by Devin Nunes
Earlier today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar testified before the House Budget Committee.
You may recall that Secretary Salazar visited Fresno recently to hear your concerns and promised his full cooperation in resolving our water shortages. This hearing provided me an opportunity to follow-up on the Secretary’s promises and to inquire as to whether or not he would be seeking a re-consult on the biological decisions that have kept the Delta pumps from running.
The Secretary refused to answer my question about a re-consult and instead implied that global warming was the reason we are experiencing shortages. He went on to say that there is no “man-made drought” and rebuked me as being unhelpful when describing the problem in this manner.
Of course, the lack of water south of the Delta is the direct result of pumping restrictions imposed by our government – a man-made drought or government-imposed drought is the most descriptive way to describe the crisis.
Click here for a short video of today’s hearing.
