Today, as part of his laser focus on water resource issues in the Central Valley, Congressman TJ Cox will chair a hearing on the Reclamation Fund and the Bureau of Reclamation’s future infrastructure funding needs. The average age of the Bureau of Reclamation’s infrastructure is now more than 50 years old and the bureau currently estimates that the total funding needed to address its maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation needs for just the next five years is approaching $3 billion.
In May, Rep. Cox hosted House Committee on Natural Resources Chair Raul Grijalva (the first time in over a decade a Natural Resources chair has visited the Central Valley) so the chair could see, first hand, the vital importance of water infrastructure and how aging water infrastructure and land subsidence threatens the Central Valley’s ability to grow crops and supply the world with food. California’s 21st Congressional District is the top agriculture producing district in the top agriculture producing state. Underinvestment in the Valley’s water infrastructure need hampers our ability to produce food which could have global repercussions.
Witnesses at this hearing will include:
Grayford Payne, Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Administration and Budget at the Bureau of Reclamation
Tony Willardson, Executive Director, Western States Water Council
Federico Barajas, Executive Director, San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, Los Baños, California
Paul Arrington, Executive Director of the Idaho Water Users Association
Congressman Cox is Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Per the House Committee on Natural Resources website, the subcommittee is responsible for:
“Administering congressional oversight”
“Evaluating the committee’s efforts to ensure effective management of our
limited natural resources”
“Ensuring policies are grounded in science that is free of financial conflicts of interest”
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