Earlier this month, California experienced some of the most severe rainfall we’ve seen in years. While these intense storms should have helped ease our water shortages in the Central Valley, so much of this vital resource was flushed out to the ocean.

This week, I spoke on the House floor to show the American people just how backwards California’s water management is and why these policies are hurting Valley families, farmers, and businesses. You can watch my full speech here or below

After one of my colleagues from Wisconsin claimed he was Congress’ only dairy expert, I had to remind him that I’m the only dairy farmer in Congress. This week I brought a Central Valley favorite – Rosa Brothers Milk – to show him why California dairy is superior. We exchanged California milk and some Wisconsin cheese and talked about the ways we can work together to support our agriculture communities. What’s your vote – California milk or Wisconsin cheese?

Under the Biden Administration, our Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) have dropped to their lowest levels since the 1980s – leaving our nation unprepared for an energy supply emergency. These critical oil reserves are intended to be used as a last resort – not as a quick political fix to cover for a restrictive energy policy.

That is why this week, I was proud to vote for H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act. The bill would require any future non-emergency SPR releases to be accompanied by a plan from the Secretary of Energy to increase the percentage of federal lands and waters leased for oil and gas production. Read more.

Do you have a question about my work in Congress? Concerned about an issue affecting the Central Valley? Join me on Wednesday, February 1^st at 6:00 pm PST for my first Telephone Town Hall of the new year. I’ll be answering your questions and giving an update on my work in Congress.  

Sign up to join the tele-town hall here. 

Our question this week comes from John. He asks:

“How come we have only received a 5% allocation of state water for this year 2023 when flood water is still going to the ocean out through the Delta?”

Thank you for your question, John. For too long, the Central Valley has suffered from devastating drought conditions, unfair water allocations, and gross mismanagement of the water we do have by Sacramento bureaucrats and environmentalists. Our community is resilient, but the fact remains that our farms will not survive without a reliable water supply for South-of-Delta agriculture. This dire situation emphasizes the need for more storage capacity so we can capture water when we have a surplus.

Despite the increased rainfall California saw over the last two weeks, the pumps that are in place to deliver water to farms, homes, and businesses aren’t allowed to run at their full capacity due to environmental regulations.

If we had increased flexibility on these pumping regulations to account for real-time conditions, we could have captured 84,000 more acre-feet of water during two weeks of these storms.

Increasing flexibility in how we operate these pumps, as well as investing in critical water storage infrastructure and conveyance projects, will allow us to maximize what can be moved at all times through the Delta and make us more resilient to drought.

I introduced H.R. 215, the WATER for California Act to address some of these issues

I will always fight to secure a reliable and clean supply of water for our communities.

Do you have a question about my position on an issue? How the Congress operates? My thoughts on the news of the day?

Send your first name, town, and question to AskDavid@mail.house.gov and I might answer yours right here in one of my weekly newsletters. Make sure to subscribe to my weekly email updates to see if your question was answered!

If you want to share your opinion with me on issues of importance, you can always contact me on my website.

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