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Mr. BERA. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage as amended.
Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of the worst drought we have ever experienced in California, in my home State, and across the Western United States. This is the fourth year of unprecedented drought conditions. Two-thirds of California is in extreme or exceptional drought. Almost twice the area as this time last year is experiencing exceptional drought. This is critical.
When I go back to my district and talk to farmers, small-business owners, individuals, they are worried; they are worried about what the summer is going to bring. We are about to enter the driest part of the year.
I have got a picture here. This is the Sierra Nevadas, one of the most beautiful regions in our country. When my wife and I first moved to northern California, we would scrimp and save so we could go on vacation and go skiing up here--beautiful snow. In fact, the 1960 Winter Olympics were held up here.
But it is not a recreational area. What the Sierra Nevadas mean to California, this is our biggest reservoir of water. The snow falls in the winter, and in the springtime you get this melt-off. It fills our reservoirs; it nourishes our farmers; it allows the fishermen to go fish the salmon in the Sacramento River. This is what a normal snowfall would look like.
But let's fast-forward to where we are today. There is no snow. The snowpack just last month was 5 percent of normal--the worst conditions that we have ever seen.
This is dramatic. What that means is our reservoirs are going to be empty. That means the farmers in central California are going to struggle to feed their crops. California's farms are the breadbasket not just of our Nation, but of the world; some of the most productive farms, incredibly important to our economy. But the water is not there.
Now, what we are asking for is not a lot. We face critical times here. These aren't Republican or Democratic issues, because a farmer or consumer doesn't look at drinking water or the water to nourish their crops as Democrats or Republicans. They are looking at their business, their livelihoods, their very existence. We are just asking for a small amount of emergency drought relief.
Now, in my own district, a large part of my population depends on drinking water from Folsom Lake. Do you want to see what Folsom Lake looked like 1 year ago? Dry. Dry to the bone. This should all be under water. We are not going to fill this reservoir because it depends on the snowmelt.
Now, these families are going to struggle. We are doing what we can to save water. We are doing what we can as consumers to better conserve. I know the farmers are stepping up to do what they can.
We are not asking for a lot, though, here. My colleagues will talk about increasing surge capacity. Great. Let's do that. But that is not going to relieve the impact of this summer. It is going to be devastating.
And it is not just my State. It is affecting Nevada. It is affecting Oregon. It is affecting Washington State. The funding that we are asking for is not just for California. All 50 States could ask for emergency drought relief to help families, to help businesses.
We have got to address this. The climate is changing. We have noticed now for 4 years we haven't had that snow. More of it is coming down as rain, so we have got to capture that rain. We certainly have to store it, and we have got to move that water to where we grow our foods.
But for this summer, in these emergency conditions, our families need relief. I am not asking for us to change the bill. I am asking for a bit of relief for families that are struggling. In fact, this will help them. It will help them get through it. It will help any of the 50 States plan for emergency conditions like this.
In addition, we are asking for a brief bit of funding to help us beef up our cybersecurity for our electrical grid. We are vulnerable here. Can you imagine what would happen if those that want to harm us attacked our electrical grid?
We are not asking for a lot. We are not asking for anything that is unreasonable here. We are Americans. Let's help each other. Let's do what is right.
Let's amend the bill. Let's pass it, and let's provide relief for these families.
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