regurgitated talking points of President Obama’s water czar David Hayes, the author sought to marginalize my effort to turn on the pumps.
Not content with misleading statements about the cause of our water shortages, the author goes further and attacked those of us working to restore the flow of water. He described me as a “hot head” for forcing votes on restoring the flow of water to San Joaquin Valley communities. I always thought a hot head was someone who was quick tempered and threatened to punch someone during a disagreement, which is what Senator Dianne Feinstein did just last year. But you wouldn’t know that reading the Bee because Feinstein is described as a champion for valley farmers.
That’s because the author and his friends don’t like to hear the plain spoken truth, particularly on the national airwaves, and instead prefer the well trained behavior exhibited by California’s Democratic Senators. Paul Rodriguez, Ray Appleton, Sean Hannity, Inga Barks, Chris Daniel and the “sign waving flag totting throngs” who listen to them are not important. We are viewed as the uneducated masses, a backwards group of people in need of enlightenment.
And maybe some “enlightenment” is needed. But not about the history of the Delta or the nature of Mother Earth. The readers of the Sacramento Bee need to be enlightened about the radical environmental movement. If you visit the High Country News website, you will discover that the author of the Bee editorial and his friends are part of the “Environmental Justice” movement – a group of radicals who want to protect Mother Earth by forcing everyone to live according to their bizarre formula of sustainability. This means, in part, that commercial agriculture as we know it today will have to be abandoned and regions like ours will not be farmed.
Misleading editorials like this one should come with disclaimers. Newspapers should be doing more to inform the public about what is really happening. We need to regain control of our government and we need the pumps turned back on.
Today, the House Resources Committee held another hearing on the California water crisis. Predictably, the Democratic leadership blocked consideration of any legislation that would actually make a difference.
However, the American people are finally seeing the fruits of many months of hard work on the part of Congressional Democrats. Pelosi and her team now plan to pass legislation that authorizes stimulus money to be used on fish screens (I’m not joking). Apparently, smelt, salmon and killer whales everywhere are celebrating Congress’ commitment to the environment. But food lines in the valley are getting longer.
My testimony and several other clips have been posted my YouTube Channel. Please click here to watch.
The hearing today came on the heels of another propaganda victory by radical environmentalists – this time in the Sacramento Bee. In a 2,500 word editorial, long by any editorial standard, a radical environmentalist associated with High Country News boldly attempted to re-write history. Using the regurgitated talking points of President Obama’s water czar David Hayes, the author sought to marginalize my effort to turn on the pumps.
Not content with misleading statements about the cause of our water shortages, the author goes further and attacked those of us working to restore the flow of water. He described me as a “hot head” for forcing votes on restoring the flow of water to San Joaquin Valley communities. I always thought a hot head was someone who was quick tempered and threatened to punch someone during a disagreement, which is what Senator Dianne Feinstein did just last year. But you wouldn’t know that reading the Bee because Feinstein is described as a champion for valley farmers.
That’s because the author and his friends don’t like to hear the plain spoken truth, particularly on the national airwaves, and instead prefer the well trained behavior exhibited by California’s Democratic Senators. Paul Rodriguez, Ray Appleton, Sean Hannity, Inga Barks, Chris Daniel and the “sign waving flag totting throngs” who listen to them are not important. We are viewed as the uneducated masses, a backwards group of people in need of enlightenment.
And maybe some “enlightenment” is needed. But not about the history of the Delta or the nature of Mother Earth. The readers of the Sacramento Bee need to be enlightened about the radical environmental movement. If you visit the High Country News website, you will discover that the author of the Bee editorial and his friends are part of the “Environmental Justice” movement – a group of radicals who want to protect Mother Earth by forcing everyone to live according to their bizarre formula of sustainability. This means, in part, that commercial agriculture as we know it today will have to be abandoned and regions like ours will not be farmed.
Misleading editorials like this one should come with disclaimers. Newspapers should be doing more to inform the public about what is really happening. We need to regain control of our government and we need the pumps turned back on.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Obama Admits Roadmap Reforms Are Legitimate
by DEVIN NUNES
I and a growing number of others believe Congress needs to act today to address our nation’s long-term financial challenges and we have a plan. Our proposal is called “A Roadmap for America’s Future” (Roadmap for short) and was introduced in Congress on January 27th (see video).
Today, President Obama admitted that our plan, authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (WI), was a legitimate attempt to solve the economic and fiscal crisis facing the United States (see the video here). In fact, to date, the Roadmap is the only bill that addresses both short and long term challenges related to our economy, health care system, and entitlement programs.
More information about this important reform package can be found by visiting my webpage www.nunes.house.gov or by visiting http://www.americanroadmap.org/.
I and a growing number of others believe Congress needs to act today to address our nation’s long-term financial challenges and we have a plan. Our proposal is called “A Roadmap for America’s Future” (Roadmap for short) and was introduced in Congress on January 27th (see video).
Today, President Obama admitted that our plan, authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (WI), was a legitimate attempt to solve the economic and fiscal crisis facing the United States (see the video here). In fact, to date, the Roadmap is the only bill that addresses both short and long term challenges related to our economy, health care system, and entitlement programs.
More information about this important reform package can be found by visiting my webpage www.nunes.house.gov or by visiting http://www.americanroadmap.org/.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Republican Congressmen Blast Administration’s Misleading Announcement on Water Delivery to San Joaquin Valley Farmers
The Department of the Interior announced that it would "make available" nearly 400,000 acre feet of water from the San Luis Reservoir. Secretary Salazar failed to explain that this is not "new" water, but actually saved water bought and paid for by water users. In this case, at the end of every year, farmers conserve water to ensure that they will have enough water for the beginning of the next planting season. Farmers have paid for this water and store it in the San Luis Reservoir, as they do every year. The Department of the Interior is under contract to deliver this stored water back to the farmers. Secretary Salazar’s claim that this "assured water supply" is a result of recent storms is misleading and provides false hope to Valley residents.
"The actions of the Department of Interior are a classic Ponzi scheme that would make Bernard Madoff jealous. In this case, the Secretary is providing water users with the water they already bought. The Secretary’s generosity knows no bounds. Mr. Salazar seems to think he can gift to farmers their own water. This kind of thinking is exactly why radical environmentalists dominate Washington. Salazar, the Obama Administration, and the Democratic Congress refuse to recognize property rights. Whether the property in question is your water, land or hard earned tax dollars, everything is fair game to them. If you are lucky enough to get to keep what you have worked hard for, Obama and his crew will send out a press release and take credit." - Congressman Devin Nunes, sponsor of H.R. 3105 (CA- 21)
"The Administration is publicly patting itself on the back for doing exactly what they are obligated to do – provide farmers with the water they already own. Political spin will not help the thousands who are unemployed, and it will not help the farmers who have had no choice but to sell their land and lay off workers. They need real action, and they need it now. We have the ability to solve this problem - all we have to do is turn on the pumps. If Secretary Salazar wants to prove that this Administration hasn’t turned its back on San Joaquin Valley communities, he will support legislation to restore the flow of water." - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Republican Doc Hastings (WA-04)
The day after our water forum in Fresno, the Interior Secretary used his authority to 'release' up to 400,000 acre-feet of water already owned by Central Valley farmers. Having demonstrated his authority to act, he now needs to follow through and release the water that he holds hostage to the Delta Smelt." - House Water and Power Ranking Republican Tom McClintock (CA-04)
"This is just one more example where this Administration gives the appearance of addressing a problem, when all they are really doing is providing window-dressing. Secretary Salazar is playing politics when we need real, long-term solutions that bring people back to work. As I heard at our recent Congressional Water Forum in Fresno, the time to act is now." - Western Caucus Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01)
"We are in a dire water situation in California, and are facing a situation where a tiny fish is taking precedence over our local farmers and workers, which is killing jobs and our local economies. The Central Valley should not be ignored as we suffer thorough a man made drought caused by regulations resulting in mandated water reductions. Our farmers, families, and communities are tired of the continued lip service paid to our problems, and it is time for the Administration and the Democratic Leadership to wake up and get the message that jobs grow where water flows." - Congressman Kevin McCarthy (CA-22)
Background:On Monday, January 25th, Republican Members of Congress hosted a Water Forum in Fresno, California on addressing the San Joaquin Valley water crisis. Secretary Salazar turned down an invitation to participate in this forum or send a representative from the Department of the Interior. Hundreds of farmers and residents throughout the Valley attended the meeting and expressed the urgent need for the government to take action to restore the flow of water to farmers.
Congressman Devin Nunes has introduced "Turn on the Pumps Act" (H.R. 3105), to provide immediate relief. This bill would suspend portions of the Endangered Species Act to turn the pumps on to full operating capacity. Secretary Salazar and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have refused to support this legislation.
Congressman Devin Nunes has introduced "Turn on the Pumps Act" (H.R. 3105), to provide immediate relief. This bill would suspend portions of the Endangered Species Act to turn the pumps on to full operating capacity. Secretary Salazar and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have refused to support this legislation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)