California Members Issue Statements on Water Negotiations

WASHINGTON – December 11, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — California Members of the House of Representatives released a timeline outlining water negotiations between the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate dating back to 2011. In addition, Members issued statements regarding their ongoing, years-long efforts to alleviate the impacts of California’s drought.

Negotiation Timeline

2011

• H.R. 1837 the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act is introduced in the House. The bill would roll back government restrictions on the pumping of water for use by California communities and would ease regulations that result in hundreds of billions of gallons of fresh water getting flushed out into the ocean.

2012

• The House passes H.R. 1837.
• The Senate, with a Democratic majority, does not consider H.R. 1837 or pass its own water bill.

2014

• The House introduces and passes H.R. 3964, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Emergency Water Delivery Act, another attempt to ease government water regulations that restrict the water supply.
• Senator Feinstein introduces S. 2016, the California Emergency Drought Relief Act, which would provide far less water for California families than H.R. 3964.
• Senator Feinstein then pushes House Republicans to instruct Senate Republicans to allow passage of a second bill, theEmergency Drought Relief Act of 2014, S. 2198, which allowed the two Chambers to enter a negotiating conference.
• House members and Senators begin talks on a compromise water bill, but Senator Feinstein walks away from the negotiations shortly before Congress adjourns.
• The House quickly passes H.R. 5781, the California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014, that reflects negotiated language with Senator Feinstein.
• Senators Boxer and Feinstein block H.R. 5781 from being included in an omnibus spending bill.

2015

• The House introduces and passes H.R. 2898, the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015, which reflects the 2014 negotiations with the Senate.
• The Senate introduces a water bill that spends $1.3 billion without an offset, meaning it has no chance of passing either chamber.
• House-Senate negotiators meet for several months and make progress toward an agreement.
• The House submits language to include in an omnibus spending bill that retains Democrat priorities as well as Republican priorities that the Obama Administration had largely agreed not to oppose.
• Senator Feinstein publically rejects the proposal less than 24 hours after the proposal is made privately.

Individual statements from members of the California Delegation are below:

Congressman Jeff Denham (CA-10)

“While Californians suffer through a horrific drought, our senators continue to request secret negotiations only to stall the process. More storage equals jobs. I will settle for nothing less.”

Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23)

“The current drought and water crisis demands a response. The California Republican delegation has put forth a proposal to provide our communities immediate relief as El Nino is likely to bring a wetter than usual winter. Continued opposition from California Democrats in Congress to any solution that is designed to allow more water to flow to central and southern California only exacerbates the current drought and hurts our state.  The response from Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer is disappointing given our proposal’s inclusion of many California Democrat priorities but unfortunately not surprising as they have opposed every legislative effort to find bipartisan agreement. The stakes are too high not to act.”

Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42)

“One of our top priorities throughout these negotiations was to create flexibility in the operation of the pumps in the Delta in order to capture as much water as possible during the upcoming rainy season (El Niño). After many lengthy discussions with the Senate, the Administration, conservation groups, water districts throughout the state, and other interested stakeholders, we arrived at a compromise that would have provided some relief to the drought-stricken communities of California.  The language that was proposed did not violate the Endangered Species Act or the biological opinions; a view that was shared by the Administration. We entered into good faith omnibus negotiations at Senator Feinstein’s request. The deal was close to done but unfortunately, Senator Feinstein took umbrage to what was at most a staffer error in a closed-door meeting. Our 14 California Republican members remained hopeful, and quiet, until the 11th hour trying to resolve small differences with a bipartisan coalition to help the state of California. Our good faith negotiations came to naught. It’s unfortunate when the LA Times gets the story wrong, but it is tragic when the Senate gets the policy wrong.”

Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21)

“The House of Representatives has repeatedly tried to provide a federal solution to drought conditions impacting our constituents. However, our Senators from California have failed to get a single piece of legislation, even vaguely related to the drought, passed in the Senate this year. To no avail, the House has exhausted all legislative resources. My House-passed bill, H.R. 2898, theWestern Water and American Food Security Act remains in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources pending further action. The House of Representatives looks forward to the Senate passing legislation so that the two Chambers may go to Conference to reconcile differences between the Chambers.”

Congressman Devin Nunes (CA-22)

“The House has proposed a compromise to ease the California water crisis — one that satisfies the Senate’s demands — and once again Senate Democrats are rejecting our efforts by prioritizing fish over families. If anyone still wonders why Congress has not approved pumping more water for California communities, they should look at the Senate’s inexplicable refusal to take yes for an answer.”

Congressman Paul Cook (CA-08)

“California is facing the worst drought in a century. California Republicans have been trying for weeks to work with the administration and our California Senators on a drought bill to bring relief to California and capitalize on the upcoming El Niño season. The time to act is now and I urge our California Senators to join us in getting a water deal done.”

Congressman Tom McClintock (CA-04)

“For many critical months, House Republicans have negotiated in good faith with Congressional Democrats led by Senator Feinstein for a water policy that balanced the desperate needs of the people of California with the demands of the environmental Left.  The events of the last week make it obvious that neither she nor the Democratic delegation has been dealing in good faith and that their plan from the outset is to run out the legislative clock.  Droughts are nature’s fault, but water shortages are a public policy choice.  And regrettably, the Democrats continue to choose scarcity over abundance.”

Congressman Doug LaMalfa (CA-01)

“Every aspect of this proposal was developed by a working group of California’s Republican and Democratic members of the House and Senate, in cooperation with the Obama administration, Governor Brown’s administration, agricultural and urban water districts, environmental groups, and other stakeholders. Any member who claims that they weren’t included has willfully chosen not to be a part of this process and is choosing not to be part of a workable solution to California’s water crisis. The simple facts are that time has run out, that these proposals have received broad, bipartisan, bicameral support, and that the people of California have been waiting for action for three long years.”

Congresswoman Mimi Walters (CA-45)

“Finding a solution to California’s drought problem is one of my top priorities and we must seize the opportunity to address this issue immediately.  With over 37 million people throughout the state impacted by the drought, it is critical that Congress take action and pass legislation that will provide relief to California’s families, farmers, and businesses.  We simply cannot afford to stand by and continue to allow existing policies to mismanage our water resources.  I remain committed to working with my colleagues to address this problem.”

Congressman Stephen Knight (CA-25)

“California’s water issue will require swift, coordinated action between local, state, and federal agencies. By refusing to act on this measure, Congress will miss a critical opportunity to do its part, which will further hurt California’s families and communities.”

Congressman Darrell E. Issa (CA-49)

“The purpose of this drought relief bill is to expeditiously bring water to California communities, which have been suffering from a devastating drought for more than four years.  House Republicans have been diligently working with Senator Feinstein for months, crafting a bill ideal for bipartisan and bicameral support.  It is disingenuous for someone who has been a critical participant in these discussions to say that the process was secretive.  I am hopeful that the Senator can put our communities first and help us bring drought relief to our state as soon as possible.”

Congressman Ed Royce (CA-39)

“Republicans and Democrats have been in negotiations for months in an attempt to develop a solution to California’s prolonged water shortages. Our proposal strikes the right balance by increasing pumping and water storage without violating the Endangered Species Act and providing funding for desalination and water recycling programs. It’s a shame that Democrats have abandoned the negotiating table instead of helping deliver California the relief it so desperately needs.”

Congressman Duncan Hunter (CA-50)

“Millions of Californians are suffering from the worst drought conditions in our state’s history.  We must take action to address California’s water crisis without further delay, and enact real solutions that will provide relief to citizens across our state.”

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (CA-48)

“Californians can no longer be treated as second-class citizens by congressional Democrats and radical environmentalists who insist on putting fish first.  Democrats must stop interfering with our efforts to make sure that Californians have the water they need.”