Agriculture

“The Sacramento region is at grave risk of a flood,” said Congressman John Garamendi. “We can pay now to prevent a disaster from occurring or we can pay substantially more once the destruction has come to our homes and businesses.”

"This issue is critical to the livelihoods of farmers in my region. I will continue to advocate on their behalf, so that they can continue to Make It In America and grow it in America."

Garamendi led a California Delegation letter to the House Agriculture Committee outlining a number of priorities for California.

"The wind energy industry in this country is about to come to a screeching halt," said Congressman Garamendi. "Instead of wasting billions padding the pockets of Big Oil, we should invest in the clean energy industries of the future, so once again we can Make It In America."

"As a rancher and a pear farmer, I know the unique challenges that California's agriculture community faces," said Garamendi. "The Farm Bill offers the opportunity for California's farm businesses to overcome these hurdles through advanced research, pest management, and marketing assistance programs. The bill can also connect disadvantaged families, especially children, with the food they need to lead healthy, productive lives. I join my colleagues in urging the Committee to pass a fiscally responsible Farm Bill that helps America’s families and farmers to Make It In America and grow it in America."

Aspects of Garamendi's bill have won praise from the California Farm Bureau Federation, which is working with the newly formed Agricultural Floodplain Management Alliance to advocate farming as the best lowest-risk use of floodplains, said Elisa Noble, the Farm Bureau's director of livestock, public lands and natural resources.

"This legislation turns upside down 150 years of California water law and court decisions, creating an unprecedented theft of 800,000 acre feet of the Delta water by South-of-the-Delta water contractors. All of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and its watersheds are contained in the state of California. The federal government has shown deference, respecting California water rights and the constitution. This legislation usurps California’s power to determine its own water and economic destiny."

"In addition to a blatant water grab, HR 1837 also creates sweeping exemptions from federal laws protecting our water and pre-emptively prohibits state lawmakers from striking a consensus-driven compromise. It would be more accurate to call HR 1837 the State Water Rights Repeal Act," Garamendi wrote in the op-ed. "Now is not the time to reignite the California water wars of the past. Now is not the time to pit Californians against each other for short-term gain. There is a more constructive way forward for California. We must focus on responsible, science-based water management, with conservation, storage and recycling playing a prominent role – balancing our water needs and creating jobs across the Golden State."