On Wednesday, Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09) led 20 House Democrats from California, Oregon, Arizona, and Washington in sending a letter to President Barack Obama, expressing their disapproval with Republican congressional efforts to hijack the drought crisis affecting western states. The letter also calls on the President to work to keep any harmful drought legislation out of a must-pass government funding bill.
Full text of the letter:
December 9, 2015
President Barack Obama
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We write to express our disapproval with Republican congressional efforts to hijack the drought crisis affecting western states. Republican leadership is currently working to include provisions in the omnibus spending legislation that are similar to those we have continuously opposed. It is unacceptable that our Republican colleagues are attempting to bypass regular order with a damaging rider that fails to provide meaningful drought relief.
Secret maneuvering only confirms that our House counterparts have not negotiated in good faith and that any drought relief language included in must-pass spending legislation will not reflect the input of all stakeholders. Previous drought bills, including the House-passed H.R. 2898, contained numerous environmentally damaging provisions similar to those in this rider. These provisions would harm our communities’ water quality and supply, disadvantage our farmers and fishermen, and violate tribal trust responsibilities.
Your administration has clearly voiced its opposition to H.R. 2898. Interior Deputy Secretary Mike Connor stated in his hearing testimony that, “H.R. 2898 dictates operational decisions, prescribes infeasible outcomes, and creates new conflicts among existing laws that will hinder, rather than help, an effective drought response . . . We believe that H.R. 2898 will slow decision-making, generate significant new litigation, and limit the real-time operational flexibility that has proven critical to maximizing water delivery during the current drought.”[1]
You also issued a Statement of Administration Policy on the bill: “The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 2898 . . . because it fails to address critical elements of California’s complex water challenges and will, if enacted, impede an effective and timely response to the continuing drought while providing no additional water to hard hit communities.”
Federal, state, and local officials have worked in real-time to maximize limited water supplies, prioritize public health and safety, meet state water quality requirements, and ensure a balanced approach. We do not believe that the proposed rider offers relief to our states and communities or builds upon the state and federal agencies ongoing work to address the drought. Instead, this Republican rider would micromanage the operations of California’s water supply system to benefit some stakeholders over others, undermine the Endangered Species Act by overriding existing biological opinions, and weaken the Clean Water Act.
The State of California, nearly the entire California House Democratic Delegation and delegations from Oregon, Arizona, and Washington have said repeatedly that such an approach is unacceptable. Given the severity of the drought and its impact on our economy, environment, and the well-being of our constituents, it is reprehensible to tie the health of the Delta, and the many west-wide economies and species it supports, to must-pass spending legislation.
We are also disappointed that our House counterparts did not provide the same level of support during negotiations for comprehensive drought solutions, such as water recycling, innovative financing, and infrastructure repair efforts, which are included in S. 1894. We will continue our efforts, however, to advocate for solutions that provide sustainable relief and break us out of a cycle of reliance on an oversubscribed water supply. In order to bring drought relief to our great states, we must bring all affected stakeholders together to respond to the current drought and build regional resiliency to face future droughts. It is vital to put the days of choosing one economic sector or one geographic region over another behind us.
We appreciate your attention to these issues and hope that your administration will work to keep any harmful drought legislation out of a must-pass government funding bill. In doing so, you will ensure that any legislation moving forward is properly vetted and prevents further harm to the drought-stricken communities and environment in California and the entire western United States.
Sincerely,
JERRY MCNERNEY
RAUL GRIJALVA
JARED HUFFMAN
PETER DEFAZIO
JOHN GARAMENDI
MIKE THOMPSON
DORIS MATSUI
MARK DESAULNIER
MIKE HONDA
ANNA ESHOO
JACKIE SPEIER
ZOE LOFGREN
EARL BLUMENAUER
ERIC SWALWELL
MARK TAKANO TED LIEU
SUSAN DAVIS LOIS CAPPS
DEREK KILMER SUZANNE BONAMICI
BARBARA LEE
Cc:
Brian Deese, Senior Advisor to the President, White House
Christy Goldfuss, Managing Director, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Shaun Donovan, Director, Office of Management and Budget
Mike Connor, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
John Bezdek, Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
Will Stelle, Regional Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Trent Bauserman, Associate Director for Legislative Affairs, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Link to the letter: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7-4NnqTy1iNc0NxUXhtSV83UDA
Rep. Jerry McNerney proudly serves the constituents of California’s 9th Congressional District that includes portions of San Joaquin, Contra Costa, and Sacramento Counties. For more information on Rep. McNerney’s work, follow him on Facebook and on Twitter @RepMcNerney.
