December 10, 2016
Congress FINALLY Restores Water to California's San Joaqiun Valley
Timothy Birdnow
After 25 years of liberal choking off water to the (largely Republican) San Joaqiun Valley in California, changes in water regulations have finally turned on the spigot.
According to Michael Doyle at the Belleville News Democrat:
WASHINGTON
The California water bill now ready for the president's signature dramatically shifts 25 years of federal policy and culminates a long and fractious campaign born in the drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley.
A rough five years in the making, the $558 million bill approved by the Senate early Saturday morning steers more water to farmers, eases dam construction, and funds desalination and recycling projects. Its rocky road to the White House also proved a costly master class in political persistence and adroit maneuvering.
"I believe these provisions are both necessary, and will help our state,†said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Feinstein and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, and their staffs, crafted the final water package, which the Senate approved on a 78-21 vote. They also made the hard-ball tactical choice to fold it into a widely popular infrastructure bill, which eased Senate passage while it left retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer fuming.
"I think it is absolutely a horrible process, a horrible rider,†Boxer said during floor debate Friday. "It’s going to result in pain and suffering among our fishing families.â€
Boxer cited, in particular, California’s salmon industry, whose members fear the diversion of water will deplete rivers critical to salmon reproduction.
Boxer’s post-midnight vote against the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which included the approximately 98-page California bill, was likely to be the last of her 33-year congressional career. It was a sour ending for her long-time Senate partnership with Feinstein, with whom she’s amicably served since 1993.
End excerpt.
For years water has been denied to San Joaqiun farmers. The Imperial Valley is one of the most fertile and productive lands on Earth - or it used to be until the water was shut off. This was done to save a bait fish, and likely punish the last stronghold of the old Reagan Republican base in California.
Funny how Trump isn't even in office yet and suddenly these things that have been logjammed are starting to move. Did Congress finally get the message?
After 25 years of liberal choking off water to the (largely Republican) San Joaqiun Valley in California, changes in water regulations have finally turned on the spigot.
According to Michael Doyle at the Belleville News Democrat:
WASHINGTON
The California water bill now ready for the president's signature dramatically shifts 25 years of federal policy and culminates a long and fractious campaign born in the drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley.
A rough five years in the making, the $558 million bill approved by the Senate early Saturday morning steers more water to farmers, eases dam construction, and funds desalination and recycling projects. Its rocky road to the White House also proved a costly master class in political persistence and adroit maneuvering.
"I believe these provisions are both necessary, and will help our state,†said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Feinstein and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, and their staffs, crafted the final water package, which the Senate approved on a 78-21 vote. They also made the hard-ball tactical choice to fold it into a widely popular infrastructure bill, which eased Senate passage while it left retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer fuming.
"I think it is absolutely a horrible process, a horrible rider,†Boxer said during floor debate Friday. "It’s going to result in pain and suffering among our fishing families.â€
Boxer cited, in particular, California’s salmon industry, whose members fear the diversion of water will deplete rivers critical to salmon reproduction.
Boxer’s post-midnight vote against the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which included the approximately 98-page California bill, was likely to be the last of her 33-year congressional career. It was a sour ending for her long-time Senate partnership with Feinstein, with whom she’s amicably served since 1993.
End excerpt.
For years water has been denied to San Joaqiun farmers. The Imperial Valley is one of the most fertile and productive lands on Earth - or it used to be until the water was shut off. This was done to save a bait fish, and likely punish the last stronghold of the old Reagan Republican base in California.
Funny how Trump isn't even in office yet and suddenly these things that have been logjammed are starting to move. Did Congress finally get the message?
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
11:21 AM
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