Jeff Denham

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, this amendment prevents a huge water grab by the State of California from farmers and communities in California's Central Valley. Under Sacramento's new plan, residents and farmers, alike, will suffer skyrocketing rates that will cripple our local economy, our farms, and our communities. Specifically, the State is mandating 40 percent of the water from Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced Rivers to be flushed out into the ocean. Currently, we are losing about 25 percent of our current water being flushed out by these mandated flows. This will increase it to 40 percent. This water feeds the Central Valley Project and the farmers that rely on it. My community relies on this water for drinking, to operate our local businesses, and for green power. This powers our local communities. The amendment prevents the State from robbing water from the Valley and protects the New Melones reservoir from depletion. The New Melones is a Federal facility that provides water for the Central Valley, and generates hydropower for Californians. The Bay-Delta Plan will drain significantly more water from New Melones each year than it currently releases, leaving the reservoir completely dry some years. The reservoir will be unable to meet its water obligations to the federally-authorized Central Valley project, which is critical to moving water all across the Central Valley. Lower water levels will reduce the ability to generate power. My amendment prevents Federal dollars from contributing to this misguided plan, and the State from robbing our water. We need more water in the valley, not less. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock). The reservoir resides in his district.

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chair, the gentleman talks about a compromise. I will not compromise and allow our people to go without water, people that have no drinking water, only to have FEMA come in and bring bottled water. I will not shut down our farms. That is not a compromise. This is a Federal project that has our water for our community that now they want to double the amount that goes out to the ocean. It is a waste. It is harmful to our community. It will shut down our agriculture, and it will leave people without potable drinking water. This is insanity to try to say that you are saving the fish when there is no science. This will harm the fish. Without water, without green power, and without cold water, you will kill the very fish that you are trying to save. I believe that our farms deserve this, our communities deserve this, and our people must have it to survive. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk, amendment No. 26.

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, California continues to suffer devastating water shortages and inadequate clean drinking water. We must build new water storage. My amendment would simply transfer $2 million into the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act administrative expenses account from the Department of the Interior Office of the Secretary account. The base text of this bill has $3 million less for WIFIA administration than was provided for the fiscal year '18 and provides a $10 million increase for the Office of the Secretary account. The WIFIA program is a vital program for water infrastructure. The program was established in the water resources 2014 bill and has been accepting loan applications for clean and drinking water projects. Water storage projects and flood risk reduction infrastructure projects are eligible under section 3905 of 33 U.S.C. 52, but EPA has yet to establish a process for administering such loans. The additional administrative resources in the amendment would allow the WIFIA office to more quickly pursue financing of Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers projects. It took 4 years--until April 2018--for WIFIA to issue its first loan for a wastewater project. This is an unacceptable timeframe for establishing an essential water financing program when the American Society of Civil Engineers scored our water infrastructure as a D grade last year. The administration's infrastructure principles document recommends expanding WIFIA authorities to water storage projects which is the lifeblood of California's Central Valley and other reclamation States. We can't wait another 4 years for WIFIA to issue loans for these projects. The Army Corps and EPA expect to execute a memorandum of understanding for financing projects very soon which will further strain WIFIA administrative resources. Additionally, the Senate has included a deadline for Reclamation and EPA to reach an MOU in their water resources bill. Mr. Chairman, this is good policy which mirrors my New WATER Act, H.R. 434. This amendment is necessary for properly and effectively carrying out both MOUs. In closing, California continues to suffer devastating water shortages and inadequate clean drinking water. Areas of California's Central Valley have not only had bad quality water, but some towns have no water at all. We must build new storage. This bill helps us to move that forward and expedite the process. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and honor Master Sergeant Aaron Kliatchko, who proudly served his country during two World Wars and was awarded the Prisoner of War Medal, Purple Heart Medal, and the Medal of Freedom. He was killed in action on December 31, 1944. Master Sergeant Aaron Kliatchko, the ``Rabbi of Cabanatuan,'' was honored with a formal military funeral on Friday, June 29, 2018 at Arlington National Cemetery. Kliatchko was born in 1887 to an Orthodox Jewish family. As a teenager, he was forced to serve in the Russian Imperial Army during the Russo-Japanese War, where he was taken prisoner by Imperial Japan. After the war, Kliatchko migrated to the United States and enlisted in the Army, becoming a U.S. citizen in July 1913. After moving to the Army Corps of Engineers in 1914, Corporal Kliatchko deployed to the Philippine Islands in November 1915, where he served the duration of World War I. He was honorably discharged in 1919 and remained in the Philippines until World War II. When the Japanese invaded in December 1941, Kliatchko volunteered as an American intelligence agent. By March 1942, Kliatchko was fighting the invading Japanese on the Bataan peninsula. There, he reenlisted with the Army Corps of Engineers as a Master Sergeant. He was in Bataan for the U.S. surrender on April 9, 1942. Once again, Kliatchko was a prisoner of the Imperial Japanese military, surviving the Bataan Death March and two prisoner of war camps. He led his fellow prisoners and brothers in arms in Jewish services and funerals, earning himself the title ``Rabbi of Cabanatuan.'' On December 13, 1944, Kliatchko and 1,600 prisoners were forced to board the Japanese ``hellship'' Oryoku Maru, destined for slave labor in Japan. After it was sunk near Subic Bay by American bombers, the survivors, including Kliatchko, were forced onboard two other hellships to continue the voyage north. Kliatchko succumbed to wounds received during the ordeal on December 31, 1944, aboard the Brazil Maru as it arrived in Takeo Harbor, Formosa. His final resting place is unknown. In 1948, Master Sergeant Kliatchko was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom. Like so many immigrants who came to America, his service and sacrifice embodies their unique commitment to liberty and democracy. God bless him always.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors for issuing a proclamation acknowledging and celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month (lHM). Stanislaus County is a land of immigrants, old and new. For generations, America has been reinvigorated by the contributions of new arrivals from foreign lands, and like so many of my fellow residents, I am especially proud of my district's deeply rooted immigrant history. Our country was built on the belief that all men are created equal, and immigrants from around the globe have proven to be vital contributors to the cultural and economic prosperity of Stanislaus County. The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors recently acknowledged Immigrant Heritage Month, issuing a proclamation in accordance with a nationwide effort to celebrate and share inspirational stories of the vast contributions made by immigrants. Dedicated to remaining a welcoming community, we must hold IHM as a reminder to continue to pursue laws and policies that provide common sense pathways to successful integration for all newcomers. I applaud the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors for recognizing the Month of June as a time to celebrate immigration. Immigrant Heritage Month will encourage us to remember that we should always strive to offer opportunities for all to take advantage of the American experience. Mr. Speaker, please join me in recognizing the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors for issuing a proclamation acknowledging and celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support, not only of this rule, but on the underlying bill. It is time to get something done around here. Both parties have failed to address this issue for decades now; we finally have an opportunity, for the same kids that are in your district that talk to me in mine. The kids are just looking for the certainty of being able to have a job, being able to go to school, and, yes, some of them even want to sign up for the military and show their greatest act of patriotism. These are kids just looking for a path forward. This bill protects them on day one, the day that this bill is signed into law. It not only protects the DACA recipients that signed up under President Obama's executive order, but some of them didn't trust that executive order. Some of them didn't trust that their information would be secure. This protects them, too. Now, there is another group of people here that did not qualify. They were not of age at the time. This will protect them, too. If you care about the Dreamers, 1.8 million will be protected on day one. You should support this bill, too.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I missed votes due to an extraordinary circumstances. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Nay'' on rollcall No. 277 and ``Yea'' on rollcall No. 278.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, the Denham-Costa amendment makes permanent authority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to enter cost recovery agreements for evaluation and processing of permits for public utility, natural gas companies, and railroad carriers. The goal of this policy known as section 214 is to modernize the evaluation of permits to ensure critical infrastructure projects can be delivered to the public. This policy can benefit the Central Valley, Napa, Sonoma, and other disaster stricken areas by allowing them to rebuild faster so families can turn on their lights and cool their homes. I urge support of its passage, and I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa), my cosponsor.

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I missed votes on April 27th to attend a funeral. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 162; YEA on Roll Call No. 163; NAY on Roll Call No. 164; YEA on Roll Call No. 165; and YEA on Roll Call No. 166.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor the City of Manteca on a tremendous milestone--the celebration of its first centennial. As Manteca enters into its 100th year, I wish to honor and mark its history as a member of the Central Valley community. In 1918, Manteca entered cityhood. The city was destined to become a burgeoning agricultural center due to it combination of good soil, excellent climate, and clean water. Manteca has also seen many progressive transitions in the development of new industries that have brought a flux of families to the Central Valley. Originally known as the sand plains, Manteca was first settled by Native Americans. Following California's Gold Rush, Joshua Crowell, the ``Father of Manteca,'' served as the City's first Mayor. Several businesses sprouted and thrived in the City during its formative years. When the World War II economy introduced non-agriculture related industries to Manteca, the city enjoyed an inflow of population approaching 40,000 people in the mid to late 20th century. Manteca's robust growth and development throughout its history has provided plenty of opportunity for its families. Today, the City of Manteca boasts more than 75,000 residents and a thriving economy, while attracting increases in both tourism and interests from leading developers. Thanks to the contributions of Manteca residents like the Mural Society, it has become a successful and impactful city. Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating the City of Manteca on their first 100 years and honor the city for its ongoing contribution to our nation.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor Dr. Silvia M. Diego for receiving the John Darroch Memorial Award for Physician of the Year from the Stanislaus Medical Society; and to personally thank her for her years of service working to better the lives of residents in the Central Valley and the state of California. Silvia Diego grew up in a small town in the San Joaquin valley as the daughter of farm worker parents. She attended Fresno State University and, with the love and support of her family, was able to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Biology in 1989. She later went on to earn her medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine in 1994. After receiving her medical degree, Dr. Diego returned to the Central Valley to serve the impoverished and uninsured residents of the region. In 1996 she began working with Golden Valley Health Centers, where she would go on to serve as Clinical Director, Associate Medical Director, and as Chief Medical Officer. In 2014 she opened a private medical practice in Modesto, CA where she continues to serve disadvantaged members of the community. Throughout her time as a physician, Dr. Silvia Diego has received numerous awards and honors. In 2009 she was appointed to the Medical Board of California, and in 2018 she was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Faculty Award from the University of California, Davis. Since 1998, the Stanislaus Medical Society has bestowed the John Darroch Memorial Award to physicians who demonstrate professionalism, dedication to patients, collegial support and community involvement. Dr. Diego has exemplified all of these excellent qualities throughout her medical career, and I can think of no one more deserving of this distinguished honor. Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring and recognizing Dr. Silvia M. Diego for her unwavering leadership, many accomplishments, and contributions on behalf of God, the community, and the Nation. God bless her always.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, let me just, in closing, say my wife and I extend our condolences and prayers for Rick's loving wife, his mother, their children and grandchildren. On behalf of all who knew him and benefited from his tireless efforts, we thank them for graciously giving us some of their time to spend with Rick and the many things that we all learned from him. Mr. Speaker, I will just say special prayers and condolences.

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I sadly rise today with fellow colleagues because we lost a friend way too soon. Rick Antle was an ag visionary, community leader, family man, and to Sonia and I, a mentor and a friend. His passion and dedication made him not only a leader in California's Salinas Valley, but in the entire ag industry nationwide. At the age of 26, he became the president and CEO of Tanimura & Antle, one of the largest ag companies in the entire country. He would grow this to become the largest leafy greens and vegetable producer in the region. He set it up as an ESOP, making it an employee-owned business. This is now a four-generation legacy that farms over 35,000 acres, distributing to North America, Europe, and Asia. Rick worked right alongside his sons, Brian and Jeffrey. He constantly pushed different innovations, even ideas that were against conventional practice, things that were sometimes mocked or said that they would never work, but are now the important innovations that lead the rest of the industry. Rick emphasized the importance of support and investing in employees, whom he always saw as the backbone of his company. His company's 800-person Spreckels Crossing housing complex has since become a blueprint for other farmworker housing projects across the country. On a personal note, I would just say that Sonia and Tonya--Sonia and Tonya, as they were known to most in the industry--worked side by side. Rick and I worked side by side as well. Not only was Tonya a mentor to Sonia, Rick was a mentor to me. I learned a lot about business. I learned a lot about friendship. I saw the pride in his generational family. He is going to be missed by many here in Washington, D.C.; in the Salinas Valley; around the country; and certainly as a family man. Brian and Jeffrey, I know that they are going through tremendous pain, as are Anthony and Natalie. He thought the world of his family and certainly thought the world of his employees. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa) for any remarks he may have.

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta).

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, the Disaster Recovery Reform Act builds on important emergency management reforms that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee produced in the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act. Representing a neighboring district to the California wildfires last year, I have seen firsthand how these reforms streamline disaster assistance to survivors. California was able to utilize those reforms like alternative procedures for debris removal, updated individual assistance, declaration factors, changes to the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, and many others. But there is still work to be done, and Congress recognized that by passing legislation that I authored in the SMART Rebuilding Act, to provide Federal cost share incentives to States. These measures encourage mitigation by establishing a National Public Infrastructure Pre-Disaster Mitigation Fund, and allow implementation of design codes as an eligible cost for FEMA's Public Assistance Program. I want to clarify that the nationally recognizable design codes in this legislation are intended to include State and local participation and recognize the unique threats that our diverse country faces. Another area which can be improved in California is the issue of inverse condemnation. This is a dangerous precedent which is threatening the ability of public and private utilities to survive in California. Every dollar invested in mitigation results in $4 in cost savings. I support H.R. 4 and urge its passage.

Mr. DENHAM

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer the bipartisan Denham-Costa amendment which eliminates duplication of environmental reviews. The MAP-21 highway bill created the NEPA assignment program in 2012, which allows States to assume responsibility for environmental review, consultation, and compliance of NEPA for Federal aid highway projects and other transportation projects. The program removes an entire layer of Federal bureaucracy from the NEPA process, allowing States and counties to operate more efficiently. NEPA assignment has been a success, saving time and cost of infrastructure projects across six States: California, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Utah, and Alaska. Two more States, Arizona and Nebraska, are in the process of applying, and all 50 States are eligible to participate. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee built on the success of the NEPA assignment program in the 2015 FAST Act by establishing the NEPA reciprocity program. The NEPA reciprocity program allows States with environmental laws that are at least as stringent as NEPA to make the approval of reviews under State laws and regulations and in replacement of NEPA. This allows States to remove parallel and redundant NEPA requirements from their own environmental process, which will get projects built faster and at a lower cost. In other words, this not only allows one environmental review, but stops us from doing two. As reasonable and promising as this program is, the judicial review period or window that litigants can challenge a record of decisions is nearly five times longer than for Federal aid highway projects that are subject to NEPA. The judicial review period for the reciprocity program is 2 years, substantially increasing the risk of litigation and dissuading States from pursuing the program. This amendment harmonizes the statute of limitation for the program with other Federal highway projects to 150 days. Instead of delaying 2 years for lawsuits, we do it in 150 days, the same as all other Federal highway projects. This commonsense change would render the program workable as originally intended in the FAST Act. This program would allow States impacted by the 2017 major disasters to rebuild devastated communities faster and at a lower cost, saving taxpayer dollars. Many wildfire-impacted counties in California have recognized the potential benefits of NEPA reciprocity for their recovery efforts and are pushing the State to participate. This amendment would allow California and other impacted States with major disasters, like Texas and Florida, to apply and rebuild in short order. In September 2017, the Department of Transportation issued the notice of proposed rulemaking, and the comment period closed in November. DOT should issue the rule to establish the program soon, and this modification must be in place for the program to be workable at that time. There has been a lot of discussion about environmental review and permitting reform being included in the infrastructure package, and for good reason: projects take too long and they cost way too much money. We have an opportunity to ensure streamlining programs that are already law are working correctly by passing this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa).

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.