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February 29, 2012
PERMALINK
House Approves Bipartisan Plan to Protect Jobs, Restore
Water Deliveries, Prevent
Man-Made Droughts in California
WASHINGTON, D.C. –
Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1837,
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability
Act, with a bipartisan vote of
246-175. This compressive bill would restore water
deliveries that have been cut-off due to federal
regulations and environmental lawsuits, protect tens of
thousands of jobs, ensure a reliable water supply for
people and fish, secure water rights, and save taxpayer
money by ending unnecessary and dubious government
projects.
“During
2009 and 2010, the Obama Administration and the Democrat
Congress stood by and did nothing while farmers in
California’s San Joaquin Valley were deprived of water
and were put out of work. Today, House Republicans took
real action to correct this situation and end future
man-made droughts in California,”
said Chairman Hastings. “This bill will ensure
farmers have the water supply they need and will protect
up to 30,000 jobs. Furthermore, the bill cuts spending
by nearly $300 million and expedites incoming revenue to
the tune of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. I
applaud my California colleagues for their work on this
legislation that will bring water and jobs back to the
San Joaquin Valley.”
Background:
In 2009, federal regulations to protect a 3-inch fish -
the Delta smelt - led to the deliberate diversion of
over 300 billion gallons of water away from San Joaquin
Valley farmers. This cost thousands of farm workers
their jobs, inflicted up to 40 percent unemployment in
certain communities, and fallowed hundreds of thousands
of acres of fertile farmland.
The
Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act:
-
Restores
water deliveries to communities by codifying the
historic, bipartisan State/Federal agreement known
as the “Bay-Delta Accord.”
-
Reforms
punitive federal laws, the Central Valley Project
Improvement Act and the San Joaquin River
Restoration Settlement Act, in order to provide
fairness to ratepayers, promote transparency and
accountability, and save taxpayers hundreds of
millions of dollars.
-
Allows
water users to pay off federal debt early.
-
Protects
and secures private property and senior water
rights.
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http://naturalresources.house.gov/
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