Transcripts For CSPAN House Session 20141208 : comparemela.c

Transcripts For CSPAN House Session 20141208

You have bound us together with noble ideals of liberty, justice, equality and yet we struggle to be one people, a unified nation. We pray for all the members of this house asking you to bless them with wisdom and discernment, to lead our people to rebling silliation, to rebuild our nations confidence in justice, to restore our sense of equality, free them from the divisive distractions of any lesser ideals, that they the ore powerfully serve house. Keep the unity of people through the bond of peace. Bless, also, our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines deployed overseas as they continue to bring peace to this troubled world. We pray in your holy name. Amen. The speaker pro tempore the chair has examined the journal of the last days proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. The pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from california, mrs. Napolitano. Mrs. Napolitano i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The speaker pro tempore the chair will entertain requests for oneminute speeches. For what purpose does the gentlelady from North Carolina seek recognition . Ms. Foxx mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. On november 20, president obama significantly overstepped the bounds of his constitutionally granted executive authority when he took steps to grant amnesty to millions of immigrants who are in the United States illegally. Prior to his unilateral actions, the president himself acknowledged repeatedly that this is not how our democracy functions and the way to reform this nations broken immigration system is legislatively. As they say in North Carolina, the president has gone to midland. Its absolutely critical that we go on record against his unparallel power grab and Congress Must do everything it can to stop his destructive actions. As the granddaughter of italian immigrants, im thankful america has always opened her arms to people looking to build a better way for themselves and their families legally. However, breaking the law to enter the United States should not be rewarded. It is wrong to shortcircuit the American Immigration process in this manner when there are so many individuals who have waited years for the opportunity to come to this country the right way, the legal way. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired. For what purpose does the gentlelady from florida seek recognition . Ms. Roslehtinen i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized 1. Is recognized for one minute. Ms. Roslehtinen i recognize the career of steve who is retiring this month from Florida International university. As Vice President of Government Relations for miamis Public Research university and my alma mater, steve has always aimed for a more Beautiful Day in south florida. Early in his career as the house staffer, steve helped craft the Refugee Education assistance act of 1980, opening the doors of opportunity to thousands of cubans fleeing the oppression of fidel castro. After moving to miami, steve was instrumental in creating the International Hurricane research center, following hurricane andrew, helping advance research to make south florida and the nation more resilient to hurricanes. Congratulations, steve, on fulfilling on a fulfilling career and a wellredembd retirement, and please do enjoy rur own fair share of Beautiful Days in south florida. Thank you, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one inute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to honor the Pueblo East High School Football Team and their coach David Ramirez who won their class 3a football title. They had an impressive 12win season, showed sportsmanship and determination resulting in a victory for the eagles. Over the years, coach ramirez and his team instilled confidence for them to work hard. With grit and a long tradition of eagle pride, a stellar season was realized and the culmination in the culmination of a state football title. Mr. Tipton each coach and player and staff of this eagle Football Team will stand tall among the great athletic champions in pueblo sports history. Mr. Speaker, with coach ramirezs leadership and the teams hard work, pueblo east captured their first championship in School History while establishing a legacy of dedication and commitment to the game. Theres no doubt the future eagle teams will be inspired to do the same. Were very proud of them and with that i yield back, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. Are there further requests for oneminute speeches . Hearing none, for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition . Mr. Hastings mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of the house amendment to the Senate Amendment to h. R. 3979 pursuant to House Resolution 770 the clerk be instructed to make correction. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the correction. The clerk in section 350 of the house amendments, strike 2013 and insert 2014. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. For what purpose does the gentleman from washington, mr. Hastings, seek recognition . Mr. Hastings mr. Speaker, prount to House Resolution 770, i call up h. R. 5781, the california emergency drought relief act of 2014, and ask for its immediate consideration. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. H. R. 5781, a bill to provide shortterm Water Supplies to droughtstricken california. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to House Resolution 770, the amendment printed in part c of house report 113646 is adopted and the bill, as amended, is considered as read. The gentleman from washington, mr. Hastings, and the gentlewoman from california, mrs. Napolitano, each will control 30 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from washington, mr. Hastings. Mr. Hastings mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h. R. 5781. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Hastings mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Hastings mr. Speaker, i rise in strong support of h. R. 5781, the california emergency ought relief act of 2014, as introduced by our colleague from california, mr. Valadao. Today the house meets once again to provide a solution to the ongoing water crisis in california. The house has been on record twice to provide solutions, and here we are and we must act again. Although this bill is different from the two prior attempts and reflects significant bipartisan progress towards enacting a solution, we must provide relief, even if its shortterm relief, before this congress adjourns. It is unacceptable for us to give up when californians are starving and their communities are literally drying up. Like california, my Central Washington district is heavily dependent on irgaited water to support our local economy and our agriculture industry. I understand the importance of having a stable, reliable water source, and i also understand the economic devastation that is caused when the water supply is shut off. Particularly when the shutoff is avoidable. California is in an emergency situation. For years, San Joaquin Valley farmers have been fighting against federal regulations and environmental lawsuits that have diverted Water Supplies in order to help a threeinch fish. In 2009, there was a deliberate diversion of over 300 billion mr. Speaker, thats b with a b, gallons of water away from farmers. And mr. Speaker, let me equate that. 300 billion gallons of water is nearly a million acrefeet of water. Whats an acrefeet . An acrefoot is an acrefoot of water for one year, thats 12 inches of water for a year that was diverted from these farmers. As a result, thousands of farm workers lost their jobs, unemployment reached 40 in some communities and thousands of acres of fertile farmland dried up. The same thing is happening today. As chairman of the house Natural Resources committee, ive traveled to fresno, california, twice and seen the effects of natural and manmade drought firsthand. We held multiple hearings and heard the pleas of communities that simply want the water turned back on and their livelihoods restored. Weve seen farmers who normally to feed the nation be sent wait in line at the food barnings and in some cases, mr. Speaker, being served carrots imported from china. I want to stress this crisis does not impact california but has a rimming effect across the entire nation. Californias San Joaquin Valley is the salad bowl of the nation. Food grows where water flows. When there is no water, our Food Supplies suffers resulting in higher food prices across the country, higher unemployment and increased reliance on foreign food sources. Unlike the last time this body acted on this issue, the senate did pass its version of a bill in june of this year. I commend senator feinstein for her efforts to pass this shortterm bill. However, since the bills were so different in their scope, those interested in a productive conversation to bridge the differences have negotiated in good faith for the last six months. And we got very close to a resolution, but more time was necessary on agreeing to a longterm bill. In the interim, the measure before us today reflects much of what the Senate Passed earlier this year and agreed to in our negotiations to bring some shortterm water supply relief to many of those communities in need. This bill simply allows us to capture some water from storms in this and the next water year and improve data quality when it comes to the existing biological opinions on smelt and salmon. It also protects those communities in the north who are from heavily who are from relatively abundant water areas. The entire bill, mr. Speaker, sun sets in september, 2016, to allow more time to negotiate a longer Term Solution that would not only help california but other states in the west as well. Now, this bill is not perfect, but its a shortterm bridge based on productive negotiations between those who want sensible solutions to the California Water crisis. This bill, while very limited in scope, helps protect the jobs and economic livelihood of farm families and workers in communities that are in dire need of water. The people of the San Joaquin Valley cannot wait any longer for congress to act. As the title of this bill suggests, it is truly an emergency for many and time is running out. Those communities facing massive unemployment deserve nothing less. Now, mr. Speaker, i commend my colleagues for the last two congresses for working together to get this solution get us an answer to this solution. This is the latest iteration of that and i want to commend them. With that i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Mrs. Napolitano thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Napolitano mr. Speaker, congressman valadaos h. R. 5781, the california emergency drought relief act of 2014, is Northern California c. B. P. Drought relief that isnt a california death relief act. It was introduced last week without hearings, without markups, without consultation with the House Democrats and without any consultation or input from local water agencies, state agencies, cities and or tribes. This bill is being rushed to the floor without input of critical california leaders throughout the state. It focuses primarily on providing more bay delta water to central Valley Farmers at the expense of other users. This bill would require mandatory increases in pumping to Central Valley agriculture, which could forge water managers throughout the state to cut water deliveries to Southern California to other urban water users and, of course, to fisheries which this could also lead to less fresh water in the delta, higher levels of salt and contamination in the water being pumped down to Southern California. The white house states, the president will veto this bill because, and i quote, it fails to equitablely address critical elements of californias complex water challenges. And the bill appears to include a number of potentially conflicting mandates which can cause confusion and undermine environmental laws, also making it right for future litigation. Senator boxer opposes the bill because it could ignite the water wires by overriding critical state and federal protections of all of california. Some er, i have the of the opposition, one of them is Sacramento Bee has come out opposing the bill because, and i quote, any legislation affecting California Water policy deserves a full hearing with input from the varied interests in Northern California and the Central Valley and the south. We must, mr. Speaker, work on a bipartisan manner to address this drought crisis for the whole state and certainly not in secret and behind closed doors. I have introduced h. R. 5363, the water in 21st century act, and representative huffman has introduced h. R. 4239, which could provide drought relief to all california with this Water Conservation program, the water recycling projects, its groundwater improvement operations and stormwater capture solutions, including desalination, title 16. House democrat proposals have been excluded from this bill, h. R. 5781. All past attempt there have been past attempts in past congresses to pass certainly some of the pro legislation being posed today and its failed but, mr. Speaker, i would like to insert for the record statements of opposition to this bill from the white house, from senator boxer, the soorkt bee, american rivers, the league of conservation voters, Natural Resources defense council, the sierra club, the nature concertain sembansy, golden gate salmon association, golden gate fisherman association, just to name a few and, mr. Chairman, i urge us not to pass this. I would like to reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from washington is recognized. Mr. Hastings im pleased to yield to the author of the previous bill, mr. Valadao from california, for four minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california is recognized for four minutes. Mr. Valadao thank you, chairman hastings. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on behalf of my legislation. Since taking office, ensuring the Central Valley has reliable access to clean, high quality water has been my number one priority. My constituents are suffering through a drought and theyve suffered more these last few years because of the laws that are in place today. Weve got regulations that require that we basically send water that should be going to communities, to homes, to farms that create jobs and grow food, that waters being diverted out into the ocean, all in the name of a fish. Weve got so many different People Living in this valley, from farm workers to farmers to business owners, all different types of folks that represent this and thises that affected every single one of this has affected every single one of them. Its affected everybody down to their regular daily lives. When you think about how simple it is for someone to turn on the faucet and be able to take water and put it in their coffee pot in the morning, thats what were talking about today. Weve had wells go dry, weve got communities in my district today that are literally watching in the process of looking to drill four, five, sometimes six wells just to get enough water into the household. Its something thats very frustrating. What this piece of legislation is is a very simple patch. Its a shortterm bill. Like the chairman mentioned, the bill expires at the end of september next year or when the governor decides the drought declaration is over. The bill is simple. Its very specific that it does keep in place all protections of the endangered species act, the biological opinions and others that have been put in place to protect the environment but this gives a little bit more flexibility to those agencies to allow some pumping to help these poor communities. Weve got people in food lines today. Weve got people who are trying to feed their families. Trying to earn an honest days wage and this is hurting those people. The peo

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