Jerry McNerney

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to say that the bill passed unanimously in the last Congress. It is bipartisan. It gives small ISP providers a certain amount of time and it allows the FCC to decide if it is overburdensome or not, to require them to disclose information to their customers. This allows us to give customers the amount of protection that is due them as well. So it is a good compromise. I urge all of my colleagues to support it. I thank my colleagues for their hard work. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Amendment XXVI, section 1: ``The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.'' Section 2: ``The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.''

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to continue a series of 1-minute speeches on cool science topics. Today I recognize the work of scientists working in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica to develop geological metal maps. Researchers developed a three-dimensional electronic mapping system that is being used to detect large precious metal deposits in the United States. With funding from NSF, researchers mapped out the Nokomis deposit in northern Minnesota, which is estimated to contain 10 billion pounds of copper, 3.1 billion pounds of nickel, 4 million ounces of platinum, 9 million ounces of palladium, and 2 million ounces of gold. The value of these metal deposits will more than pay for the science investment to develop this technology. Congress should support research that furthers the understanding of our incredible universe, including the ground beneath our feet.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer amendment No. 10 as the designee of the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, recent pipeline incidents have raised serious concerns about the condition of the Nation's pipelines that threaten the safety and health of American citizens. This amendment will ensure that any rule intended to guarantee the safety of natural gas or hazardous material pipelines is not considered a major rule under this bill and would, therefore, be easier to create. Pipeline safety is a bipartisan issue. Congress has shown that issuing regulations related to pipelines is a priority, as evident with the enactment of the PIPES Act last year. However, the bill before us today, H.R. 26, contradicts this historic precedent and would have the effect of delaying or preventing any rule on pipeline safety from going forward. Pipeline accidents cause major property damage, serious injuries or deaths, and harms the environment. There are approximately 2.9 million miles of pipeline in the United States. They travel through rural and urban areas, Republican and Democratic districts, coastlines, inland areas. Everyone is impacted. Quality control measures, new infrastructure, and oversight are paramount. Unfortunately, we have seen the devastating impact of pipeline incidents throughout the country, including several accidents and spills in California in recent years, such as the spill in Santa Barbara that released more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil. We have also seen how liquid spills can devastate the people and economies in places like Michigan, and the irreplaceable natural resources like the Yellowstone River in Montana, or the precious coastline of Santa Barbara. Additionally, these explosions and spills cause shortages and price increases that impact Americans far from the site of the accident. A Colonial Pipeline accident this past September in Alabama leaked roughly 8,000 barrels of gasoline and saw prices increase by up to 31 cents a gallon in metropolitan areas in the Southeastern States. I agree with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that we want effective and efficient government. But, in reality, pipeline safety regulations are already subject to duplicative and time- consuming analyses, including a rigorous risk assessment and cost- benefit analysis required by the pipeline safety statute. These already duplicative review requirements are among the top reasons why the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration increasingly lags behind the congressional mandate to issue rules that protect Americans from dangerous pipeline incidents. In fact, this was the subject of a great deal of discussion when the Energy and Commerce Committee marked up the pipeline safety reauthorization bill last year. I worked with Chairman Upton and Ranking Member Pallone to address this issue, as both sides of the aisle agreed that the duplicative reviews currently required are already slowing down these critical safety laws to a degree that is frustrating and dangerous. While we make progress in the PIPES Act, I believe we can and should do more. The last thing we need is one more layer of bureaucracy to further slow down implementation of these critical protections for public health, safety, and the environment. We should work together to prevent spills and work to minimize impacts when spills or other incidents do occur. This includes automatic shut-off valves, leak detection, and technologies to reduce clogging and rupture. A vote for this amendment is a vote for the safety of the public and the environment. It is a vote to protect the land and water that are threatened by oil spills. It is a vote for industry that wants certainty and clarity and doesn't want to--or benefit from--wait years for rules to be finalized. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, my opponent is right. It is the duty of Congress to provide rules and to provide guidelines and for the agencies to go into the details in creating these rules. I know that the other side is opposed to the rules. They have been touting about regulations, but poor regulations reduces jobs, too. It creates monopolies. It creates pollution. But that is not what we are talking about. What we are talking about is public safety. I think what we need to do is look at what is going to benefit the public safety and what is going to protect people, lives, property, and the environment. That is what this amendment does. It is simple. It exempts pipeline safety from H.R. 26. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I have witnessed a pattern of attacks against the Endangered Species Act as well as attacks on our industries and communities that rely on the California delta. House Republicans continue to attach environmentally damaging California water riders to every single piece of legislation that is moving on this floor. This time, it is on S. 612, the WIIN Act, also known as the WRDA bill. This highly controversial language was developed behind closed doors, and it jeopardizes the Senate bipartisan bill that Senator Boxer and Senator Inhofe have worked on very hard, but Senator Boxer is now willing to sacrifice all that work to stop this bill. I strongly support the original bill, which includes some very good stuff. I also want to recognize Mr. Kildee, my colleague who has worked very hard on behalf of his constituents in Flint, Michigan. I support the provisions in this bill that will provide assistance to the drinking water crisis in Flint and other areas of the Nation that need upgraded drinking water infrastructure. But as long as the California so-called drought language remains, my State and the Pacific Coast are at risk. This California water rider would further degrade the California delta. It weakens protections for California fisheries; threatens thousands of fishing industry jobs, as we have heard, even up to the coast of Oregon; increases saltwater intrusion; and it picks winners and losers in my State. This provision will provide freedom to export water above and beyond what the ESA currently allows. This will cause further saltwater intrusion into the delta. You know, farmers do not benefit when saltwater contaminates our water supplies. If we truly believe in sound science, we should not override science with local interests that do not represent the entire State. The administration and its agencies have serious concerns with this language. This rider will not create a path forward for effective operations but, instead, will create a firestorm of litigation. Environmental organizations, the fishing industry, the fisheries believe this language will devastate our way of life on the Pacific Coast. I, along with California, Oregon, and Washington Members, have urged the House and Senate leadership to reject similar riders in the past. I have had an opportunity to submit amendments to strip these riders in the past, but we do not have that opportunity today.

Mr. McNERNEY. Republicans should not hold funding for water infrastructure projects hostage. Instead of pitting communities against each other, we need to support conservation, storm water capture, and innovative recycling programs. We need real drought solutions that will actually improve water supply. This is not a compromise. It sets a precedent for the next administration to further unravel environmental protections. I urge a ``no'' vote.

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, my region has much of the delta; I would say most of it. I am very concerned about saltwater intrusion with these new provisions. Saltwater is not something that you can drink. You can't do much with it. It is a problem. It is easy to sympathize--and I do--with the farmers and communities south of the delta, but we shouldn't just pass the problem from one region to another. We don't need to do this. We can develop recycling. Israel recycles 90 percent of their water. California recycles 15 percent. We can capture urban and suburban storm water. We can stop water leakage. We can reduce evaporative losses. We can start groundwater banking. We can create regional self-sufficiency, which will reduce reliance on the delta water and solve all these problems. Instead, we continue to do things the old way. A region that needs water says: Well, they've got water over there. We are going to get it. We are going to use our politics, our money, and we are going to get that water. Who cares what they think. Who cares what happens to them. By the way, adding flexibility to the operations of the ESA is weakening the ESA. So let's find real solutions for everyone. Please oppose this bill.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the growing antiscience attitude in Washington. This attitude has manifested itself even on the cover of the respected National Geographic magazine, titled ``The War on Science.'' The war on science is being conducted in two ways. First, by rejecting or trying to discredit legitimate science. Second, by reducing Federal science funding. Skepticism of science is hardly new and is sometimes well founded, but what is happening today is different and is part of a trend in the United States to discount or disbelieve experts in any field. I hear from scientists who are very worried that the quality and quantity of science produced in this country will decline as a result. American inventors and innovators have improved our lives and have given our country an economic edge, helping make us the strongest country in the world. Let me share a partial list of revolutionary achievements by American scientists: airplanes, phonographs, practical incandescent lamps, wireless communications, microwave ovens, lasers, personal computers, washing machines, cyclotrons, 3D printing machines, polio vaccinations, the nuclear bomb, light-emitting diodes or LEDs, fiber optic cables, mobile telephones, computer mouse, public key cryptography, global positioning systems or GPS, and social media. Now let's recall an earlier battle against science that used the discredit tactic; namely, the tobacco companies' effort to dispute the science that smoking is addictive and causes deadly diseases. The tobacco industry tried to both discredit and threaten the scientists who were advancing the facts, and funded questionable scientists to create doubts about the actual scientific results. The tactic worked for a time while tobacco producers were able to continually hook millions of new people on their dangerous product. Eventually the science won out, but the cost was terrible. Today a similar effort is underway with respect to climate change. The science is clear, with a vast majority of climate scientists agreeing that the climate is warming and that continuing to emit carbon into the atmosphere at current levels will bring significant and mostly detrimental change to our environment. Moreover, even though the evidence that climate change is already taking place and is overwhelming and increasingly obvious, there is widespread denial that climate change is even happening or that it would be possible to help combat it. But the things that need to be done to address climate change, such as taxing carbon emissions, can be done gradually, predictably, and in a way that helps the economy grow and puts people to work. So why is there so much resistance? The resistance in America is caused by a well-funded campaign to create doubt about obvious scientific facts. The fossil fuel industry, in particular, has been paying its own scientists to go on talk shows, to publish in their own denial journals, and generally to create doubt whenever possible about climate change, suggesting that it would be better to wait for conclusive evidence before doing anything. But to wait for conclusive evidence is to wait for catastrophe. While Republicans in Washington are trying to reduce or eliminate funding for climate change research, there also seems to be an effort by Republicans to reduce science funding across the board. This will result in fewer scientific advances in the U.S., which will likely cause us to fall behind our competitors. But this is part of a larger trend that denies there are real experts. Science denial has become a pop culture. This is dangerous because modern society is built upon the things that science got right. I see the war on science in this country as shortsighted and very damaging to our economy. We need to change the tone and direction toward a positive process that acknowledges and supports the role science has played and will continue to play for our country. That means working with legislators and getting more scientists and other concerned citizens involved in the political process to ensure that our Nation can continue to benefit from new scientific discoveries and innovation and which will help create the jobs we need to continue to be a great economic power.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Vermont for his work on this, and my colleague from Ohio, and also Mr. Kinzinger from Illinois for his work. My bill, H.R. 6394, sets us on a path of working to close the digital divide for veterans. Access to broadband Internet service provides an important resource for the more than 20 million veterans across our Nation, with the highest population residing in my State of California. Having a broadband Internet connection helps veterans apply for jobs more easily, obtain necessary vocational training, and communicate with friends and family. It lets them keep up with current events. It gives them access to healthcare services. And they can get important information about their benefits and military records. Without broadband Internet access, it is difficult to fully participate in today's society. Veterans face many challenges when they return home. Not having Internet access makes what is already an incredibly tough transition process even harder. This is particularly likely to be the case for low-income veterans and veterans living in rural areas. Although we lack data on the number of veterans with broadband Internet access, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pew Research Center both report that broadband adoption rates are significantly lower among Americans who live at or below the Federal poverty level. An analysis by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce further finds that broadband adoption rates in rural areas of the country are lower than they are in urban areas. We must find ways to ensure that veterans, especially the more than 1.4 million living below the Federal poverty level and the 5.3 million residing in rural areas, are not left behind. This is why my bill directs the Federal Communications Commission to examine the current state of broadband access for veterans and what can be done to increase access, with a focus on low-income veterans and veterans residing in rural areas. The findings and recommendations from the report will be important for paving the way to get more veterans connected. Again, I want to thank my cosponsor, Mr. Kinzinger, for his support, and I urge my colleagues to vote for the bill.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their work on behalf of our Nation's veterans, and for bringing the omnibus veterans bill to the floor today. In the United States, there are about 5 million veteran-owned businesses and an estimated 500,000 service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. Under current law, if a veteran who was rated 100 percent disabled and owned a service-disabled veteran-owned small business passes away, the surviving spouse has 10 years to transition the business away from service-disabled veteran-owned small business status. However, if the veteran business owner is rated less than 100 percent disabled, or dies of a non-service-connected injury, the surviving spouse has only 1 year to transition the business for contracts with the VA. Current law unfairly punishes these businesses and places them at an economic disadvantage. That is why I introduced H.R. 1313. My bill allows service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, whose principal owner passes away and was rated at less than 100 percent disabled at the time of death, with the reasonable 3-year transition period from service-disabled veteran-owned status with the VA. It is only right that we provide our heroes and their families, and the employees, with the flexibility and certainty to ensure that their businesses continue to thrive. H.R. 1313 is supported by the Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, VFW, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the American Legion. I want to thank the chairman and ranking member for including my legislation in the omnibus veterans bill, H.R. 6416, and I hope my colleagues will join me to pass this commonsense bill and support the veteran-owned businesses across the country.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to continue a series of 1-minute speeches about cool science topics. Today I will be discussing applications of the National Science Foundation's funded research into arctic species. In order to survive in the subzero temperatures of the Arctic, small organisms such as fish, insects, plants, fungi, and bacteria have evolved proteins that lower the freezing point of water solutions in order to protect themselves when temperatures drop. Studies of the proteins of these arctic species will aid in the development of aircraft de-icing systems, cryopreservation of food, crop protection, frostbite prevention, and other innovations. These organisms and their ability to survive in extreme temperatures will yield information of great value to society. I applaud the NSF's funding of such important research.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, this is another in a series of 1-minutes on cool science endeavors by American scientists. Today I discuss a system that provides data about the distribution of greenhouse gases around the Earth. The National Science Foundation funded the Airborne Platform for Pole-to-Pole Observations, called HIPPO, that maps the composition and interactions of greenhouse gases as they move around the Earth. This information is used to identify the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide. The field efforts were highly successful, and these unique experiments are providing valuable insight into the role of the global carbon cycle in the climate system. This data has been made publicly available and will be a source of information for years to come. The project was a coordinated effort by the NSF and the NOAA to acquire a clearer picture of the impact of carbon dioxide on rainforests and other ecosystems. I urge Congress to continue its support for scientific endeavors, such as HIPPO, so that we can gain a better understanding of our Earth's climate system.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Betty Smith, who passed away on April 24, 2016. Betty spent most of her life in Knightsen, California preserving the rich farming culture of East Contra Costa County. She began contributing to her community at a young age. While attending Liberty High School, she co-wrote the lyrics to the school's anthem, which is still used by the Liberty Lions today. After high school, she studied at University of the Pacific in Stockton, and worked at Fiberboard in Antioch. Betty continued her service by teaching preschool for many years and participating in the Knightsen Garden Club and 4-H Club. Betty and her husband, William R. Smith, continued the family farm started by her parents. As a multi-generation family farm in Knightsen, Smith Family Farm is known for many varieties of stone fruits, tomatoes, zucchinis, apples and cruciferous greens. Each year, the Farm holds a Tomato Festival and Pumpkin Harvest Festival to celebrate the fresh crops of East Contra Costa County. Over the last 25 years, Betty greeted visitors from near and far when they arrived at Smith Family Farm to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables during the U-pick season. She engaged the visiting children with her barn show and taught them about farming, nature and local history using songs, stories, and music. Betty was the matriarch and heart of Smith Family Farm. Betty showed devotion to her community through many years of service to the children and families that came to the farm. Her love of the arts, dedication to education, and commitment to others is an inspiration for our community. It is for these reasons that I ask my Colleagues to join me in honoring the memory of Betty Smith and her lifetime of service.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on their development of small- scale weather radars to improve storm detection. With funding from the National Science Foundation, these researchers developed neighborhood weather radars that have the ability to sense hazards on a street-by- street scale. These devices automatically adapt scans to focus on the most powerful parts of a storm. This innovative system will save money and lives as it alerts citizens and emergency personnel of impending danger before storms arrive. The researchers developed algorithms that pinpoint the exact location and velocity profile of a tornado by converting the information in the time series data on successive radar pulses into velocity data. The real-time information produced by this system will give researchers clues about weather patterns that will make weather detection even more sophisticated and accurate. This and other lifesaving technologies should be the priority of Congress and the continued work of scientists through the National Science Foundation.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the development of new frontiers in the area of seismology and the study of the Earth's interior. Most studies of seismic waves have been limited to surface- based exploration due to ease of installation. But the NSF recently funded a dense, underground, three-dimensional array of 13 high- sensitivity broadband seismometers at the Homestake mine in South Dakota. This ambitious project will give rise to new seismic data analysis techniques and aid in the design of future underground gravitational- wave detectors, which will lead to breakthroughs in seismic noise tomography. These discoveries will have a broad range of applications, ranging from medical diagnoses, detection of mineral and oil deposits, and homeland security. I commend the National Science Foundation in their efforts to keep the United States at the forefront of technical advancement and scientific breakthroughs through its projects.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to discuss gun violence facing our citizens and police. Law enforcement officers and first responders across the country are faced with difficult and often unpredictable situations on a daily basis that require careful response to ensure public safety. That is why I introduced H.R. 5864. This bill aims to provide officer and law enforcement personnel with appropriate intervention tools and techniques to address interactions involving individuals with mental illness experiencing a crisis. H.R. 5864 calls for specialized training that provides officers with the tools to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness, including stabilization and deescalation techniques; partnerships community resources; and provides funding to create State databases for public safety and outreach. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5864 to provide our police with additional resources benefiting our communities.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for that introduction. I also want to thank Mr. Latta for his work on this. He moved forward and asked me to participate. I thought it was a good plan, so I did. As our country works to mitigate the effects of climate change and prepare for the energy challenges of the future, we must now move to develop low- and zero-carbon energy sources. This means making investments into R&D, training the scientists, engineers, and mathematicians of tomorrow, and ensuring there is an appropriate regulatory and investment framework that will foster growth as new technologies become commercially viable. Nuclear energy has been a reliable source of energy, producing a significant amount of our Nation's energy supply, and it will likely do so into the future. But building plants and developing new technologies takes time, and we need to take steps to ensure the regulatory tools, including safety and reliability, are in place to meet potential increases in nuclear power capacity. H.R. 4979 is a commonsense approach that provides a pathway for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to establish the proper regulatory framework to facilitate, verify, and permit advanced reactor technologies. This bill also fosters increased collaborations between the NRC and the National Laboratories to provide opportunities to test new nuclear energy technologies and bolster public-private partnerships. The provisions in this bill are aligned with the NRC's fiscal year 2017 budget request. As we move forward toward a low-carbon sustainable energy economy, nuclear energy has the potential to play an instrumental role in meeting both State and national goals. Our current nuclear reactors use light water reactor technology, but there are advances that move toward completely different technology, including small modular reactors that can increase efficiency and safety while reducing the permitting and construction requirements that have hampered the development of new nuclear plants in recent years. The bill passed unanimously out of the Energy and Commerce Committee and has support from nearly a dozen organizations, and I urge its passage.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss recent developments in the area of underwater resource mapping. Scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography used NSF funding to develop instruments to conduct marine electromagnetic surveys. This technology uses electrical currents and conduction to search for freshwater aquifers in the ocean, which will reveal the location of drinking water supplies deep below the surface of the sea. It has been clear to scientists for 40 years that bodies of freshwater exist off the U.S. East Coast. This research created the only noninvasive method capable of sensing the exact location of these valuable drinking water reserves. This technology has also attracted the attention of oil companies, which continue to develop the Scripps system to map out underwater resource deposits in three dimensions across the globe. Important projects like these improve our search for natural resources, and I commend the Scripps Institution and the National Science Foundation.

Mr. McNERNEY

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I am submitting an amendment to strike provisions from Mr. Valadao's bill, H.R. 2898, that were included as riders in this year's Interior and EPA appropriations bill. I am disappointed that my Republican colleagues continue to attach bad policy on important appropriations bills. In this case, they have attached the same damaging riders to the Interior appropriations bill that would drain the California delta with over pumping. These provisions would ravage the ecology of the delta, destroy the local fish and wildlife, and harm communities we serve. They would undermine 40 years of progress in protecting our land and resources. They override environmental protection for California rivers, fisheries, threatening thousands of fishing jobs, and weaken the Endangered Species Act. Fish will go extinct. But my Republican colleagues claim that this bill will not harm fish. These sections violate existing biological opinions protecting salmon and other endangered fish, which would impact the salmon industry across the entire Pacific Coast. These riders do nothing to prepare our communities for droughts in the future. These are droughts we know are coming. They misstate California water law and encourage further regional divides in the West when we need to work together to bridge those differences. H.R. 2898 has been opposed by the State and key stakeholders, including commercial and sport fishermen, Native American tribes, environmental groups, and recreational employers. And the Obama administration has already threatened to veto it, but my Republican colleagues keep claiming that water is being wasted. Hydrological conditions have played a primary role in water deliveries since the start of California's drought. The 2014 water year was the third driest in California's recorded history, and some experts conclude that the current drought may be the State's most severe in 1,200 years. Currently, 100 percent of the State is experiencing some level of drought, and more than 40 percent is experiencing ``exceptional drought,'' the most severe drought classification according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The Department of the Interior estimates that the Endangered Species Act accounted for a mere 2 percent of the water supply reduction in the Central Valley Project water deliveries in 2014, and current estimates suggest a similarly small impact in 2014. California's State Water Resources Control Board estimated that in 2015, only 2 percent of this water flowed out to the ocean solely for environmental protection. The water that Donald Trump said was being shoved out to sea was actually used to prevent saltwater intrusion that would permanently damage some of the most valuable farmland in the world. Water being released for salinity control protects Central Valley farms from being contaminated. California and Federal officials have been able to increase exports from the California delta using existing authority. This action has helped maximize the use of what little water exists in the State. A lack of water is our biggest threat, not operational flexibility. And my colleagues still wonder where some of that water went. Well, according to the Bay Institute, earlier this year, approximately two-thirds of storm runoff was captured or diverted, with only one-third of the runoff making it through the delta estuary. And for the period of October 1 of last year to January 31, 60 percent of storm water was diverted or stored. Water scarcity in California is caused by longstanding and severe drought and the slow pace of investments in efficiency, water recycling, and other supplies. Many senior water right holders have received 100 percent of their allocation this year. According to State law, they are supposed to get that amount. The other junior right holders got much less, but that is what it means to be a junior water right holder--you don't get as much water in a drought. California has the right to stop seawater intrusion, protect water quality for our communities and farms, and distribute allocations according to their water right system. Even the junior water right holders have proven their resiliency. In fact, the National Agriculture Statistics Service projects a record almond crop in California this year. The orchards will yield an estimated 2.05 billion pounds, up from an even 2 billion the year before. It would eclipse the record. I am deeply disappointed this bill has been included in this year's Interior appropriations bill, and I hope my amendment passes to strike out these harmful provisions. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I offer amendment Nos. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40.

Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.