Issues
Water Resources
This page provides an overview of my position on water issues and provides links to resources related to water that are currently available on my website. I welcome your comments and appreciate your interest.
In my ongoing effort to convince Congressional Democrats that Californians need relief from a government imposed dust-bowl, I have been offering amendments to a number of spending bills. These amendments have been straightforward, despite the efforts of Democratic leaders to generate controversy. If enacted, my amendments would prevent federal authorities from implementing environmental decisions that deprive Californians access to essential water supplies. In addition to the efforts I have undertaken related to federal spending bills, I have introduced separate legislation – HR 3105. The bill is only two pages. It is entitled the “Turn on the Pumps Act” – and that is exactly what it would do. I also have worked to gain Senate support for legislation. On September 22, 2009, Senator Jim DeMint (South Carolina) proposed an amendment to the Department of Interior spending bill that would have given Californians one year of reliable water supplies. It was defeated by California's Senators and a largely party line vote (see video). You can also listen to Senator DeMint and I explain our effort on KMJ's Ray Appleton Program by clicking here. On September 30, 2009, the Department of Interior hosted a California water public forum in Washington, DC. Click here for the full audio or here for the video. You can listen to my remarks here. Additional video of the ongoing debate over California’s water crisis can be found on my YouTube Channel. For the full library of water related video, see my man-made drought playlist. Need more info? Check out Distorted Water - my response to common distortions used by radical environmentalists and their friends in Congress. ARE VALLEY FARMERS KILLING WHALES? A new regulation announced by the Obama Administration on June 5, 2009 will reduce valley water supplies by as much as 500,000 acre feet – enlarging the ongoing devastation associated with current shortages. In a briefing for Congressional offices, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced that the operation of both federal and state water projects are contributing to the possible extinction of salmon, sturgeon, southern resident killer whale, and steelhead. The new reductions will be on top of water cut-backs associated with the delta smelt and the San Joaquin River Settlement. Click here for video of the Congressional debate over the Nunes amendemnt - a spending provision to prevent implementation of the Obama killer whale rule. Click here for the second segment of the water debate. Click here to watch the House Floor vote, during which Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Lieutenant George Miller killed the Nunes amendment.
DELTA PUMPS SHUT DOWN: Early in 2009, the Bureau of Reclamation, for the first time in the history of the CVP, projected zero water allocations for agricultural water service contractors on the westside of the San Joaquin Valley. Despite adjustments to provide token water deliveries, no meaningful relief has come. As a consequence, as much as 500,000 acres will be forced out of production (see NASA image) and, according to a recent forecast by economists at the University of California, Davis, more than 40,000 farm workers will lose their jobs. Moreover, these job losses will occur in poor, rural communities, such as the City of Mendota, which already has unemployment rates in excess of 40%, and these communities are the least capable of reacting to this economic devastation (see video). Despite these harsh realities, we see no assistance from the state or federal government. Without action, the situation in the San Joaquin Valley will evolve from one of desperation to one of chaos. Read Congressman Nunes’ letters to President Obama and Governor Schwarzenegger (February 6, 2009 letter) (February 26, 2009 letter) or his February 9, 2009 remarks (click here). SAN JOAQUIN RIVER SETTLEMENT: As part of my effort to determine whether or not negotiators have crafted a deal that protects all of our interests, I have asked a lot of hard questions. This has frustrated those who expected the fanfare of a settlement to be followed by a rubber stamp in Congress. What I have discovered during this process is that in an effort to rush a deal through Congress, some of the settling parties have consistently misrepresented facts concerning their deal to farmers and the general public. For more information on the settlement and legislation to restore the river read: - San Joaquin River Settlement: Challenges ahead and a call to action - Nunes statement on House Natural Resources Committee passage, November 15, 2007 - New lawsuit threatens California’s water supply. New attack on CVP, December 3, 2008 - Congress approves water give-away: Nunes condemns government-imposed drought, March 25, 2009 (video)
BACKGROUND ON WATER POLICY:
Related Records:
February 2007
- 02/20/07
