The recent storms in California have brought some relief to families and farmers suffering from the water crisis. Reservoirs are filling up for the first time in years, while the snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas has increased significantly. And yet, those who are rushing to declare an end to the crisis are acting on little besides hope. The problems that caused the crisis—laws and environmental regulations that restrict pumping and mandate huge water flows be flushed into the ocean—all remain unc...
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Congressman Devin Nunes (CA-22) released the following statement today after joining the executive committee of Donald Trump’s transition team: “Today I was honored to have been named to the executive committee of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team. In this role, I will advise President-elect Trump on the appointments of his Cabinet members and on appointments to other top positions in the new administration. I look forward to helping to assemble an energetic and forward-looking team...
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I'd like to thank all my constituents who came to my water forum on Wednesday—with nearly a thousand people attending, the event was an extraordinary demonstration of our community's commitment to overcoming our government-made water crisis. As I argued at the forum, our best hope for resolving our 2.5 million acre-foot water shortfall is for our elected officials, ag groups, and water districts to unify behind a common agenda of reforming the Endangered Species Act, the Central Valley Project ...
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I'd like to offer you a final reminder to register for my water forum taking place in Tulare on August 31. At the event KMJ's Ray Appleton, farmers, water district representatives, and I will discuss the likely consequences of the ongoing water crisis and possible solutions to the problem. It will be held at the Heritage Complex at 4500 S. Laspina St. from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm PST. The event is free and open to the public, but you must register at this link to attend. I look forward to seeing yo...
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The 2015 Fresno County Crop Report found that Fresno’s crop value declined by $400 million last year. A Fresno Bee article on the report quotes Fresno County Agriculture Commissioner Les Wright as saying simply, “The lack of a reliable water supply continues to fallow productive land.” The story also quotes West side farmer Dan Errotabere: “The water shortage with the fallowing and cost of farming being much higher means the margins are even tighter yet for farming.” For many Valley farmers and...
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Capay Valley, a rural area northwest of Sacramento, recently had a big turnout to celebrate its 101st annual Almond Festival. This caught my eye because extreme environmental groups have blamed California farmers in general and almond growers in particular for the state's water crisis. Of course, they rely on grossly distorted statistics to make their case, but that doesn't seem to bother many of the media outlets reporting on growers supposedly using too much water. Like Central Valley farmers...
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As Governor Jerry Brown continues to wring his hands amid the California water crisis, I offer my take on the problem in an extended essay for Investor’s Business Daily. I’m sure the governor’s anguish about global warming and over-population is sincere, but those issues have little connection to the water crisis. The bottom line is this: the crisis is the direct result of a long-term plan by radical environmentalists to cut the water supply to San Joaquin Valley communities. Read how they did ...
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This week, the media continued to bemoan the California drought while downplaying how much water we’re losing due to environmental regulations. I took on some of the media spin about the water crisis last week in an article for National Review. Writing for the same magazine, Kevin Williamson has a piece out today debunking the common argument that global warming is to blame for the crisis. Read his piece “Global Warming Guacamole” here. Separately, the Nunes Digest is updated for your weekend r...
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The effects of Governor Jerry Brown’s water restrictions continue to reverberate across the state. A lot of the media coverage blames farmers for the crisis without even mentioning the environmental regulations that have been decimating the Central Valley water supply for decades. I offer a corrective to the media’s reporting in a new article here, and I argue my points in a Fox News report here. And in case you missed it, you can see my comments on the House floor last year on the water crisis ...
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The national media suddenly took notice of the California water wars this week after Governor Brown announced state-wide water restrictions. It’s nice to see some media interest in the problem, though they’re coming pretty late to the game. It’s amazing how a decades-long crisis in the Valley turns into a big story once the effects hit San Francisco and other coastal enclaves. Governor Brown, President Obama, and many others are blaming the water crisis on global warming, but I have a different...
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