The House of Hypocrisy

Earlier today, the House passed H.R. 2442, the Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program Expansion Act by George Miller (D-Martinez).  Passage of the bill came despite strong opposition by Republicans.

Miller’s legislation provides $38 million for water recycling programs in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.  The bill does nothing to address the ongoing water crisis in the San Joaquin Valley where half a million acres of productive farmland has been transformed into desert in order to protect a three inch bait fish, the Delta smelt.

This legislation is an insult to the water-starved communities of the San Joaquin Valley.  It is offensive to those of us who have fought for and been denied any legislative relief for the real water crisis in California – the one that has turned half a million acres into desert.

I have offered a variety of legislative proposals that would end the government-imposed drought – restoring the flow of water to communities that are approaching 40% unemployment.  Each of my proposals has been blocked by Democratic leaders.

My plan, which is to provide California’s federal and state water pumping facilities a short-term exemption to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), is virtually identical to legislation previously passed by Congress.

George Miller and his friends on the left supported the ESA waiver for New Mexico in 2003.  Now they are telling the people of the San Joaquin Valley "no."  The hypocrisy of my colleagues on the Democratic side of the isle is very telling.  Their actions today do not reflect the values of the American people.

In 2003, the New Mexico delegation received unanimous support in the Senate and an overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House, for legislation that waived the ESA on the Rio Grande River.  This was necessary to protect the water supply of Albuquerque residents from radical environmentalists who wanted to divert the water in order to protect a three inch bait fish - the silvery minnow.

The Delta smelt is virtually identical to New Mexico’s silvery minnow.  They are both three inch bait fish.  Californians deserve relief from the government-imposed drought, just like the people of New Mexico did in 2003.

See video of the debate on my YouTube Channel.

You can’t spend what you don’t have. Let's try something new.

California has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. Yet, the government can’t pay its bills and is on the brink of financial collapse. If changes are not made to business as usual policies in Sacramento, our state faces long-term economic instability.

If we want to reverse this trend and grow our economy, we must begin by establishing a mandatory spending cap on our state government. It is essential that we force our state leaders to prioritize spending. They need to learn what every family in California already understands – you can’t spend what you don’t have.

We also need to bring jobs back. To accomplish this, we must grow our economy and reduce the burden on small businesses. Tax reform is the key. Our state’s complex and oppressive tax laws drive employers out of California.

A healthy economy will require the scraping of the tax code. In place of corporate and personal income taxes, we should create a simple consumption oriented retail sales tax. According to a recent report by the American Enterprise Institute, that sales tax would only need to be about 10% to fund our government at current levels.

Our state can either lead the way in economic recovery by establishing a pro-investment, pro-job creation environment or we can lead the way in the opposite direction. If no changes are made, California is on auto-pilot to become permanently economically depressed. For this reason, I have urged Governor Schwarzenegger and other state leaders to seriously consider the changes I have outlined (click here for more info).

In their own words…

by DEVIN NUNES

Although actions speak louder than words, it is important to listen to the way our nation’s leaders describe the water crisis in California (the government-imposed drought).

Here are some clips from the public forum held at the Department of Interior in Washington, DC on September 30th.

If you missed my remarks, you can listen here.

Senator Dianne Feinstein
“We have a problem and it’s not going to be solved by saying turn the pumps on or turn the pumps off…”
“The pumps have been on since June 30th…”
“I think the National Academy study is really important.”
“I also know that the Delta is under enormous stress.”

Congressman George Miller
“Somebody must be in charge of this effort.”
“We have an opportunity with David’s leadership…” (the water czar)
“Today we are going to have a bill on the floor, Devin I don’t know if you are going to ambush the bill or not, but its 26 billion gallons of water for the Bay Area...companion bills have been already passed for Southern California.”
“To restore the functions of the Delta is key to that process.”
“We all know and recognize that we have a badly overprescribed system.”
“I don’t think I have lost many lawsuits in court over the last 10 or 15 years.”
“There has been no clear winner.”

If you prefer to listen to the entire forum, you can do so by clicking here.

A meeting at the Department of the Interior

For those who didn’t already know – the lines in the ongoing water debate are now clearly drawn.  Earlier today, I attended a meeting at the Department of Interior.  Those in attendance were a virtual ‘whose who’ in the leftist environmental movement.  Included among them was the water czar himself, David Hayes, as well as his patron, Bay Area Congressman George Miller.

At this meeting, Secretary Salazar again denied the existence of a man-made drought in California (click here to hear the Secretary).  Flanked by George Miller, Dianne Feinstein and a host of liberal lawmakers, the Secretary dismissed the need for immediate relief in our region and reiterated tired arguments about the complex nature of California water policy.  In other words – expect more lip service but no help from Washington. 

During my brief remarks (click here), I told the Secretary in no uncertain terms that he and the Democrats in Congress were waging war against the people of the San Joaquin.  They have rejected seven separate efforts in the House and one in the Senate – each of which would have provided temporary relief to our region. 

Earlier this year, the Delta pumps were turned off and hundreds of acres of farmland became desert – all because of a three inch minnow.  While those pumps are running today, they will soon be shut down again.  Congress must pass a temporary measure to protect our water supply.  Only after this can we move forward in search of larger solutions. 

Honesty is needed in water debate, not intimidation

Last week, I worked with Senator Jim DeMint (South Carolina) to move an amendment that would have temporarily restored water deliveries in California. The Senate defeated the effort with California’s Senators leading the opposition. Since that time, there has been a lot of discussion about the vote – including a dishonest campaign that must be challenged.

Firstly, the notion that the DeMint amendment was tantamount to Pearl Harbor – that it was a sneak attack – is pure fiction. Senator DeMint approached Senator Feinstein at 12:20 pm on the day in question and provided her the language of his amendment (see video). This gave Feinstein and her advisors approximately six hours to read the amendment’s ten lines of text before the vote.

Secondly, it is not possible for anyone who claims to be involved in California water policy to be ignorant as to the needs of our rural communities and farms. Put simply, they need water. This requires a temporary restoration of normal pumping operations so that water can be delivered when it is needed. I have been calling for action in this regard for two years, have participated in numerous debates, and forced votes in the House on seven occasions.

Furthermore, organizations associated with agriculture from throughout California have pressed for immediate relief from the man-made drought. They have done so publically and they have done so privately with their Congressional delegation. These requests have been reported by the national media – including an hour long broadcast on the Hannity program.

Yet, despite these facts the Senator and her allies are today exerting pressure on California agriculture interests. Instead of working to provide California immediate relief, the Senator is trying to convince the people of our state that we need more studies and deliberation. Unfortunately, in the past “study” has been code for inaction or worse – additional water takings.

Where the water goes

Unfortunately, there have been a number of inaccurate and misleading statements over the past few weeks on the man-made drought in the San Joaquin Valley.  For example, there have been allegations that agriculture is the using too much Delta water.  The image that I have uploaded shows water distributions.

Some have also mentioned the story of a “farmer” selling his water for $77 million, claiming this is the problem – not the environmental restrictions.  It was a Bay Area businessman that sold the water.  He sold 14,000 acre feet of water for the next ten years at $5,500 an acre foot.  The water is going to the Mojave Irrigation District for groundwater banking.  It can be frustrating to see water sold from of the Valley at this time.  But this sale pales in comparison to the environmental losses we have seen just this year. "Protecting" the Delta smelt has blocked over 600,000 acre feet of water from being delivered.  Starting October 1, 2009, another 250,000 acre feet will be released from Friant Dam to bring salmon back and won't happen.